CPS Resource Centre
Faroe Islands 2014-09-24 World War I
On September 24, 2014, Faroe Islands Post announced two new issues, both of which are of cartophilatelic interest. The first, a four stamp souvenir sheet marks the centenary of the start of World War I and involvement of the Faroe Islands, while the second, a single stamp, commemorates the life and achievements of preacher and missionary Daniel Jacob Danielsen, popularly referred to as “Dollin.” The First World War Centenary mini-sheet consists of a two x two block of four DKK 8.0 stamps with unique images, three of which appear to contain maps. The postal authority web site contains a very detailed writeup of WW I events relating to the Faroe Islands and depicted by the stamps.
Faroe Islands 2014-09-24 Casement Report
The single DKK 25.00 stamp depicts portraits of both Dannielsen and Roger Casement along with two river paddle ships, and a map of the African continent showing the Congo Free State as it was known at the time. Dannielsen worked as a missionary in Congo arriving there in 1901 and working on the paddle ship “Pioneer” the upper vessel shown on the stamp. From the 1890’s, there had been stories of atrocities against the indigenous people of the Congo Free State. Missionaries, journalists and a human rights organization reported about large-scale violation of human rights, but they were ignored by the administration in Congo. As these stories became more widespread, the English Parliament decided in 1903 to send the British consul in Boma, Congo, Roger Casement, up the Congo River to investigate the allegations. Casement hired the paddle steamer “Henry Reed” the lower vessel shown on the stamp from the Congo Balolo Mission and Danielsen was assigned as skipper. Danielsen took Casement around the Congo River and its tributaries and functioned as well as skipper and engineer also as Casement’s interpreter and assistant. Casement later praised Danielsen’s skills and stated in a letter to the British Foreign Office that without Danielsen’s help the trip would not have been nearly as successful. In 1904 the result of the expedition was published in what was known as the “Casement Report” which documented these human rights violations and delivered devastating criticism of King Leopold’s Congo Administration. Eventually King Leopold was forced to give up the Congo Free State from his own personal holdings and Danielsen moved back to England where he continued to pressure the Mission to support the rights of the indigenous peoples. It was Danielsen’s pressure that started the so-called Congo Reform Campaign, which led to these results. However Danielsen’s role has been forgotten, and he has not yet been credited for his involvement. In 1904 he married and moved back to the Faroe Islands, and started his preacher activities on the islands. While he never returned to the Congo he continued his work in the Faroes until his death in 1916. A detailed write up on Danielsen is also available on the Faroe Islands postal authority web site.
