do you know what it is The History of the Flag of Spain? Has it always been like this or has there been an evolution in its design? Today we begin the trip to the history of the Spanish flag, rojigualda.
Origin of the Spanish flag
The flag of Spain that we know today has nothing to do with what it was in its beginnings, little by little it has evolved to what it is today.
In times of war it is important to be clear about who are enemies and who are allies. This that, a priori, seems so simple, the truth is that it was not so simple when it came to attacking the rival or lowering the weapons in periods of naval battles. This is precisely what happened in Spain during the century XVIIIwhen she was forced to change its traditional flag for a more striking one to prevent it from being confused with rival ships and attacked by mistake.
Traditionally, the Spanish flag I had him coat of arms of the house of Bourbon on white background. This flag was established by Philip V when the Bourbons took over the Spanish throne. However, it was a flag that coincided, being practically identical to other flags of kingdoms such as Sicily, Tuscany, Parma, France or Naples.
When a ship arrived, it was not known which kingdom it came from and, consequently, whether to let it pass or attack it. The king charles iii had to find a solution, which went through a change of flag.
We also recommend you read History of the flags of the world
Do you know who the Kings of Spain have been?
After a competition organized to choose a more outstanding design, the king opted for the red and yellow flag. The reason for this choice is that they are very striking colors that allow them to be easily seen at sea, an essential quality for the naval flag. On May 28, 1785, the change was made official and the new flag began to be in force, with such success that it was later also implanted in the Army and became very popular.
The Spanish people ended up falling in love with this flag, which caused it to become not only the naval and army flagbut in the national flag of Spain.
When did Spain have its first flag?
We have to go back to the Roman civilization in Spain to talk about the first insignia that were used on behalf of the Spanish people and, moreover, were maintained during the Visigothic era.
Learn more about Visigothic Spain:
There is a historical moment, during the Muslim invasion when what we understand today as a flag begins to be used (banners with light fabrics) since they are the Muslims and Crusaders who begin to implement its use.
The flags represented the kings, lords and lineages instead of the territories, as we understand it now. But the flags that we know now entered the peninsula for the first time at the hands of the Arabs who began to place these pieces of cloth that fluttered in the wind with a pole as a fixing element. the colors of the flags represented the dynastybeing the most common the colors white or green, which represented the Umayyads and Almohads, or the Fatimids, respectively.
already during the reconquest Christians were adding to the flag the colors and figures that they carried in their shields. From the middle of the 12th century each kingdom had its flag and there came to be a very large number of flags, which meant that in the 13th century Alfonso X the Wise was forced to regulate their use and form.
Since Alfonso XIthe monarch flags led a bandwhile the flags of the kingdoms They wore the figure of castles and lions. However, the flags did not have a national character.
After the wedding of Juana La Loca with Felipe el Hermoso, the Bourbons they introduced in the banner the burgundy cross. Since then, the white or yellow background and the ornaments or emblems (Burgundy cross, castles and lions and city coats of arms) in red prevailed.
The evolution of the Spanish flag
It is in the 16th century with the wedding of Juana I de Castilla and Felipe “El Hermoso” when all the flags have a common element, the burgundy cross that symbolized Spain.
This design is replaced by Philip V that changes the tones for white to match the rest of the House of Bourbon and the territories governed by them such as Naples, Tuscany, Parma or Sicily.
During the reign of Charles III The design of the flag changes again to differentiate Spain from the rest of the territories and the National Flag as we know it today emerged with the Royal Decree of May 28, 1785 during his reign.
In this decree, a contest to choose a new Navy pavilion is resolved, so they choose two types of designs: one design for merchant ships and another design for warships, from among the twelve proposals that had been submitted.
In the year 1843, it was ordered in the Royal Decree of October 13, that all military units had the same flag. Later, in 1908, another Royal Decree provided that on national holidays the flag should be flown in public buildings.
The design used already in those years has been the one that has been maintained until today, but the shield has changed. With the Second Republic the flag became tricolor (red, yellow and purple). The crown was replaced by a castle and the pillars of Hercules with the “PlusUltra” mottoin addition to adding the kingdoms of Aragon, Navarra and Granada.
At the end of the Spanish civil war, the bandear that is used is bicolor again, but a new shield is used. The castle is suppressed and the crown is returned. In addition, the eagle of Saint John, emblem of the Catholic Monarchs, was added. This was not the last, there were still two more shields until in 1981 the current design is presented.
Learn about the Spanish Civil War:
As a curious fact, it should be noted that since the reign of Charles III and until the First Republic broke out, the flag carried on its right side the figure of a lion and on the left a golden colored castle. The design culminated in a crown at the top of the shield. The Republicans left the symbols but eliminated the crown.
Finally, as we explained at the beginning, the current Spanish flag It was born from the need to differentiate the enemy and make an attractive design that is easy to see at sea. Hence the choice of colors Red and yellow.
It may interest you: