British East Africa Company Light and Liberty Definitive"
The motto "Light and Liberty" on the British East Africa Company's definitive of 1890-
1894 reflects the company's belief in its role as the bearer of "the white man's burden."
Having secured concessions from the Sultan of Zanzibar on the east coast of Africa from Wanga to Kipini and having reached an agreement with German Empire defining their areas of interest in East Africa, in 1888 Britain granted a charter to the Imperial British East Africa Company under William Mckinnon to administer and develop the region. The company issued its first stamps on May 23, 1890. Its issues were replaced with those of the East Africa Protectorate on July 1, 1895.
Bibliography
"British East Africa Company." Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue. 2008.
"Imperial British East Africa Company" Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. 16 Nov. 2010. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 21 Feb. 2011 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_British_East_Africa_Company.
Rossiter, Stuart and John Flower. The Stamp Atlas. London: Macdonald and Co., 1986.
