mail blockade from S America in WWI

[Tony Walker]

Hi everyone

There was no collaborative response by South American States at the outbreak of WWI, and any response was on an ad hoc basis.  All States professed neutrality, which lasted from August 1914 through to April 1917 in varying degrees of effectiveness intentional or otherwise. Both belligerents complained of bias.  Britain and France accused Colombia, Chile, Peru and Ecuador of allowing German ships to overstay the 24 hour limit and use wireless communications in territorial waters contrary to the Hague Convention, whilst Germany berated Argentina for permitting British steamers to carry horses to France.

By 1917 (and some would say earlier) there were few ways to get mail from South America to Germany due to the effectiveness of the British Navy who escorted reluctant ships encountered, to Allied ports such as Brazil, Sierra Leone or Gibraltar where the mail was removed for inspection.

The Argentine Post Office would be well aware of this, and was probably simply pre-empting the likely impounding of the mail by not sending it in the first place as the postcard attached demonstrates.

It is a postal stationery postcard from Argentina to Germany dated in manuscript on the reverse in the message (in German), 20 January 1917.  The cachet DEVUELOTO POR NO / HABER COMUNICACION  translates as 'returned, no service'.

Interestingly, although German U-boats sank four Argentinian ships, the Argentine government led by anti-American President Hipolyto Irigoyen refused to follow the American lead in breaking off diplomatic relations with Germany.  A vote in the Argentinian Congress of 76 for / 19 against back in September 1917, to sever relations with Germany was never implemented by Irigoyen.  It was not until September 1918 that a degree of 'bias' entered when Argentina agreed to sell surplus wheat to Britain and Europe.

Cheers