Perhaps you have ever stopped to think where do the flags come from, why they have those colors or shapes, why some have drawings and others have stripes. Why are there flags from different countries that look a lot alike, it may be a coincidence or maybe they have something in common. We are going to answer this and other questions in this article that we have titled The history of the flags of the world.
History of the flags of the world | Origin of the Flags
The flags are in charge of generate the identity signs of a countryit is about the incarnation of a series of values that hold together a community or region that share a series of characteristics, whether geographical, cultural or historical.
When several nations have shared a common period in history, it is normal that they also share symbols, examples such as the flags of the Nordic countries or as it happens with New Zealand and Australia.
Today all the countries are represented by their corresponding flag, but they not only serve to represent countries, they also represent organizations, localities or institutions. Pieces of cloth loaded with great symbolism that serve as a union and as a sign of identity for individuals who share a common territory.
It is believed that the first flags have their origin in the Asian continent, more exactly in what is now Burma, but there is no historical documentation to support this, so we can consider the place of appearance of the first flag in the Persian Empire. During the Achaemenid dynasty S VI-S II BC, the flag was taken Derafsh Kaviani as a symbol of the impressive empire.
This flag will appear later in the Sassanid Empire years 224-651 AD, in the iran regionso it could be considered as the first flag of this country.
The Roman Empirewas the first to use flags in Europe, the first flags were the banners carried by the Roman legions, in these pieces of cloth where animals used to be depicted of strength such as the eagle, dragons or lions. Little by little these initially rigid banners became more flexible until they reached what we know today as flags.
From now on, the flags begin to respond to different purposes, such as religious emblems, to identify cities, empires, guilds, etc. It soon became much more useful warlikeon the battlefields, the flags They were used to identify the different armies and within these the different units, thus being able to plan war strategies.
In the maritime trade were also of vital importance, when a ship arrived at port it could be know your nationalitythus improving trade relations and knowing at the time what type of merchandise they could carry, taking into account their flag of origin.
As a consequence of maritime trade and much more when the new trade routes with the Indies, the use of the flags would no longer only be to identify vessels, but a true communication languagemoving the arms in certain ways, messages or signals were emitted by which the ships they could communicate despite being a long distance.
Now that we know a little more about the origin of the flags and what they represent, we are going to see the different flags of the world, what they are like and what they represent.
History of the flags of the world | Spanish flag
The flag of Spain has undergone different modifications throughout its history, initially they were banners and each company or detachment wore a different banner.
Later during the reign of Charles III and due to the constant warsthe king saw the need to differentiate the Spanish flag from the rest of the banners, since in most of them the predominant color was white and from a distance, in the event of a battle, the enemy’s own ships were very poorly distinguished.
The king summoned a ideas competition and triumphed the bicolor flag, red and yellow. These colors have been maintained throughout history, although also and during the second republic one more color was added, the purple, which symbolized Castile.
Currently the flag of Spain has three horizontal stripes, being the ends are banded in red Y the center and double thickness in yellow.
In the left side, the National emblem, where Castilla, León, Aragón, Navarra and Granada are represented. They also present the image of two columns, those of Hercules one on each side of the shield, one of the columns represents Gibraltar and the other Ceuta. A red band borders the columns with the inscription Plus Ultra (beyond), recalling the discovery of America and replacing the old motto of NON PLUS ULTRA, worn by the Catholic kings.
At least the flag has its history, because let’s remember that the Spanish anthem has no official lyrics. Can you be more seedy than us?
History of the flags of the world | Flag of France
The colors of the french flag Red, blue and white, arises as a result of French Revolution. The round insignia, worn by the revolutionaries who in 1789, stormed the BastilleThey were red, blue and white. After the assault on the Bastille was considered the beginning of the Revolution, it was this color that the French wanted to associate with the new France, now republican.
the fringes of the French flag are represented vertically and they are all of the same width, being the band that is furthest to the left the blue one, white occupies the center and red the right part of the flag.
History of the flags of the world | Flag of the United Kingdom
It is also known as Union Jack, is a flag with a long tradition since it has been used since 1603, thanks to King James VI, who, upon becoming King of England, established this flag as a sign of identity. The flag represents both England and Scotland and Wales.
The cross of Saint George, patron saint of England, occupies the central part, represented by a large red cross, which is surrounded by another white cross and all on a white background. The white diagonal cross represents Saint Andrewpatron saint of Scotland, while Ireland, incorporated in 1801 after becoming part of the United Kingdom, is represented by a red diagonal cross, in honor of St. Patrickyour employer.
History of the flags of the world | greek flag
in 1821during the uprising that took place in Greece against the Turks, a blue flag with a white cross drawn, I face the crescent of the Ottoman Empire. From this moment on, the blue flag with a white cross has become part of the Greek people as its hallmark and flag.
The cross that originally was in the center it was changed to the upper left, adding 9 bands 5 blue and 4 white that represent the nine syllables of the revolutionary slogan “Freedom or death” (Elephtheria i Thanatos).
The color blue of the flag, represents the sea as part of the inspiration for the revolt, while the target symbolizes the purity of revolutionary ideas. The cross it is the representation of the Greek Church, the Orthodox Church.
History of the flags of the world | Australia
The National Colonial Flag of Australia was an early attempt to design a specific Australian national flag in 1824; it featured a red cross of Saint George with four eight-pointed stars and the British flag in the upper left corner.
A second Australian Federation flag was designed in 1830, but was never officially used or adopted by the movement to unite Australia between 1880 and the early 1890s; It was very similar to the Colonial National Flag, it featured a blue cross with five eight-pointed stars. This flag remains popular in the East Coat of Australia and is still unofficially flown today.
The Australasian Anti-Transportation League used a flag very similar to the modern flag of Australia between 1849 and 1853.
An unofficial merchant flag was designed in 1850, Van Dieman’s Land Ensign is a field of blue and white stripes with a red cross at the top and the Union Jack at top left center. It was used until 1875 in the colony now known as Tasmania.
The Eureka flag was designed as a symbol of resistance to the gold miners’ revolt at the Battle of Eureka Stockdale in 1854. It is considered a symbol of protest today. It is a dark blue flag with five eight-pointed stars with a horizontal and vertical white line through the stars.
The first modern Australian flag was chosen from a competition in 1901 and was very similar to the flag of the Australasian Anti-Transportation League. It is a blue field with the Union Jack in the upper left, the Commonwealth star in the lower left, and the Southern Cross in the center right.
In 1992 an official flag was designed to represent the Torres Strait Islanders. The Torres Strait Islander flag design has green-black-blue-black-green panels with a white dhari headdress in the center with a pentagram in the center.
This version of Australia’s coat of arms was designed in 1912. It features an ermine-bordered shield divided into six sections. On the left side is a red kangaroo and on the right an emu. Above the shield is a six-pointed star and below is a banner that says “AUSTRALIA.”
The upper left section of the shield is the cross of Saint George with a lion and stars representing New South Wales.
- The top center section is an imperial crown with a southern cross representing Victoria.
- The upper right section is a blue Maltese cross and crown representing Queensland.
- The lower left section has an Australian Piping Shrike representing South Australia.
- The lower center section has a black swan representing Western Australia.
- The lower right section has a red walking lion representing Tasmania.
History of the flags of the world | United States flag
USA It is currently the most powerful country in the world. But it is by no means one of the oldest. On the contrary, many of the other current powers were already hitting the world before the United States was even considered as a country.
In regards to the United States flag itself, it has thirteen red and white horizontal stripes, which represent the thirteen founding states of the country. In the upper right corner there is a blue box in which you can see the 50 stars that represent the 50 states that make up the country. In fact, its national anthem is also closely linked to its flag and is called “Stars and Stripes”.
Needless to say, the first…