Good morning, class. Today we're going to discuss the history of the postal service. Many people assume that the first stamps were introduced in England in 1840, and that's true for the famous Penny Black. However, an earlier system existed in France in the 17th century, where the recipient paid for delivery, not the sender. This often led to refused letters. It was only later that prepaid postage became standard. Interestingly, the first adhesive stamp in the United States appeared in 1847, featuring Benjamin Franklin. So, while England led the way in modern stamps, France had the original problem of unpaid postage.