The island of Elba | Italy

Postcard

Elba is the biggest island of the Tuscan Archipelago and the third largest in Italy after Sardinia and Sicily. The island is famous around the world for harboring French Emperor Napoleon in 1814 during his exile. 

Giglio Island is one of the other six islands in the Tuscan Archipelago.

 

The map of Liberia

Postcard
Liberia is located on the west coast of Africa. Liberia means "land of the free" and refers to the nation's origin as a colony of free blacks repatriated to Africa from the United States in the early nineteenth century.

The map of Saint Lucia

Postcard
Saint Lucia is an island country in the eastern Caribbean Sea on the boundary with the Atlantic Ocean. It is a beautiful, mountainous volcanic island with high peaks, majestic rain-forests and sandy beaches.

The Map of Cameroon

Postcard
Cameroon has a vast geographical diversity characterized by forest, savanna and mountains, alongside a population of over 240 ethnic groups.

Its diversity in terrain and culture has led to Cameroon being referred to as "All Africa in one country".

The map of Andorra

Postcard
This card was sent some time ago by the French postal service of Andorra. Postal services in Andorra are unique in the way that they are not operated by the Principality itself, but by its two larger neighboring countries Spain and France.

Map of the Isle of Man

Postcard
The Isle of Man is a self-governing British Crown dependency in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland.

The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II and is represented by a Lieutenant Governor. Defence is the responsibility of the United Kingdom. 

Whenever you planning a visit to this island, just take a look at this map and find the best sights. 

Thank you James!

The map of Fiji

Postcard
Fiji is an archipelagic state in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean. The largest of the Fijian islands is Viti Levu, where you'll find the main international airport and Fiji's capital city, Suva.

Vanua Levu is the second largest island of Fiji, located 64 kilometres to the north of Viti Levu.

The map of Morocco

Postcard
This card shows a map and some famous places and symbols of Morocco. One of these symbols is an open hand with eye, the Hamsa, also known as the Khamsa or the Hand of Fatima. It is a popular symbol found throughout the Middle East and northern Africa, especially within the Islamic and Jewish faiths.

Het Eyland Formosa | Taiwan

Postcard
Printed in 1726 by Francois Valentijn, this is the earliest printed map of Taiwan or Formosa. It is considered the first specific printed map of Formosa. Valentijn's map covers the entire island, as well as the nearby Pescadores, now known as the Penghu Islands. Valentijn based this map on the 1640 manuscript (hand drawn) map of Formosa drawn by Johannes Vingboones.

At the time the western part of Taiwan was partially colonized by Chinese immigrants, while the eastern lands were dominated by ferocious headhunting tribes with an history of inhospitality.

The Dutch VOC, which established itself in western Formosa in 1624, was as intent on pacifying the aggressive Formosan aborigines and ultimately establishing a trading center capable of rivaling Macao and thus challenging Portuguese dominance of the China trade. The Dutch were ultimately driven out of Formosa entirely in 1668 by a Chinese backed aborigine resistance.

Map of South Australia

Postcard
South Australia is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. Its population is the most highly centralised of any state in Australia, with more than 75 percent of South Australians living in the capital, Adelaide.

Some items on this card you see the postcards here:
Kangaroo Island
Adelaide – Alice Springs – Darwin by train
The outback
River Murray
Paddle steamer

Historic Hahndorf
Flinders Ranges
Adelaide

Stamps
Part of a series of five self-adhesive stamps about Dragonflies (issue August 2017).

Thank you very much Steve!

Hawaiian Islands Map | USA - Hawaii

Postcard

The Hawaiian archipelago comprises eight major islands, several atolls and numerous smaller islets. The main islands are Hawaii, Maui, O'ahu, Kauai, Molokai, Lanaii, Ni'ihau and Kaho'olawe. The islands are about 1,860 miles from the nearest continent.

The map of Svalbard

Postcard
The Svalbard archipelago is the northernmost part of the Kingdom of Norway. It lies completely within the Arctic Circle, so the sun is above the horizon for 24 hours a day from late April to late August.

The polar archipelago of Svalbard was first discovered by Willem Barentsz in 1596. Old maps exist but the detailed mapping of Svalbard started a little over 100 years ago. At this time Swedes and Russians carried out a major survey that was part of a project to determine the size and shape of the Earth. The Norwegian mapping of Svalbard started a few years later.

Thx Patrik!

The Islands of the Bahamas

Postcard
The Bahamas is a country, comprised of 700 islands sprinkled over 100,000 square miles of ocean.

The main islands are Abaco, Acklins and Crooked Island, Andros, Berry Islands, Bimini, Cat Island, Eleuthera, Exuma, Grand Bahama, Inagua, Long Island, Mayaguana, New Providence and Paradise Island, Rum Cay and San Salvador.

Shetland Islands, Britain’s most northerly outpost

Postcard
The Shetland Islands is a subarctic archipelago made up of more than 100 islands, 15 of which are inhabited. 

The islands lie ‘where Scotland meets Scandinavia and the North Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean’. About 80 km to the northeast of Orkney and 280 km southeast of the Faroe Islands. The Shetland Islands are actually closer to Norway than to mainland Scotland. 

Vormsi Island | Estonia

Postcard

Vormsi is the fourth largest island of Estonia, after Saaremaa, Hiiumaa and Muhu. Vormsi is located between Hiiumaa and the mainland. The island has approximately 400 permanent inhabitants.

Estonia used to have a quite substantial Swedish minority. These people, who settled on the West coast of Estonia and on many islands, came during 13th–14th century from Southern Finland and spoke Swedish; they were called the coastal Swedes.

Vormsi island was almost entirely Swedish speaking until World War II. But in 1943 during the Nazi occupation the coastal Swedes were forced to return to Sweden, after hundreds of years of living overseas. 

Djerba Island | Tunisia

Postcard

Djerba Island, just off the Tunisian coast, is the largest island of North Africa. The island has a population of about 150,000 and is a big tourist attraction.

Interesting fact: Djerba is home to one of the few remaining Jewish communities in North Africa: the towns of Hara Sghira and Hara Kebira.

The Historic Centre of Sighişoara | Romania

Postcard

Sighisoara is a small, fortified medieval town located in the heart of Transylvania (Romania). This medieval town was also the birthplace of Vlad Dracula, who inspired Bram Stoker's fictional creation Count Dracula.

The Historic Centre of Sighişoara is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

A postcard from Central African Republic

Postcard

The Central African Republic (CAR) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad, Sudan, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of theCongo and Cameroon.

 

The western lowland gorilla is the most numerous and widespread of all gorilla subspecies. Populations can be found in the Central African Republic and most of its neighboring countries.

Stamp

Fascinating stamp but couldn’t find anything about it. 

The map of Sint Maarten | Dutch Caribbean

Postcard

“The term Dutch Caribbean refers to all of the islands of the Kingdom of the Netherlands that are located in the Caribbean, regardless of their legal status in Dutch law” (thank you Wikipedia).

The legal status of St Maarten is a “constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands”. A country within a country, sort of.

Stamp

A Lesser Nighthawk. The stamp is part of a set of 12 bird stamps, issued 2015. 

The Twin Island Country: Trinidad and Tobago

Postcard

Named for the tobacco cultivated by the original Carib population, Tobago existed separately from Trinidad for centuries. While the explorer Christopher Columbus sighted the island in 1498, he did not land and no attempts were made to colonize Tobago.

In 1889, during a period of economic decline, Britain annexed the smaller Tobago to Trinidad as an administrative ward. The islands achieved independence from England in 1962 and became the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago in 1976.