The postage stamp was developed in Britain in the late 1830s, when Rowland Hill argued that postage should be charged by weight and paid up front. Earlier, the London Penny Post of 1680 used a hand stamp to show a letter had been paid for, but this stamp was applied to the letter itself. Hill proposed a small paper label with gum on the back that could be stuck on the envelope. His 1837 pamphlet on reform was widely circulated and led to the penny rate. Other people, including James Chalmers, also proposed adhesive stamps, and petitions for uniform postage followed. Hill's ideas were adopted and spread to many countries.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.