The dawn of the 1830s saw the introduction of British steamers in the Arabian Sea (between Bombay and Egypt) and the Mediterranean (connecting Egypt with Europe). Simultaneously, the overland route across Egypt was also developed (Figure 1).
These happenings revolutionised communications between the East and the West. Time to destination reduced from a few months to a few weeks.
As a result, they induced correspondents in the Far East and the Indian Ocean living in places such as China (including Canton, Hong Kong, and Macao), Dutch East Indies, Spanish Philippines, Australia and New Zealand, Mauritius and Reunion and Ceylon to route their letters via the Indian post offices. These ‘transit’ offices were situated either on mainland India (usually Bombay or Calcutta) or Singapore.
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