|
SPANISH SECOND REPUBLIC
1931-1939
First hoisted in 1931. This flag I like for its purple bar. The colour was derived specifically from the lion rampant in the arms of León.
It is unique amongst modern Spanish flags because the bars are of equal width and because the arms are charged to the centre. Typically the single yellow bar in the centre is as wide as the two red bars combined and the arms are offset to the hoist.
As long as the Republican government presided over Spain, this flag was flown by the government and military. A civilian version existed without the arms. I cannot verify the ratio at this time. As the Civil War broke out in 1936, the areas under rebel jurisdiction of course did not use this flag. The Nationalist rebel leadership was more concerned with winning the war than with picking a flag and thusly did not adopt an official flag right away. When the Republican government fell on 1 April 1939, this flag went with it. More than half a million people had died in the war.
I first came across this flag in a used book store in Madrid in 2004, in a very thuro book on flags of the Civil War. I bot it, and during the time in the capital i got to see a lot more flags! The layout of this website makes obvious the influence this flag has had on me.
The flag of the current Kingdom of Spain is beautiful as well. The lion rampant purple is still in the coat of arms in the second quadrant. Venezuela is the only other country with purple on its flag.
|
|
BHUTAN
since 1969
|
|
EL SALVADOR
since 1912
This basic design, a blue flag with a white bar, dates back to pre-independence Argentina. It was conceived by a General Belgrano who was inspired while looking at the sky before a battle. It became the flag of the Argentine Republic and, soon after, it was flown by vessels from that country making a naval expedition to Central America. The flag was adopted by the United Provinces of Central America and maintained in some form by the five constituent provinces. The shade of blue and emblem in the centre change depending on exactly who is using the banner.
I hav been interested in El Salvador for quite some time, and i am quite fortunate to hav visited twice. One could cross the country by bus for under $3.50 US in 2003, in an afternoon. I spent several days in San Salvador however, exploring.
One variation of this flag that i like used by the government. Instead of the state emblem in the white bar, the words DIOS UNION LIBERTAD appear in yellow. It is the state motto, God Union Liberty. In this form, I remember seeing the flag as a patch on the sleeves of security officers.
|
|
MOÇAMBIQUE
1975-1983
...
|
|
LESOTHO
1987-2006
This one is fabulous.
This flag was adopted by a military junta who overthrew the ruling party in 1987. The white half of the flag stands for peace, but the brown charge stands for defense.
The brown charge does resemble a person. But in fact it is an assegai and knobkerrie in saltire, charged with a traditional Basotho shield with plumed spine.
The colours of this flag hav always stood out in my mind. Also that the blue bend is abased, allowing the white portion to take up half the flag.
I was disappointed to learn in 2006 that the government was changing the flag. The new one is a more common horizontal tricolour, using the same colours except that the brown shield is replaced by a black Basotho hat. It is a great hat tho.
|
|
THAILAND
1916-7
From the early 19th century, flags of this Siam hav been a red field charged with a white elephant. Sometimes other charges were used in conjunction with the elephant.
In 1916, King Vajiravut was visiting an area of the country that had been devastated by floods. He saw several of the red white-elephant flags, but one was hoisted upside down. This caused the King much distress.
He decided that to avoid such an error the flag should be changed to a design that could not be hung upside down. He chose a red field with two white bars.
This may be a vexillogical myth, but i really like it. It is a story that exemplifies how alike we humans are. I don't imagine the King was having a great day, seeing his nation in despair. Perhaps the upside down flag was the only thing he could really control. It does seem that completely changing the national flag over a single error is drastic. There is obviously a lot more to the story.
In 1917, in solidarity with the Allies, the central red bar was made blue. This tricolour became known as Trairanga and the country changed its name to Thailand. It was not lost on the Thai artists and politicians that many of the western bloc countries had red-white-blue flags. A fact that holds true today.
|
|
NAURU
since 1968
The Nauruan flag is almost a map. The single-island republic is 21 square km, situated in the Pacific Ocean, 53 km south of the Equator, and is west of the International Dateline.
The twelve-pointed star represents the customary amount of tribes on the island. They are of Polynesian and Micronesian decent and speak a distinct Pacific Island language called Nauruan.
Nauruan is a palindrome.
The island was plundered by foreign mining companies for is phosphate starting a century ago. The barren-like conditions it created in four-fifths of the land has reduced rainfall as well as agricultural options. Runoff from the phosphate industry killed a substantial portion of marine life around the island.
The country is so small geographically that when i search for images of it online, i get images of the entire country and little else. It is the smallest independent republic on Earth; the only state without a capital; and has the highest smoking rate amongst countries. Of 13 500 residents, 54% smoke. Its nearest neighbour is 300 km away, an island called Banaba in the Republic of Kiribati.
|
|
