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Flag of Ecuador
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The flag of Ecuador, which consists of horizontal bands of yellow (double width), blue and red, was adopted on September 26, 1860. It is very similar to that of Colombia and Venezuela, which are also former constituent territories of Gran Colombia. All three are based on a proposal by Ecuadorian General Francisco de Miranda, which was adopted by Venezuela in 1811 and later Gran Colombia with some modifications.
Design and symbolism
Miranda ascribed the colours he chose for his flag to Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's theory of primary colours. In a letter written to Count Semyon Romanovich Vorontsov in 1792, Miranda described a late-night conversation which he had with Goethe at a party in Weimar, Germany during the winter of 1785. Fascinated with Miranda's account of his exploits in the American Revolutionary War and his travels throughout the Americas and Europe, Goethe told him that, "Your destiny is to create in your land a place where primary colours are not distorted. He proceeded to clarify what he meant:
Coat of arms
The elements of the coat of arms of Ecuador have the following meanings:
The condor: Power and Courage
The landscape: The Chimborazo volcano and the Guayas River
The boat: The Guayas, a historic ship of the Ecuadorian Navy
The sun: Ecuador's pre-Columbian heritage
The Zodiac: The Marcist Revolution
Palm and Laurel leaves: Peace and Dignity
Meaning of the colors
The colors of the modern Ecuadorian flag evolved from those of the flag of the nation of Gran Colombia, which encompassed the territories of modern-day Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela. The colors have the following meanings:
Yellow: The country's mineral and agricultural wealth, and its extensive natural resources
Blue: The ocean, and the clear and clean Ecuadorian skies
Red: The blood spilled by the heroes who died in the name of their countrymen's Fatherland and Freedom.
It should be noted that the exact shades of the flag's colors are not coded in any laws or decrees, and may vary slightly, but have generally settled on the colors seen on this page.
History
After the territory of Ecuador was conquered by Sebastian de Benalcazar, the emblems of the Spanish Empire, including the Cross of Burgundy Flag, flew over the newly founded city of Quito.
The first calls for independence from the Spanish crown came on August 10, 1809; a reversed form of the Cross of Burgundy flag was flown by the rebels. The independence movement was defeated in November 1812 at the hands of Spanish officer Juan Samano. On October 9, 1820, a new flag, a blue and white bicolour, with five horizontal alternating stripes, and three white stars in the middle stripe, was raised for the first time. This flag was later adopted by the Guayas Province.
Gabriel Garcia Moreno, upon assuming power two days after the Battle of Guayaquil in September 1860, declared that "The bicolour has been shamed out of treason and bears a washproof stain. Let the old Equatorian flag, sealed with heroes' blood, be forever consecrated as the people's ensign and the pride of our national glories". The yellow, blue and red triband was returned to use; its reinstatement on September 26, 1860 is commemorated during Ecuador's national flag day. In 1900, the flag was made the definitive national standard, and was charged with the coat of arms for official state use.
| Evolution of the Ecuadorian Flag | ||
| Spanish Colonial Flag 1534-1820 |
' | The Cross of Burgundy flag of the Spanish colonial empire flew over Ecuador for many years. |
| Flag of the Quitenan Revolution' 1809-1812 |
' | The leaders of a rebellion against the Spanish authorities raised a reversed Cross of Burgundy flag in Quito on August 10, 1809. The uprising was defeated in 1812. |
| First National Flag' 1820-1822 |
A flag with five horizontal stripes and three stars in the middle stripe. This flag subsequently became that of the Guayas Province, and was first raised by the patriots in the liberation of October 9, 1820. | |
| Second National Flag 1822 |
The previous flag was changed by decree of 2 June 1822: "The flag of the free province of Guayaquil shall be white and its first quarter blue with a centered star." | |
| Third National Flag 1822-1845 |
Ecuador was subsumed into Gran Colombia, during which time the Colombian horizontal tricolour became definitive. Although Ecuador seceded from that union in 1830, the flag was retained until 1845. | |
| Fourth National Flag 1845 |
During the 1845 Marcist Revolution the pale blue and white colours return, but as a vertical tricolour of white, blue, white, with three white stars in the central stripe. | |
| Fifth National Flag 1845-1860 |
The Cuenca Convention ratified, by decree of 6 November 1845, a change to a deeper blue, and the increase in the number of stars to seven "as symbols of the seven provinces which make up the Republic". | |
| Sixth National Flag 1860-present |
Gabriel Garcia Moreno, upon assuming power two days after the Battle of Guayaquil, reinstated the tricolor flag of Greater Colombia on September 26, 1860. In 1900, the flag was made the definitive national standard, and the coat of arms was added for official state use. | |
Variants
According to No. 1272, a decree signed into law on December 5, 1900, Ecuador's state flag and ensign are to be charged with Ecuador's coat of arms, whereas the civil flag and ensign are not. However, in practice the state flag is often used in place of the civil flag, especially when it is important to distinguish the latter from the identically-colored but differently-proportioned flag of Colombia.
Unlike the civil and state flags, the civil and war ensigns have 2:3 proportions. The war ensign is charged with the coat of arms, whereas the civil ensign is not.
A special flag is used by the President of Ecuador; it has 1:1 proportions.
While the distinction between state and civil flags and ensigns is coded in Ecuadorian law, the proportions, exact colors, size of the coat of arms, and manner or capacity in which the flag may be displayed, are not.
Resemblance to other flags
The flags of Ecuador, Colombia, and Venezuela, can all trace their roots to the flag of the nation of Gran Colombia (18191830), the short-lived republic that encompassed the territories of all three. The Gran Colombian flag in turn was inspired by the flag of the First Republic of Venezuela, the first independent government of that nation, which created after the overthrow of the Spanish authorities and the establishment of a junta in Caracas in 1810. The flag of the Venezuelan Republic was modeled on the one created earlier by General Francisco de Miranda during his attempts to gain Venezuelan independence and which first flew over the port of La Vela in Santa Ana de Coro, Venezuela, in 1806.
Internationally, the Ecuadorian flag is flown with the nation's seal in the center, to distinguish it from the flag of Colombia, with which it shares all other aspects except for its proportions.
External links
Patriotic Symbols of Ecuador (in Spanish)
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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Flag of Ecuador
