Flag of Colombia: gold, sea and blood spilled for freedom

The topic of this article is the flag of Colombia. His photo shows us the national colors, but can not convey an interesting story of the origin of this tricolor, nor reveal its symbolism. Because you have to turn to words. We will also tell you about the national emblem of Colombia. Many countries have, apart from national symbols, their own heraldic animal, tree or flower. This Latin American country is not an exception. We will also touch on the history of the Colombian city with the interesting name Armenia.

A Brief History of Colombia

The path that the country has made from the Spanish colony to an independent republic is quite long. In short, the history of this country is as follows. Only the third time, sending an entire army of conquistadors, Spain was able to conquer these lands. They called a huge colony, which included the territory of not only modern Colombia, but also Venezuela, Panama and Ecuador, New Grenada. The struggle for independence never abated, but in 1809, she received an unexpected support from the troops of Napoleon Bonaparte. July 20, 1810, the former colony proclaimed self-government. All attempts by Spain to return the rebellious lands were unsuccessful. In 1819, a new independent country was proclaimed - the Great Columbia. Its name she received in honor of the great pioneer of America. The flag of Colombia at that time represented three horizontal stripes of yellow, blue and red colors.

Little successor

A large country called Great Colombia lasted only a short time, only eleven years. Already in 1830, Venezuela and Ecuador separated from it, and at the beginning of the 20th century Panama did the same. However, Colombia retained the name of the once vast state. But no one called her Great. By the way, the flag of Colombia has undergone only minor changes. But the state banners of Ecuador and Venezuela have changed, although they carry the three basic colors of the once great power (red, yellow and blue). Many countries, which have tricolors in their national symbols, are of the same size. Venezuela also went along the same path, aligning the ribbons of its national symbol.

What does the Colombian flag look like now?

After a series of civil wars, coups, the renaming of the state in the United States of Colombia, in 1886, Republicans came to power who adopted the Constitution. The current flag of Colombia was approved several decades earlier - November 26, 1861. It looks like a cloth divided by three horizontal stripes. Upper, yellow, twice as wide as the rest. It takes, respectively, the entire half of the banner. It is followed by blue (central) and red (lower) bands. There are several interpretations of these colors. The most common is: yellow (gold) is the wealth of the country, blue is the sea (Colombia is washed by the waters of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans), and red is the blood shed by the people for independence and freedom. The proportions of the cloth are traditional - two to three.

Other national symbols

The text of the national anthem was written by Rafael Nunez, and the music by Oreste Sindici. It was approved by the government in 1920. The coat of arms, adopted in 1834, is a shield divided into three parts. The bottom shows two ships. The middle part is the Phrygian cap (the symbol of the republican government) and the two horns of abundance, with coins and fruits. The top of the coat of arms is a condor, a bird that inhabits the Andes. He holds an olive branch in his beak. Along with the anthem of the Republic of Colombia, the flag and the coat of arms are its national symbols and require respect. At the same time, there is a national flower of the country. It is the orchid of Cattleya Trianae, an endemic in the wild not found anywhere else, except in Colombia. The national animal is a condor. Although this bird and scavenger, it causes admiration for its size and strength. There is also a national tree in Colombia. This is a wax palm. Graceful tree reaches a height of 70 meters and is longevity.

Coffee Capital

Do you know that the flag of Colombia and Armenia can look almost the same? The whole point is how to turn it over. The Armenian flag has a color layout "on the contrary": red from above, blue in the middle and yellow from below. But in the case when the last geographical name refers not to the Caucasian country, but to the city, the flag looks different. This name appeared on the map of Colombia in 1889. The city received its name from a vast estate founded by Armenian settlers. For some time he had a different name. But after the genocide of 1915, when about a million Armenians were killed in Turkey, the settlement was returned to its original name. Now it is the capital of the department of Kindio. It is famous for its coffee plantations. His flag is also a tricolor, only the colors are different there than the countries - green, white, yellow.