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Censorship of letters
(860 words)

The history of the censorship of letters is closely related to the development of the mail. Wherever personal couriers delivered a message from A to B, the possibilities for intercepting, checking, and censoring letters were extremely limited (Messenger service; Courier). As fixed postal routes were established, it became easier to interfere with correspondence (Mail). The frequent bitterness of arguments over mail rights was therefore attributable not only to economic motives, but also to issues of the censorship of letters.

The growing need for communication at the beginnin…

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Grillmeyer, Siegfried, “Censorship of letters”, in: Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online, Editors of the English edition: Graeme Dunphy, Andrew Gow. Original German Edition: Enzyklopädie der Neuzeit. Im Auftrag des Kulturwissenschaftlichen Instituts (Essen) und in Verbindung mit den Fachherausgebern herausgegeben von Friedrich Jaeger. Copyright © J.B. Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung und Carl Ernst Poeschel Verlag GmbH 2005–2012. Consulted online on 19 March 2024 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2352-0272_emho_SIM_017783>
First published online: 2015
First print edition: 20160907



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