social/political

Anguilla 1

Anguilla

The national flag of Anguilla, a British overseas territory, consists of a Blue Ensign with the British flag in the canton, charged with the coat of arms of Anguilla in the fly. The coat of arms consists of three dolphins in a circular formation, which were featured on the earlier Anguillan flag, and which stand for friendship, wisdom and strength. The white in the background stands for peace, and the light blue represents the sea, as well as faith, youth, and hope.

Spain 2

Spain

The origin of the current flag of Spain is the naval ensign of 1785, Pabellón de la Marina de Guerra under Charles III of Spain. It was chosen by Charles III himself among 12 different flags designed by Antonio Valdés y Bazán (all proposed flags were presented in a drawing which is in the Naval Museum of Madrid). The flag remained marine-focused for much of the next 50 years, flying over coastal fortresses, marine barracks and other naval property. During the Peninsular War the flag could also be found on marine regiments fighting inland. Not until 1820 was the first Spanish land unit (The La Princesa Regiment) provided with one and it was not until 1843 that Queen Isabella II of Spain made the flag official.

South Africa 3

South Africa

The flag has horizontal bands of red (on the top) and blue (on the bottom), of equal width, separated by a central green band which splits into a horizontal “Y” shape, the arms of which end at the corners of the hoist side (and follow the flag’s diagonals). The “Y” embraces a black isosceles triangle from which the arms are separated by narrow yellow or gold bands; the red and blue bands are separated from the green band and its arms by narrow white stripes. The stripes at the fly end are in the 5:1:3:1:5 ratio. Three of the flag’s colors were taken from the Flag of the South African Republic and the Union Jack, while the remaining three colors were taken from the flag of the African National Congress.

Rwanda 4

Rwanda

The flag of Rwanda (Kinyarwanda: ibendera ry’Urwanda) was adopted on October 25, 2001.

The flag has three colours: blue, green and yellow. The blue band represents happiness and peace, the yellow band symbolizes economic development, and the green band symbolizes the hope of prosperity. The yellow sun represents enlightenment.

The new flag represents national unity, respect for work, heroism, and confidence in the future. It was adopted to avoid connotations to the 1994 genocide. The flag was designed by Alphonse Kirimobenecyo.

Romania 5

Romania

The national flag of Romania is a tricolor with vertical stripes, beginning from the flagpole: blue, yellow and red.

The flag is coincidentally very similar to the civil flag of Andorra and the state flag of Chad. The similarity with Chad’s flag, which is identical apart from allowing a broader range of shades of blue, yellow and red, has caused international discussion. In 2004, Chad asked the United Nations to examine the issue, but then-president of Romania Ion Iliescu announced no change would occur to the flag. The flag of Moldova is related to the Romanian tricolor, except it has a 1:2 ratio, a lighter shade of blue, a slightly different tint of yellow, and the Moldovan coat of arms in the middle.

During the 1970s and 1980s, with Protochronism receiving official endorsement, it was claimed that red, yellow and blue were found on late 16th-century royal grants of Michael the Brave, as well as shields and banners. The colors have attributed to them the following meanings: “Liberty (sky-blue), Justice (field yellow), Fraternity (blood red)”.

Oman 6

Oman

Until 1975, Oman used the plain red banner of the indigenous people. In 1970, the Sultan introduced a complete new set of national flags. Bands of green and white were added to the fly, and the national emblem, the badge of the Albusaidi Dynasty, was placed in the canton. This depicts crossed swords over a khanjar, a traditional curved dagger. White has been associated historically with the Imam, the religious leader of Oman, and at times the political rival to the ruling Sultan. It also symbolizes peace. Green is traditionally associated with the Jabal al-Akdar, or “Green Mountains,” which lie toward the north of the country. Red is a common color in Gulf state flags. The national emblem is said to date back to the 18th century. A curved dagger is fastened over a pair of crossed swords. An ornate horsebit links the weapons.

Nicaragua 7

Nicaragua

The two Azure bands on the flag and the arms of Nicaragua in use today are the most similar to those used by the United Provinces of Central America. The triangle, volcanoes, rising sun, Cap of Liberty, and rainbow all appeared on the original emblem. The coat of arms used today contains the name of the state, Republica de Nicaragua, whereas in 1823 the title was Provincias Unidas del Centro de America. The decision to revert to the emblems used by the United Provinces of Central America was taken in 1908 and reflected Nicaragua’s aspirations for the rebirth of the political entity formed by the 5 nations. Except for the text around the arms, the flag is very similar to that of the United Provinces of Central America. The 5 volcanoes represent the original 5 member states, the Cap of Liberty represents national freedom, and the rays of the sun and the rainbow are symbolic of the bright future to come.

Namibia 8

Namibia

The chairman explained the symbolism of the flag’s colors as follows:

Red – represents Namibia’s most important resource, its people. It refers to their heroism and their determination to build a future of equal opportunity for all.
White – represents peace and unity.
Green – symbolises vegetation and agricultural resources.
Blue – represents the clear Namibian sky and the Atlantic Ocean, the country’s precious water resources and rain.
Golden-yellow sun – life and energy

Mali 9

Mali

The national flag of Mali is a tricolour with three equal vertical stripes. From the hoist the colours are green, gold, and red, the pan-African colours. The flag of Mali is almost identical to the flag of Guinea, with the exception that the colours are in reverse order.

The green stands for fertility of the land, gold stands for purity and mineral wealth, and the red symbolizes the blood shed for independence from the French.

The current flag was adopted on March 1, 1961. The original flag was adopted on April 4, 1959, when Mali joined the Mali Federation. This flag was the same, except the golden stripe had a human stick figure, a kanaga, in black, with arms raised to the sky. The figure was removed due to the opposition, in a country whose population is 90% Muslim.

Kosovo 10

Kosovo

The flag of Kosovo has a blue background, charged with a map of Kosovo and six stars. The stars are officially meant to symbolize Kosovo’s six major ethnic groups: Albanians, Serbs, Bosniaks, Turks, Romani, and Gorani. Unofficially, the stars are sometimes said to represent the six regions, which according to Albanian ultra nationalist ideology, make up Greater Albania: Albania, Kosovo, western parts of North Macedonia, parts of northern Greece, parts of Montenegro and Preševo Valley in southern Serbia. The flag of Kosovo resembles that of Bosnia and Herzegovina in terms of colors and shapes used (white stars and yellow shape of the country on a blue field). The flag is unusual among national flags in using a map as a design element; the flag of Cyprus is the only other to do so.

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