Everything about Flag Of The Netherlands totally explained
The
flag of the Netherlands is a horizontal
tricolour of
red,
white, and
blue. Introduced in 1572, it's one of the first tricolours and the oldest
tricolour still in use today. The
flag of France changed from an original horizontal design to vertical bands to avoid confusion with the Dutch flag. Since 1937, the flag is officially the
national flag of the
Netherlands and the
Kingdom of the Netherlands .
Description
The
national flag of the
Netherlands is a
tricolour flag. The horizontal
fesses are bands of equal size in the colours, from top to bottom,
red (bright
vermilion),
white (
silver), and
blue (
cobalt blue). The flag proportions (width:length) are 2:3.
History
Flag of the 7 Provinces]]
The Prince's Flag]]
Cross of Burgundy Flag
The current flag wasn't the country's first flag. When, at the end of the 15th century, the majority of the Netherlands provinces were united under one lord, one common flag came into use for joint expeditions. This was the banner of the Lord of
Burgundy, which consisted of a white field charged with two bundles of red laurel branches in the form of an X, with flames issuing from the intersection: the
Cross of Burgundy. Under the later
House of Austria, this flag remained in use.
The Prince's Flag
The provinces of the Low Countries, however, rose in revolt against King
Philip II of Spain, and the
Prince of Orange placed himself at the head of the rebels. The
Watergeuzen (pro-independence
privateers), acting on his instructions, harassed the enemy everywhere they could and they did this under a tricolour
Orange White Blue (
"Orange Blanche Bleu", or in Dutch: "Oranje Wit Blauw"/"Oranje Blanje Bleu"), the colours of the Prince's coat of arms. It was thus a flag easily associated with the leader of the rebellion, and the association was also expressed in the name: "the Prince's Flag." In an atlas of Kittensteyn, the first Red White and Blue flag can be seen on a painting imaging a battle between the
Watergeuzen and the Spaniards. This date was early on in the
Eighty Years' War, the Dutch war of independence. Hence 1572 is the official year of the introduction of this banner. This was commemorated in the Netherlands by the issue of a post stamp in 1972.
The flag had three, sometimes six or even nine horizontal stripes, but also took the form of rays projecting from a circle. The colours were used without any fixed order and it was only towards the end of the 16th century that any degree of uniformity appeared. After 1630, the orange stripe was gradually replaced by a red one, as paintings of that time indicate. Since there was likely no political reason for introducing a non-orange motive in the flag, the probable reason is that orange and blue are faint colors and more difficult to distinguish than red and dark blue, especially at sea. Another explanation is that the orange was originally made of natural/herbal yellow and red. The yellow colour faded out first, leaving a red strip.
The orange-white-blue flag, however, continued to be flown as well and in later times formed the basis for the former
South African flag. It is also the basis for the
flag of New York City. In addition to the two main flags, a third official flag, that of the
States-General, came into being, although it never assumed the importance of the tricolour. Originally it consisted of the red lion of the province of
Holland, taken from its coat of arms, on a gold field, holding a sword and seven arrows, and later, of a gold lion on a red field.(See the page on the
Coat of arms of the Netherlands.) It marked no contradistinction to the Prince's flag and, in old paintings of ships and sea battles, both flags may be seen flying harmoniously side by side, thus illustrating the complex form of government with its two centres of authority: the
Stadtholder (who was always a member of the
House of Orange) and the States General.
Red-white-blue
The revolution in the Netherlands, in the last decade of the 18th century, and the conquest by the
French also resulted in another flag. The name "Prince's Flag" was forbidden. There came no change in the red-white-blue (colours to which the French "liberators" were kindly disposed, analogous as they were to
their own tricolour), but in 1796 the red division of the flag was embellished with the figure of a Netherlands maiden, with a lion at her feet, in the upper left corner. In one hand she bore a shield with the
Roman fasces and in the other a lance crowned with the
cap of liberty. This flag had a life as short as that of the
Batavian Republic for which it was created.
Louis Bonaparte, made
king of Holland by his brother the Emperor
Napoleon, wished to pursue a purely Dutch policy and to respect national sentiments as much as possible. He removed the maiden of freedom from the flag and restored the old tricolour. His pro-Dutch policies led to conflicts with his brother, however, and the Netherlands were incorporated into the French Empire. Its flag was replaced by the imperial emblems.
In 1813, the Netherlands regained its independence and the Prince of Orange returned to the country from
England. In order to demonstrate the attachment of the people to the House of Orange, the orange-white-blue and the red-white-blue fluttered together on the roofs. Which of the two flags should be the national flag was left undecided. Until recently, both had the same rights, although the red-white-blue was generally given precedence. This is apparent from the fact that it wasn't only hoisted on public buildings but also chosen by the first King as his personal standard, showing the national coat of arms on the white stripes. From the same period dates the custom, prescribed spontaneously by popular will, to fly an orange pennant together with the national flag as a sign of allegiance of the people to the House of Orange. The pennant is added on
Queen's day (Dutch:
Koninginnedag, April 30) or other festive occasions related to the Royal Family.
On
February 19 1937, a Royal Decree issued by
Queen Wilhelmina finally laid down the red, white and blue colours as the national flag (heraldic colours of bright vermilion, white and cobalt blue). She did this as a response to fascist activists, who claimed the Kingdom should use another flag.
Further Information
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