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In the 18th century, there was significant debate in the scientific community, specifically in the French Academy of Sciences as to whether the circumference of the Earth was greater around the Equator or the poles. In response to this, Louis XV - the king of France, sent two expeditions to determine the answer. One team was sent to the Arctic, modern-day Finland and the other to Spanish Ecuador. Pedro Vicente Maldonado accompanied the French expedition as an Ecuadorian geographer and topographer. They completed their survey measurements by 1739, measuring the length of a meridian arc of three degrees at the Equator. The Arctic expedition had proven that the Earth is oblate; i.e., flattened at the poles. This is how the West met Pedro Vicente Maldonado, a man of extraordinary talent, a man of science, an archetype of the spirit of Castilian nobility. He is the greatest scientific figure not only in Ecuador but in all of South America. He authored the first geographical map of his province and scientific reports covering Physics, Astronomy, Geography, Botany and Spanish Ecuador which served as the basis for subsequent studies for the descriptive Geography of the Americas. The Spanish Catholic Majesty knighted him and honoured him with a position of Lieutenant of Captain-General, the French and English made him the First Corresponding member of the Paris Academy of Sciences and the Royal Society of London for Latin America respectively. This stamp was issued in 1948 by Ecuador to commemorate the 200th death anniversary of this eminent polymath. . . . . . . #philately #stamps #stamp #philatelist #philatelic #stampcollection #postagestamps #stampcollecting #oldstamps #timbre #philategram #briefmarken #stampcollector #snailmail #stampscollection #filateli #history #worldstamps #philatelie #postage #southamerica #latinamerica #francobolli #philatelycollection #español #filatelia #quito #ecuado #sellos https://www.instagram.com/p/COAkneVLWQV/?igshid=10axsea35wj7j

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Europeans had known of New Zealand since the 1640s and by the early 19th century there had been increasing contact between Maori (indigenous people of New Zealand) and Europeans.

Christianity came to New Zealand via Australia in the form of the Church Missionary Society. These men and women went to extraordinary lengths to bring Christianity and 'civilisation' to Maori.

A key figure in the establishment of the first Christian mission in New Zealand was Samuel Marsden. He was an English-born priest of the Church of England in Australia and a prominent member of the Church.

The trading of muskets in exchange of preserved Moari tattooed heads as collectable art pieces concerned Samuel that they were corrupting the Maori way of life, and lobbied the Church Missionary Society to send a mission to New Zealand.

On the 25th of December, 1814, at Hohi (Oihi) Beach, Samuel Marsden preached in English to a largely Maori gathering, launching New Zealand’s first Christian mission.

Maori had their own beliefs and customs, and from a spiritual perspective, the missionaries had little to offer. The missionaries were seen largely as another trade opportunity to be manipulated. The Union Jack flew over a flag pole. Missionaries could do little about this as their economic and physical welfare were dependent on the goodwill and patience of Maori.

But what unravelled is a story for some other day.

This stamp was issued for the Christmas of 1964, commemorating the 150th anniversary of the first Christian service in New Zealand.