The History of Messenger Pigeons

The history of the messenger pigeon is a slightly debated one but most historians believe the practice originated in Eygpt approximately 5000 years ago. The problem the Egyptians were trying to solve was how slow new information traveled through their kingdom at the time. It also allowed the Egyptians to communicate around the Mediterranean and middle east for trading and diplomatic ventures.

Despite the Egyptians being the original group to develop this strategy of communication, Gengis Khan made it a widespread practice across most of Asia and into Europe, creating the largest messenger pigeon network of its time. He used this network to send messages across the Mongol Empire as he pushed westward.

Messenger pigeons were used up through the 19th century and saw extensive use in World War 1 especially. On top of being used for relaying messages across enemy lines in a way that was hard to intercept, these pigeons were also used to capture photos of enemy lines and cities, providing the receiver of these pigeons' vital information about enemy movements.

Ultimately, messenger pigeons were the go-to for fast and effective information for almost 5000 years. It allowed fast information transfer for its time in a way that was hard to intercept and was highly effective. If you are interested in learning more about messenger pigeons, I would suggest this article: https://kashmirobserver.net/2020/07/06/a-fascinating-history-of-the-carrier-pigeons/