In the latter part of the 19th and early part of the 20th century, a number of countries maintained post offices in foreign countries, arranged by treaty. Most such offices were operated by European powers in the Middle and Far East. They were partly motivated by the desire to provide reliable postal service for merchants and other foreign nationals in major cities, and partly by suspicion of the local postal service. The currency in use could be either the local currency, or that of the home country. Additionally, it became the practice of occupying military powers to establish postal services in the occupied country. List Austrian Post Abroad Italy (Austrian Occupation) 1918 only Lombardy-Venetia 1850–1866 Montenegro (Austrian Occupation) 1917 only Romania (Austrian Occupation) 1917–1918 Serbia (Austrian Occupation) 1916 only Austro-Hungarian Post in China 1904–1919 Crete (Austro-Hungarian Post) 1903–1914 Austro-Hungarian Post in the Ottoman Empire 1867–1915 Palestine (Austrian Post Offices) 1854–1914 Austro-Hungarian Military Post 1915–1918 Belgian Post Abroad Eupen and Malmedy (Belgian Occupation) 1920 only German East Africa (Belgian Occupation) 1916–1918 Germany (Belgian Occupation) 1919–1920 British Post Abroad British post offices abroad British post offices in Africa various issues Baghdad (British Occupation) 1917 only Bangkok (British Post Office) 1882–1885 Batum (British Occupation) 1919–1920 British Levant 1885–1923 Bushire (British Occupation) 1915 only Cameroons (British Occupation) 1915 only China (British Railway Administration) 1901 only China (British Post Offices) 1917–1930 Crete (British Post Offices) 1898–1899 East Africa Forces 1943–1948 Eastern Arabia (British postal agencies) 1948–1966 Egypt (British Forces) 1932–1943 Eritrea (British Military Administration or British Administration) 1948–1952 German East Africa (British Occupation) 1917 only Iraq (British Occupation) 1918–1923 Japan (British Post Offices) 1859–1879 Japan (British Commonwealth Occupation Force) 1946–1949 Long Island (British Occupation) 1916 only Madagascar (British Consular Mail) 1884–1895 Mafia Island (British Occupation) 1915–1916 Malaya (British Military Administration) 1945–1948 Middle East Forces 1942–1947 Morocco Agencies 1898–1957 North Borneo (BMA) 1945 only Salonika (British Field Office) 1916 only Sarawak (British Military Administration) 1945 only Somalia (British Military Administration or British Administration) 1948–1950 Tangier 1927–1957 Tripolitania (British Military Administration or British Administration) 1948–1952 Chinese Post Abroad Chinese post offices in Tibet 1911–1912 Egyptian Post Abroad Gaza (Egyptian Occupation) 1948–1967 Jaffa (Egyptian Post Office) 1870–1872 Finnish Post Abroad Aunus (Finnish Occupation) 1919 only Eastern Karelia (Finnish Occupation) 1941–1944 French Post Abroad Andorra (French Offices) 1931 – Arad (French Occupation) 1919 only Castelrosso (French Occupation) 1920–1921 Cilicia (French Occupation) 1918–1921 Ethiopia (French Post Offices) 1906–1908 Japan (French