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What adorned the hats of the postal couriers of Rome. Antique Jewels: What Jewelry Did the Emperors of Ancient Rome Wear?

In ancient times, and in the Middle Ages, too, a messenger (as couriers were called in those days) who delivered a message with bad news was often threatened with death. Such messengers were often executed - remember from Pushkin in "The Tale of Tsar Saltan": "In anger, he began to perform miracles / And he ordered the messenger to be hanged." Only 150-200 years ago, the delivery time of letters and parcels, even within one country like Russia, could be measured in years. If the letter was on the way for less than 6 months, it was considered that it reached very quickly.

Today, the courier service in Russia is established at the very highest level and among all others, delivery of parcels in St. Petersburg "Express Tochka Ru" stands out - this company has established itself at the highest level - saving time and money.

Organization of the postal service in the land of the Incas
Before its death as a result of the invasion of the conquistadors, the Inca civilization occupied South America huge territory. One of the main achievements of this civilization is considered to be excellently organized on an accessible technical level, Courier service. The Inca country had a branched road network, and the roads were well equipped. Every 7.2 km there was always a sign with information about the distance to the nearest city, after 19-29 km there were special stations designed for travelers to relax. Specialized courier stations were placed very often: with an interval of 2.5 km. Inca couriers (“chaskies”) delivered their cargo (sometimes they were verbal messages) by relay race: having arrived at the station, the tired courier handed over his burden to the rested one, and he immediately continued on his way. This process went on around the clock. Thus, dispatches were delivered over distances of up to 2,000 km. for less than 5 days.

The principle of the relay has been borrowed and implemented in many countries. So in the developed part of the territory of Russia in the 17th-20th centuries there was an extensive network of postal stations where government couriers, as well as other persons traveling on state business, could rest and / or change tired horses for fresh ones.

Courier services of antiquity
In ancient Rome, courier delivery was very high quality. It was thanks to her that residents of remote provinces could relatively quickly learn about the news. The position of the state (during the Republic) and later, the imperial courier was very prestigious and highly paid.

China was in ancient times centralized state with a developed management structure. Naturally, he also could not do without an organized courier service. It was in China that they first began to issue special sheets of paper with reports of important news, which were delivered by couriers to all parts of the Celestial Empire.

Perhaps the most famous courier ancient world is the Greek Phillipides, who delivered to Athens the news of the victory over the Persian army in Marathon battle. Having run 42 km, 195 m without rest, from the battlefield to the central square of Athens, he shouted “Rejoice! We whitewashed! and fell dead. It was in his honor that the competitions in the discipline "Marathon running" were introduced into the program of the Olympic Games, which are still held today.

Organization of postal and courier service in Russia
The first specialized service for the delivery of written correspondence was organized in Rus' as early as the 13th century. It was called "yamskaya chase" and was a very original purely Russian institution, which, not without changes, continued to exist almost until late XIX centuries. The profession of a coachman was one of the most massive.

From the 16th century in order to improve accounting and introduce the personal responsibility of the messenger for the safety and timeliness of delivery of correspondence, special "marks" began to be affixed on the packaging of documents, which became the prototypes of the postmark. Since the 17th century such marks indicated the personal data of the messenger and the date of delivery of the document.

In 1665, the Moscow-Riga postal and courier route was laid, and 4 years later, a similar route to Vilnius. So for the first time regular postal communication with Europe was organized.

On November 17, 1710, Peter I signed a decree on the organization of a specialized courier route Moscow - St. Petersburg. And after 6 years, 30.03. In 1716, the same Peter I approved the All-Russian military field courier service.

Since 1783, uniform postal rates began to operate in Russia. The price was determined taking into account the weight of the item and the distance to the addressee.

Since 1837, railways have been used to transport mail in Russia. Moreover, Russia was one of the first states where rail mail transportation was put on a regular basis.

IN early XIX V. The Russian postal and courier service consisted of approximately 460 institutions, and the total number of couriers who served in them was 5 thousand people.

IN THE USA
The first regular services for the delivery of small goods (up to flowers), as well as mail in the United States, began to be provided by UPS in 1907.
Since 1946, the TNT company, created by K. Thomas, began to provide its services. It was this company that established regular long-distance mail service. Among the innovations of Thomas, we can note the introduction of delivery services with a return receipt, when the sender received from the company a certificate of delivery of his shipment, signed by the recipient.
Since 1969, airplanes have been regularly used for courier delivery. It was from this moment that courier delivery service companies could begin to cover the whole world with their activities, and not individual regions.

Interestingly, the terminology of the hospitality industry owes a lot to the Romans. And here they also contributed to the development of many civilizations. The word hospitality (hospitality) comes from the Latin hospitium (hospice). One-root words are host (owner), hospice (shelter), hotel (hotel, hotel). Hospitables - this is how people were called in antiquity, together with their family, who receive guests in their home. With the hospitables, a foreign state entered into an alliance of mutual assistance, friendship and protection.

After the introduction of a regular state postal service (during the time of Emperor Octavian from 63 BC), state inns also appeared. The state set up courtyards in cities and on the main roads, along which couriers and civil servants from Rome passed as far as Asia Minor or Gaul Batalova L.V. From the history of tourism development, Sat. scientific articles. Issue. Izhevsk, 1999, - 148 p.

State inns were created, remote from each other at a distance of one day's ride on a horse. As the Roman Empire conquered new territories and expanded, its customs, economic and organizational structures also spread to new provinces and conquered countries. The fact of the special interest of the state testifies to how seriously the reliability of an institution that provided travelers with shelter, food and lodging for the night was considered in antiquity. So, in the code of Roman laws, the responsibility of such an institution for the things of the guest was provided. That's when the opportunity arose to safely spend the night in the inn. Even today, the legislation of a number of states regulates this issue, based on the above provisions of Roman civil law. After all, the protection of the guest in all countries is one of the main goals of the hotel business.

Merchants, merchants and other guests from the common people could never be settled next to civil servants and government messengers. This circumstance affected the quality of the inns. Those in which representatives of the aristocracy and government officials stayed were built according to all the rules architectural art and offered a wide range of services for those times. Subsequently, Marco Polo said that in such inns and "it is not shameful for the king to stop" "Polo Marco. Marco Polo book. Moscow: Geografgiz, 1956.

Taverns and inns designed to serve citizens of the lower classes offered minimal conditions for lodging and recreation. For example, very often travelers slept simply on straw, and in order not to freeze in the cold season, they pressed against the warm side of their horse. There was no question of any additional comfort. The organization of hotel business in the Roman Empire was based on a certain classification of hotels developed by the state authorities. There were two types of hotels: only for the patricians (mansiones), the other - for the plebeians (stabularia).

The Roman hotel was a certain complex of premises of a fairly wide functional purpose: these were not only rooms for accommodating travelers, but also storage rooms, stables, shops, workshops, etc. Hotels, as a rule, were built of stone and had necessary list services. IN winter time they warmed up. Some hotels served only officials on special documents issued by public authorities. This tradition has been preserved to this day in the form of special rooms for VIPs at airports, railway stations and other places where tourists stay.

With the improvement of the functioning of the postal service in the second half of the 4th century, when for a long time it combined the needs for transport and for sending news, visiting yards were set up along the roads. They were called "mancio" and "stacio". The first of these terms meant an inn, in which there were conditions for the accommodation of the imperial retinue, the second - the post of the traffic police.

Later there was an alignment of these inns. Between the mancio and the station were inns of lesser importance, or mutations (places for changing the horse team), in which the most urgent needs of travelers could be satisfied: something to eat, spend the night, replace mounts or pack animals.

The distance between the two Mancios depended on the nature of the terrain, but on average it was 40-55 km. Between two mancios there could be one or two smaller visiting yards, and this already depended not only on the area, but also on its population.

Such inns differed from each other in the volume and quality of their services, ranging from the praetorium, in which one could receive the imperial retinue, to modest institutions. A fully equipped inn could offer almost everything a traveler needed. Here it was possible to eat, spend the night, change mounts (there were up to forty horses and mules in the stables of large visiting yards), wagons, drivers, find servants, people who returned draft animals to the previous station, veterinarians, coachmen and charioteers who correct damaged carriages Kotler F., Bowen J., Makenz J. Marketing. Hospitality and tourism / Per. from English. -- M.: UNITI, 1998..

The inns and visiting yards and postal stations were not built specifically for these purposes, they served not only specially for the following travelers, although they certainly had the primacy of service. The mail, despite the fact that it served mainly the central government, was kept locals. The emperors simply chose inns that already existed of the quality needed for service and included them in the system, demanding a free overnight stay for each diploma holder.

Only in remote areas, such as, for example, on passes or on solitary roads, did the imperial government have to build everything from the very foundation. In such places, all travelers, private individuals, as well as representatives of official authorities were received for the night to compensate for the costs. Wagons, animals, charioteers, grooms - all were drawn to serve there from the local neighborhood, if it was possible. Since that time, people have already begun to appear who worked in inns. Inns, especially on the main roads, were built by the Romans with skill and for their time were quite convenient.

Over time, the maintenance of the inn became burdensome for its manager, since with the development of society and civilization, the requirements for it constantly increased. They were presented not only by those who had the right to use the coaching yard by law, but also by those from among the officials deprived of conscience who arbitrarily confiscated horses and carriages or brazenly brought people with them to the coaching yards who did not have the right to free service. Special inspectors (curiosi, cursus, public) checked the eligibility of using diplomas after their expiration date, driving along the wrong route that the person presenting the document should have followed, using the wrong type of mounts used by those passing through.

Strict laws were issued by emperors one after another to stop the abuses and keep the service at the inns at an appropriate level.

There were regulations regarding the number of wagons and animals that could be used. officials, which determined the maximum allowed load, the number of drivers, travel routes, the weight of saddles and packs, even the size and type of whips. One injunction stated that "no one shall reward any charioteer, charioteer, or veterinarian in the service of a public institution, because they receive the food and clothing they need." In other words, it was forbidden to give "tips" to these employees. Orders not to give them were rarely carried out, and all indications are that these orders were not properly carried out.

Every person who used the post had to know exactly where the various inns were located. Itineraries were available to travelers, which listed visiting yards along a given road and the distance between them.

There were also conditionally executed maps, from which it was possible to find out not only where the inn was located, but also what they could offer on it. A copy of one such map made in the Middle Ages, the so-called Peutinger table, reached the Renaissance period. It was drawn on a long sheet of parchment, 33 cm wide and 6.7 cm long. It is highly inaccurate cartographically, but represents the roads of the entire Roman Empire in such a way that it can be easily read. It contains information similar to that which can be found on a modern road map: lines denoting roads, names of cities and large villages and other places where you can stop; figures indicating the distances between them in Roman miles. It is interesting to note that near many of the names there are small colored drawings - symbols. They served the same purpose as the surprisingly similar symbols in modern guidebooks. They had to indicate at a glance what are the possibilities to spend the next night while following this road Shapoval GD History of tourism. Minsk., IP, "Enoperspektiva" -1999, - 216 p.

The names without accompanying drawings denoted the simplest inn, which could represent little more than water, a roof over your head, food and a fresh change of mounts or riding animals.

For example, a traveler leaving Rome along the Via Aurelius, leading north along the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea, could learn from a map that the first suitable place to stay would be Alsium, eighteen Roman miles from the capital, with a minimum of amenities (the drawing was missing from the title), from there it was ten miles to Pyrga with a minimum of amenities, then there were six miles to Punic, where there were also few amenities, but from there it was within easy reach of the Aqua Apollinaris with a first-rate hotel (marked by a quadrangular building), from there it was four miles to the Aqua Tavri with the same amenities, as in the Aquas of Apollinaria, etc.

Government messengers hurried from station to station with average speed five miles an hour, or in the course of a normal day, journeys would cover fifty Roman miles. Thus, news from Rome reached Brundisium in seven days, to Byzantium - about 25 days, to Antioch - about 40 days, to Alexandria - about 55 days. In exceptional cases, moving day and night, the messengers could triple this speed. When in 69 AD. e. in Mogunti-aka above the Rhine (now Mainz, Germany), the legions rebelled, the news of this reached Rome within 8-9 days. The messenger in such cases overcame an average of 150 Roman miles a day. The traveler, who was given government errands, relied on the conveniences provided by the public post office and had few worries. He presented his diploma at a nearby inn and received the appropriate means of transportation, looked at his list of stations or a map for appropriate places to stay on his way, ate there, spent the night, changed teams and carriages until he arrived at his destination. Officially, Private Travelers were not allowed to use the Post, but as human nature is what it is, exceptions were inevitable.

Those who traveled privately and could not legally or illegally use government mail, had the opportunity to find lodging for the night in inns and shelters, since in many provinces they were the only, and in some areas even the best inns. Moreover, if he did not travel in a carriage with his own team, he could hire one, which was quite affordable for someone who was going to travel not on foot, but with the help of Vehicle. If by the open road he reached the post station just after the official party, which had requisitioned everything that was at the disposal of that station, he had no choice but to wait. In any case, he moved slower than the government messenger.

Already in the III century. BC. the builders of Rome erected tall apartment buildings - insulas - to accommodate the growing population of the city and guests. These were three-, four-, and sometimes five-story buildings with a wooden frame. In Rome, the insulae were inhabited by both the poor and the middle class of the townspeople; rich people lived in mansions. In such a multi-storey building, separate rooms or entire floors were rented out. In the Roman port of Ostia, where the lack of space was especially acute, everyone lived in multi-storey insulas (the remains of a number of insulas not only well-appointed, but also decorated with frescoes and reliefs have been preserved). In other cities where there was enough space for building (such as Pompeii), the insul was not built at all, they built houses with a garden or mansions. Hundreds of cities in Rome had aqueducts - water pipes that supply water to the city. As a rule, aqueducts were monumental structures on arched supports. The longest aqueduct - 132 km was erected under the emperor Hadrian in Carthage. At the same time, houses appear - lupanaria (brothels) Shapoval GD History of tourism. Minsk., IP, "Enoperspektiva" -1999, - 216 p..

Some wealthy landowners also built inns on the borders of their possessions. They were usually run by slaves who specialized in housekeeping. Those inns and taverns that were closer to the cities were more frequented by wealthy citizens, and therefore they were run by freedmen or retired gladiators who decided to invest their savings in the "restaurant business". Innkeepers in those days were deprived of many civil rights, including the right to serve in the army, bring cases against someone in court, take an oath and act as guardians of other people's children. In other words, the moral foundations of any person involved in this business were automatically called into question.

The stigma of a criminal: from ancient Rome to the present day

It is possible that the criminals of our day ire would break the law if they were in ancient Rome or Ancient Greece. After all, there they branded criminals - they burned letters on their shoulders, and in ancient Egypt - in a special way knocked out a front tooth.

The Middle Ages hardened judges and jailers. Real injuries are inflicted on criminals, depending on the severity of the offense. IN medieval Europe a thief is left without ears, a robber is left without a nose, a finger or hand is cut off to a perjurer, ears are cut into a deceiver ... If a criminal is caught a second time, he will be executed.

In the novel by the French writer A. Dumas "The Three Musketeers" there is a character who brought a lot of trouble to his friends musketeers. This is Lady Winter - milady. Dumas describes how amazed the Comte de la Fere was when he saw a lily-shaped brand on her shoulder. This lily is not an invention of Dumas, but historical fact. In France, this is how thieves were branded, and the lily meant the coat of arms of the head of state. In England, a “shameful stain” was burned on a thief’s hand with a red-hot iron.

In 1789, French legislation briefly abolished cruel punishments, but in 1799 Napoleon reintroduced them into practice. Now a thief is marked with the letter "V", a recidivist thief is branded "VV", "TF" means forced labor. "G" or "GAL" means that the owner of this mark is a prisoner of the galleys. What is a galley?

Galley - an ancient vessel, low and long in shape, on which both the ancient Romans and the troops sailed french king Louis XIV. Moreover, the Romans used slaves for rowing, and Louis XIV used all people of a different faith, all non-Catholics. After the 18th century, some of the galleys were used as floating prisons. That's where the criminal was sent, marked with the brand "GAL".

The French laws of that time did not spare petty swindlers either, they also wore a special brand on their bodies. And in Austria up to late XVIII For centuries, criminals have been burned various letters on their backs. By these letters it was possible to determine where the crime was committed and which one.

Only in 1832 in France was the barbaric way of marking lawbreakers permanently abolished. The longest branded criminals in China - until 1905. And in Thailand, even in 1940, the perpetrators were punished in a similar way, although the red-hot iron was replaced by a tattoo.

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Some hundred years ago, the delivery of parcels and letters in Russia was considered very fast, if it did not exceed six months. In the old days, royal messengers could pay with their own lives for bad news, and therefore the work of a courier in those days was not only difficult, but also dangerous.
IN ancient civilization The Incas managed to keep a huge territory under a single administration thanks to excellent roads with a well-functioning courier service. Insk roads were intended for pedestrians and caravans of llamas, every 7.2 km there were distance indicators, and after 19-29 km - stations for travelers to rest. In addition, courier stations were located every 2.5 km. Couriers (chasks) transmitted news and orders by relay, and in this way information was transmitted over 2000 km in 5 days.
In the ancient Roman Empire, thanks to courier delivery, the inhabitants of the country could receive up-to-date information about the events of political life, litigation, scandals, military campaigns and executions. Being an imperial courier was very honorable, and this activity was quite well paid.
IN Ancient China practiced issuing special news sheets, which were then delivered by couriers to various regions of the country. We can say that courier delivery has been an important part of the public administration system for many centuries.
In ancient Egypt, Phillipides was considered the most famous courier, who, according to legend, in 490 BC. brought the message of the victory at the Battle of Marathon to Athens. He, having run about 40 km, died of exhaustion, but became the founder of the marathon race.
In the 13th century, the first special service was organized in Russia for sending written communications, the so-called Yamskaya chase, is an original Russian institution that lasted until the second half of the 19th century.
In the 16th century, in order to account for correspondence and increase the personal responsibility of messengers for its safety, special marks began to be made on originals or copies of documents. In the 17th century, these marks became more detailed and contained, in addition to the last name and first name of the messenger, the year, month and day of delivery of the correspondence.
In 1665, postal and courier routes were organized from Moscow to Riga and in 1669 to Vilnius, which made it possible to exchange correspondence, including private, with foreign countries.
In Russia, the courier postal service appeared in the 17th century, on November 17, 1710, Peter I signed a decree establishing a special courier route from St. Petersburg to Moscow, which was the prototype of the military field courier service, approved by the Decree of Peter I of March 30, 1716
In 1783, for the first time in Russia, uniform tariffs were introduced for sending correspondence, depending on its weight and distance.
Since 1837, in Russia, postal and courier items began to be transported by railway. Russia is one of the first countries to organize such transportation.
By the beginning of the 19th century, there were about 460 postal and courier institutions in Russia, where 5,000 couriers regularly served.
In America, the first courier services began to be provided in 1907 by the American company UPS. This company was engaged in the delivery of flowers, postal items and small cargo.
In 1946, Ken Thomas founded the shipping company TNT. He made the main emphasis on the implementation of regular communication between cities. And he brought his innovations, all customers who wanted to make sure that the delivery was successful were now given a special certificate signed by the recipient.
In 1969, air delivery first appeared, which made it possible to

The etymological roots of the word "courier" should be sought in Poland at the end of the 17th century, where kurier first came into use, but the lexical unit itself is rather French ( courrier) or Latin (curro - “running”) origin. However, it is worth recognizing that the very fact of the movement of messages and goods has existed since the very beginning of the settlements that were distant from each other began to be built. Due to the need to exchange information in peacetime (and especially in wartime), messengers and messengers quickly appeared, and they were sent with instructions.

The oldest way to travel is walking, and the history of courier delivery as a phenomenon began precisely with it. Long before the ancient Egyptian civilization, about 3 thousand years BC, the legendary Semiramis conveyed her will with messengers before traveling to India.

Job foot courier was full of not only difficulties, but also many dangers, since during his service he managed to visit not only various parts of his native state, but also in foreign lands. Men understood the full responsibility of the situation, so they bequeathed property to their families in advance and gave instructions in which they often noted the work of a messenger as an undesirable example to follow - "become whoever you want, but not them."

What were the main missions of the ancient couriers? First of all, this is the communication of the troops: the detachments located at a great distance from each other had to regularly learn the news, otherwise it was not possible to act together.

The most famous messengers mentioned in ancient literature are the Greeks. Hemerodromes, as they were then called, received orders and moved between cities. Basically, they were in the service of the government, and spoke of them only as delivering news in the fastest possible way. Youths went to the hemerodromes, who moved very quickly lightly - except for a bow, arrows and a sling, they did not take weapons on the road, so as not to lose speed under the weight of ammunition.

The most famous couriers of ancient times are Philonides, who served Alexander the Great and mastered 90 km in 9 hours, and Phillipides, who brought the good news of the victory at Marathon to Athens, but, alas, died of exhaustion.

At times ancient rome foot couriers were also popular. They were called cursoriuses (that is, fast-running) or tabelarias (in Latin, "tabela" - a tablet) - depending on the functions they performed. As a rule, they were at the courts of wealthy patricians or were on public service, but they were forbidden to take correspondence and things for transfer from private individuals. Often the ban was violated, and the messengers were punished, although, however, this was a habitual thing for them: they recruited cursorius from among the freedmen or slaves.

The tabelaria, who were supported by the ruling elite, tried to increase their material wealth. So, for example, once they asked Vespasian a little more money for shoes, and he refused them at all. The messengers began to dress richly only with the advent of the next emperor, who allowed feathers to be worn on the headdress. Subsequently, peculiar wings appeared on their shoulders - a sign of the speed of delivery.

It is known that existed in antiquity and such a phenomenon as messenger relay. So, on the outskirts of the villages there were tents, in which the messengers were waiting for their turn to set off. Each had a stick with bells, by the ringing of which the population of the next village recognized the messenger and prepared to meet him. There, the next messenger came to replace the previous one - with the same "voiced" stick. Couriers not only traveled by land, sometimes they had to sail, and for the crossing they were given special belts.

Interestingly, the Incas and Aztecs also used courier services, and the most important cargo that was delivered across Mexico and Peru was fresh fish to the table of the ruling person. In these countries, couriers were called the mysterious word "chaski".

Chinese courier mail originated during the Zhou Dynasty, at its disposal were both pedestrian messengers and those who rode on horseback. During the Tang Dynasty, a hierarchy could already be observed in the ranks of postmen: the head of state personally appointed postmaster generals. As a result, imperial orders were transmitted with lightning speed. Engravings of those years depict couriers on the road with wide umbrellas at the ready.

Foot mail passed from ancient times to feudal times, proving to be a reliable way to move documents and things. City, monastic and university messengers were supported by managers, they wore a special uniform with a badge, which was a kind of distinctive sign.

Meanwhile, in countries such as India and China, foot messengers gave way to horsemen. Slaves built new roads, and letters and parcels were now delivered over the earth to the most secluded and distant corners. Thus, the reign of Emperor Octavian is directly associated with the strengthening of equestrian courier associations.

1464 was a significant year for Europe, which was thirsty for postal communications: by order of Louis XI, a state post office with couriers was established.

Horse messengers were common in England in those years, but they only performed royal orders. Under Edward I, postal stations began to be organized, where horses could be hired.

The work of courier lines improved largely due to the fact that they punished for being late very severely. So, for example, for untimely performance of duties, the messenger could have been hanged.

In the Middle Ages in Germany, the main courier lines were maintained by the Hanseatic League. Continuous communication was maintained with such cities as Venice, Prague, Vienna and Amsterdam. It is interesting that butchers became part-time couriers, who had to travel many hundreds of kilometers to purchase raw materials. It was they who signed contracts with the authorities, undertaking to transfer mail. This kind of courier service has become very popular in southern Germany. As soon as the herders (carriers of livestock) entered the city, they blew a horn, and people gathered in the square.

carriage mail, with which it was possible to transport oversized cargo and even people, also comes from ancient times, when horses and chariots were required to be delivered to imperial court commoners, for whom this, by the way, was a heavy duty. In Rus', this type of crossing was called the Yamskaya chase. The post station, where there were horses that could be needed for transportation at any time, was called a pit. Such an inn usually consisted of a couple of huts and, of course, stables, and a coachman lived there and looked after the household. He was elected from among the peasants or townspeople. The distance between stations could reach from 40 to 100 versts.

At first, horses carried messengers in carts and wagons, which was not very convenient, then in the 18th century Viennese carriages and carriages replaced them. In winter, the messengers rode in sledges and wagons, but the most famous, perhaps, was the troika, later sung by Russian poets.

If we talk about air communications, then its most ancient view- This pigeon mail. For military, as well as peaceful and commercial purposes, these birds were used as couriers by many states, but this was especially common in Egypt.

For In 1870-1871, pigeons carried more than one hundred and fifty thousand official dispatches - in the course of Franco-Prussian War. In Paris, even special rooms were created where micro-letters extracted from capsules on the legs of birds were deciphered. In the twentieth century, pigeons served peaceful purposes more - they delivered fresh correspondence faster than others.

In 1890 there appeared pneumatic mail, in the conditions of which the message “post office-exchange” was established with the help of pipes and wagons. Speed - 250 thousand per hour. Later, by analogy with pneumatic mail, electric lines began to appear, for example, the London Postal Underground, whose construction began in 1916, meant movement through tunnels located 50 to 80 feet underground. Correspondence was delivered by trains with small wagons that could move in two directions. Automatic system control made it possible to do without conductors.

However, pneumatic mail is not the most interesting way to deliver papers to recipients. Palan and Nadine are islands in Indonesia, whose inhabitants still use bottles to send correspondence. Interestingly, each letter sealed in a "capsule" has an address and eventually reaches the waiting one! The secret of accuracy is that the Java Sea has special circular currents, so the bottle sails to its destination, it is caught and transferred to the address. Yes, it's a little risky, but no one will force you to pay a customs fee!

As you can see, at all times a person is looking for the most convenient ways to move for himself and transport goods and documents. Within the framework of modern realities, the most reasonable method is courier mail., and how people came to this conclusion, you had the opportunity to read above.