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Histórico
The earliest established packet stations were Dover to Calais 1633, Harwich to Holland 1660, Falmouth to Spain and Portugal 1689 and Falmouth to the West Indies in 1702.
Mail was carried in sailing packets up to 1815, but after this date these gradually gave way to steam-driven vessels. By 1840 the carrying of mail had been put into the hands of the commercial shipping lines, Cunard, Peninsular and Oriental Shipping Company, the West Indian Royal Mail, Union Castle etc., who found the postal subsidies valuable as they extended their routes further to keep pace with the expansion of the British Colonies.
After 1840 the General Post Office introduced domestic and Imperial 'penny postage' (in 1898), and before the Second World War, 1939-1945, pioneered a comprehensive airmail service, carrying letters at a standard rate without air surcharges. During the war it also introduced the airgraph and, later the airletter which was prefranked with the standard postage.