Of course that your country didn´t kept alaways the same flags. I only know mine.
1st Flag(1128-1248)

The second flag(1248-1640) with the Portuguese national symbol

The third one (1640-1816).

The number four (1816-1824) wich was the period of greatest expansion of Portugal(this is the flag of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Algarve, Brazil and Africa)

.

Sorry it was a mistake above
The fifth one (1824-1910)

The last flag (1910-) that have red (to represent the blood of our soldiers), the green (of hope) and the national coat of arms.
Well, what did you think?
If you can show the flags from your country please do it.

The Flag of the United States of America

1777-1795
http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/u/us-1777.gif

1795-1818
http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/u/us-1795.gif

1818-1819
http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/u/us-1818.gif

1819-1820
http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/u/us-1819.gif

1820-1822
http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/u/us-1820.gif

1822-1836
http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/u/us-1822.gif

1836-1837
http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/u/us-1836.gif

1837-1845
http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/u/us-1837.gif

1845-1846
http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/u/us-1845.gif

1846-1847
http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/u/us-1846.gif

The Flag of the United States of America: Act II

1847-1848
http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/u/us-1847.gif

1848-1851
http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/u/us-1848.gif

1851-1858
http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/u/us-1851.gif

1858-1859
http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/u/us-1858.gif

1859-1861
http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/u/us-1859.gif

1861-1863
http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/u/us-1861.gif

1863-1865
http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/u/us-1863.gif

1865-1867
http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/u/us-1865.gif

1867-1877
http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/u/us-1867.gif

1877-1890
http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/u/us-1877.gif

The Flag of the United States of America: Act III

1890-1891
http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/u/us-1890.gif

1891-1896
http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/u/us-1891.gif

1896-1908
http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/u/us-1896.gif

1908-1912
http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/u/us-1908.gif

1912-1959
http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/u/us-1912.gif

1959-1960
http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/u/us-1959.gif

1960-Present Day
http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/u/us.gif

Should The United States of America Acquire a 51st State
http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/u/us-51st.gif

That 51st coulbe Iraq?(joking) I didn't realized that the US had so many flags

Well, I'll only cover the flags of Germany since the unification of 1871.

The Imperial flag (1871-1918):
http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/d/de1871.gif

The Weimar Republic (1919-1933) already used this flag that was also adopted by the Federal Republic and is still in use today:

http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/d/de.gif

From 1933 to 1945 the following, now banned, flag was the official German flag:

http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/d/de~1933.gif

The German Democratic Republic (1949-1990) used the following variation of the black-red-gold flag:

http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/d/de-ddr.gif

Originally posted by Rolo Master
That 51st coulbe Iraq?(joking) I didn't realized that the US had so many flags

Actually, I read the US Heraldry institute has layouts already planned for up to 56 states!:crazyeye:

I'll try to find them.:)

http://members.aol.com/wlldrebel/starsbars.gif
1861-1863

http://members.aol.com/wlldrebel/confed2.gif
1863-1865

http://members.aol.com/wlldrebel/confed3.gif
1865

:lol: No, I don't consider myself a Confederate citizen nor I consider any that do to possess intelligence. But I really, really, really could not resist.....

The Dutch tricolour was first used in the second half of the 16th century when the Dutch provinces revolted against Spain. Their leader was Prince William of Orange. The flag was named "Prinsenvlag" ("Princeflag") after him. At first the flag was orange-white-blue, but later the orange stripe became red.

http://flagspot.net/images/n/nl_prc11.jpg


http://www.flags-by-swi.com/fotw/images/nl.gif

Only in the early days of French occupation (when Holland was the Batavian Republic, 1795-1806) a horizontal red-white-blue flag existed with a canton showing the "Virgin of Holland":

http://flagspot.net/images/n/nl-batr.gif

When the frech left the Netherlands once agian adopted it's flag from the 16th century, red white and bue, one of the most beautifull flags in the world of course.

And to show our loyalty to our royal family it has been a tradition since than to have an orange Cravette above our tricolore. Our royal family are named "van orange nassau".

http://www.flags-by-swi.com/fotw/images/nl-orang.gif

Amenhotep7,

Dude how could you ignore the Betsy Ross flag!

EDIT: Does the color officially change from blue to dark blue???

I'm sure many of you are not aware, but Puerto Ricans have their own statehood flag that they fly at rallies.

I think better than the other 51 star flag.

I didn't realized that the US had so many flags

O yes. Our system is to have one star for each state. Considering our fast expansion, we constantly had to change it!:crazyeye:

@Mr. Black I wanted the Betsy Ross flag, but I couldn't find it on the US flag page on Flags of the World.:blush:

Bah! That flag's layout is simply too busy! The whole circle thing worked with 13 stars, but 51? The stars are too small! :p

The Evolution of the Canadian Flag - Part 1

1497 - 1533
http://flagspot.net/images/g/gb-eng.gif


1534 - early 1760's
http://www.pch.gc.ca/progs/cpsc-ccsp/images/flag_old_fleur_d_l.gif


Early 1760's - 1801
http://flagspot.net/images/g/gb-1606.gif


1801 - 1867
http://flagspot.net/images/g/gb.gif


1867 - 1870
http://flagspot.net/images/c/ca-1868.gif


1870 - 1873
http://flagspot.net/images/c/ca-1870u.gif

The Evolution of the Canadian Flag - Part 2

1873 - 1892
http://flagspot.net/images/c/ca-1873u.gif


1892 - 1907
http://flagspot.net/images/c/ca-1896u.gif


1907 - 1920's
http://flagspot.net/images/c/ca-1907.gif


1920's - 1957
http://flagspot.net/images/c/ca-21-re.gif


1957 - 1965
http://bcoy1cpb.pacdat.net/Red_Ensign_decal.jpg


1965 - present-day
http://www.world-gazetteer.com/fl/fl_ca.gif

Here's the flag that Western Canadian Seperatists (British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan) would use if they succeed in gaining independence. I know it doesn't have much to do with the evolution of the Canadian flag, but it looks nice. :)
http://flagspot.net/images/c/ca_wreg.gif

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid60/pc7b202fdca4ec200cf95abe4c2929c06/fc42d86d.jpg

Acording to legend, this flag fell from the sky during a medieval battle between Denmark and Estonia. It gave us victory, and has been our flag ever since. I think it's the oldest national flag still in use.

Your nation's flag is hosted by tripod, eh?;)

What is trippod?

I wrote "Dannebrog" (Danish name for our flag) on google and it came up with this.
What exactly are you trying to say?

Originally posted by storealex
http://dave_bull.tripod.com/denmark/den09.jpg

Acording to legend, this flag fell from the sky during a medieval battle between Denmark and Estonia.

The Aliens that lost their flag when visiting earth in their UFO are still looking.. :cool:

The picture that you used probably came from a tripod webpage. Your flag won't show, because tripod.com won't let you.
Is this what you were looking for?
http://www.agicoa.org/images/danmarkd.gif

:rotfl: This is great! He doesn't see the image we see, Ossric!:lol:

I think what he needs is a screenshot!:cool:

Edit: Now it works, storealex.:)

Ahhh, now I get it. Mabye it's because I use Mozilla instead of explorer. I have changed the picture now.

The German coulors are black, red and gold. These coulors have their origin in the uniforms of the Lützowsches Freicorps. This militia unit of volunteers fought in the liberation wars against Napoleon. They wore black uniforms with red inlay and golden buttons. Later the students and the Paulskirchen constitution wanted this as flag. When Bismarck finally unified Germany his king and now emperor didn´t want to take that colours. So it was now black, white and red. Black and white were the colours of Prussia while white and red were the coulours of the Hanse. In 1919 the coulor changed, but the old flag remained as optional flag. The Nazis changed that until 1949 when the old flag was retaken as flag. However in sports the German sportsmen in some disciplines still wear the old coulours of 1871. And the soccer player still have the Prussian colours.

Adler

France :

Here are several French flags I've found.

http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/f/fr_orifl.gif

~800 AD : Charlemagne's Oriflamme banner. (shared with Germany).



http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/f/fr-slys.gif

~1100 AD : "Azur semé de lys d'Or". The website says it was already the Philippe II's Royal flag, however, I've also heard somwhere it's been imported from Florence by the Medicis family.



http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/f/fr-3b.gif

~1365 AD : Modified by Charles V to honour the Holy Trinity.



http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/f/fr~mr2.gif

~1638 AD : Modified by Louis XIII. The White is then the Royal Colour.



http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/f/fr_roys.gif

~1750 AD : Royal Coat of Arms. It doesn't replace the last one, it's the symbol of the King.



http://mapage.noos.fr/marla2/france.gif

1794 AD - Today : The flag of the French Democracy, adopted at the real birth of France.



http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/e/eun.gif

Future ? The European Union's flag - As a member of it.

If you count the Vichy regime, then this was the national flag of Vichy France. It was never recognized by an Allied nation and the Free French eventually punished all collaborators.

1940-1945
http://www.civfanatics.net/uploads7/VichyFrance.gif


By the way, I prefer the non-circle 51 star US flag. The stars have been in an array for so long, lets keep it that way. Possible 51st state? Puerto Rico?

Originally posted by RegentMan
If you count the Vichy regime, then this was the national flag of Vichy France. It was never recognized by an Allied nation and the Free French eventually punished all collaborators.

1940-1945Well I'm sorry RegentMan but I can't see your flag. However, I'm sorry to desappoint you but the French flag hasn't changed during the occupation. You have certainly posted Philippe Pétain's standard, but it had never been the flag of the country, it had never represented anything else than Pétain.

If you don't believe me because as a French I'm a corrupted liar, here's a good anglo-saxon website which is telling it better than me : Flags of the World (http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/fr-etatf.html)

The same could be said about the so-called Free France's flag with the Cross of Lorraine on it. It was De Gaulle's Flag, but the French flag remained the tricolore flag. Of course, as you've been educated in US schools, it's not your fault if you're an ignorant being convinced to know everything. Here's a picture of De Gaulle's flag :

http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/f/fr-ffl.gif

So no, I'm sorry but there's no flag missing in my list. Or if it's the case, it's certainly not after 1794. Another important information for people who obviously don't know about what they are talking about... Vichy has fallen in 1944, not in 1945.

Originally posted by Marla_Singer
So no, I'm sorry but there's no flag missing in my list. Or if it's the case, it's certainly not after 1794. Another important information for people who obviously don't know about what they are talking about... Vichy has fallen in 1944, not in 1945.
I wasn't trying to prove that you were missing a flag. I just wanted to show Vichy France's flag for those who were curious (apparently you don't recognize the regime). And it's true Vichy itself fell in 1944, but Petain and company fled to Germany. I consider the end of Vichy France when the country it took refuge in surrendered.

Originally posted by RegentMan
I wasn't trying to prove that you were missing a flag. I just wanted to show Vichy France's flag for those who were curious (apparently you don't recognize the regime). And it's true Vichy itself fell in 1944, but Petain and company fled to Germany. I consider the end of Vichy France when the country it took refuge in surrendered. You persist in the mistake. The flag hasn't changed during the occupation. It's not my fault ! The only flag considered as representing Vichy is the standard of Philippe Pétain, however, it's not a national flag, it's the standard of one guy. Do you understand the difference ? It was explained pretty clearly on the website.

If you want a comparison, this is the United Kingdom's flag :

http://www.flags.net/elements/gif_flags/UNKG001.GIF


And this is the standard of HM The Queen :

http://mapage.noos.fr/marla2/queen.gif


By the way, would you say Saddam's regime has holded untill December 2003 because we had to wait then to catch him ? What are those kind of stupid considerations you have ?

Can anyone see the flags above in Marla's post above, because I can't (and I'm a curious to see the Queen's flag)

Originally posted by Mongoloid Cow
Can anyone see the flags above in Marla's post above, because I can't (and I'm a curious to see the Queen's flag) There it is : UK's Royal Standards (http://www.flags.net/UNKG2.htm)

Wow. All respect I had for you is out the window now. I obviously don't have near the knowledge about France and her history that you do. I'm sorry if I got the national flag and the standard of one man messed up. Thanks for assuming that I did this just because you think I'm a brainwashed anti-French American. I'll leave this thread as someone has already posted the flag of my country. Will someone else please continue the topic?

Originally posted by Rolo Master
The last flag (1910-) that have red (to represent the blood of our soldiers), the green (of hope) and the national coat of arms.


The complete description:

The five blue shields represents the five moorish kings defeated by the first King of Portugal at the Battle of Ourique .
The dots inside the blue shields represent the five wounds of Christ when crucified. Counting the dots and doubling those five in the center, there are thirty dots that represents the coins Judas received for having betrayed Christ.

The seven castles represents the fortified cities Dom Afonso Henriques conquered from the moors.

The globe represents the world discovered by the Portuguese navigators in the fifteen and sixteenth centuries (armilliary sphere *).

The green strip is meant to simbolise the hope in the future and the red the blood of the nation’s heroes.


*The armilliary sphere

The armilary sphere is a main element in portuguese heraldry, being incorporated in the modern flag and in a number of historical flags of both Portugal and Brazil.

It was an astronomical and navigation instrument made of wood or metal rings ("armilas") interconnected around a central axe to form parallels, meridians and the ecliptic, allowing to calculate one's position on the earth surface by examining the stars.

It is usualy depicted in heraldry in simplified form, with only one meridian (viewed in a 180 deg. position, as a circle), and only three parallel circles, the equator and the tropics. The ecliptic (sometimes bearing four to six zodiacal signs on it), in descending position on the modern flag's obverse, is usually wider than the other circles. The central axe is also visible, sometimes overlapping the meridian (and in that case we could consider it to be a 0 degrees meridian, viewed as a vertical line...). Anyway, the parallel circles overlap the meridians, and the ecliptic overlaps them all.

Older depictions show usually the instrument's "feet", a rotative "stool", as in a modern classroom globuses, and sometimes a smaller globe in the center or on the North Pole.

The modern version consists of the sphere only, and all the elements are samewhat wider and bearing detailed edges. The width difference between the ecliptic and the other rings is much smaller.

Originally posted by RegentMan
Wow. All respect I had for you is out the window now. I obviously don't have near the knowledge about France and her history that you do. I'm sorry if I got the national flag and the standard of one man messed up. Thanks for assuming that I did this just because you think I'm a brainwashed anti-French American. I'll leave this thread as someone has already posted the flag of my country. Will someone else please continue the topic? RegentMan, I know you didn't expect to do something wrong with that story. However, when we read your first post, it seems you're almost scolding Marla because she was supposed to have hidden from the face of the world 4 years in French History.

Her answer was certainly too agressive, but it was technically true. According to her source which has no reason to not be believed, the French flag didn't change during the occupation.

At the moment, I work with a French guy from Le Havre in Normandy. He's not a lousy chauvinist and I've made several jokes about Vichy France where I was saying that WW2 had revealed what France was really about. Usually, he's even harsher than me about France, but obviously even him, didn't appreciate the joke. He told me France was simply an occupied country during the war, and that if a truth about French people had been revealed then, it wasn't in 1940, it was in 1944 during the liberation, when the whole French people get down in the streets to celebrate the end of that crap with our GI's. Frankly, I didn't know what to answer. I've thought about it during a long time afterwards, and today I think his appreciation is more accurate than mine used to be.

My two cents... It's a bit off topic, but...
It's true that many French people collaborated with Vichy. It's true some of them took part in the deportation of jews.

What WW2 has revealed, is that a country which is overconfident in his superiority, and stick to outdated standard, as France did in 1940: with the "aura" of being THE victor of WWI (I don't say it's true, just that is was seen that way), and so the feeling to be among the strongest army in the world, can be very "disappointed" when the opponent doesn't play by the rules and has developped new tactics. The French army completly collapsed in a few weeks, and so did all the armies that faced the German Blitzkrieg. England was saved only by the channel at that time.

The support for Vichy was not so great. The French continue to fight from their colonies. French troops (although small in size) were among the first to land on the Beaches of Normandy, and the French 2nd Armored Division often spearheaded the Allied forces during the liberation of France.

Beside, a lot of French partisans fought the occupation with the means they had. In 1944, the Interior French Forces were estimated to about 200 000 peoples, that sabotaged German convoy and harrass German forces, denying the Normandy front some vital reinforcement.

Now, back to the topic. There is a small omission in the list of flags for France. During the Napoleonic wars, two Flags were used. The standard one, with three vertical bars and another with a white diamond in the center, with two corners red and two others blue. I'll try to find a picture. This flag was used mainly by the Imperial army, and I'm not sure if it was used in other occasion, but given the importance of Napoleon's army, it's worth noting.

French soldiers wasn't worse than the English, American or Russian at all. England survived because of the channel, Russia because of it's vast lands and huge population.

Actually, French soldiers fought really good as smaller units integrated in the allied forces. This happened in North Africa, in Italy and of course in France it self, and many allied comanders regarded them with high esteem.

Flag of Bosniaks in the Ottoman Empire

http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/b/ba-1760.gif

Flag of Bosnian Revolution Against Ottomans in 1830

http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/b/ba-183x.gif

Independent Bosnia -1878

http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/b/ba-1878a.gif

Bosnia in the Austria-Hungarian Empire

http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/b/ba-1878b.gif

Bosnia in Yugoslavia

http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/b/ba-46.gif

Flag of Independent Bosnia's Official Goverment

http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/b/ba-92.gif

Bosnia Today

http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/b/ba.gif

Originally posted by Mr Black
Amenhotep7,

Dude how could you ignore the Betsy Ross flag!

EDIT: Does the color officially change from blue to dark blue???

no. it has always been dark blue. i believe we had the union jack in our flag in 1776. i'm not sure if one of the the snake flags was ever our national flag(one of these is our naval jack), but I'll post them anyway:

http://www.thebattlezone.com/flags/flagpix/f25-n.jpg

http://www.lst1165.org/dont%20tread%20on%20me%20flag%201.jpg

a site on our naval jack:

http://www.navyjack.info

@Steph:

"There is a small omission in the list of flags for France. During the Napoleonic wars, two Flags were used. The standard one, with three vertical bars and another with a white diamond in the center, with two corners red and two others blue. I'll try to find a picture. This flag was used mainly by the Imperial army, and I'm not sure if it was used in other occasion, but given the importance of Napoleon's army, it's worth noting."

These were military flags and were issued to regiments in 1804. the style was altered in 1812 and again in 1815. Many times the center of the white square listed the battle honors of the particular regiment that carried it: Marengo, Austerlitz, Jena, Waterloo (oops!) etc. I do not believe that this configuration replaced the tricolor of the Revolution. They are shown frequently because much of Napoleon's ceremonial activities had a military orientation.

http://web2.iadfw.net/napoleon/eagles.htm

The first time Brazil had a flag for itself was when we became the United Kingdom of Brazil, Portugal and Algarves. The capital of this Kingdom was Rio de Janeiro, and it was the only time in history where the capital of an european kingdom was in the Americas.
(1816-1821)
http://www.asbandeiras.hpg.ig.com.br/brasil/115reununportbralg.JPG

Then when we becam an independent monarchy in 1822, the Emperor Pedro I decided that the following flag would be the flag of Brazilian Empire
(1822-1889)
http://www.asbandeiras.hpg.ig.com.br/brasil/117imperiodobrasil18221889.JPG

When we became a Republic, in 1889, we adopted a flag that was a cheap imitation of the american flag. Fortunately it lasted very little.
(15 - 19 of November, 1889)
http://www.asbandeiras.hpg.ig.com.br/brasil/118provrepublica.JPG

And now the current one. It changed slightly with time, since we got a new state, Acre, from Bolivia, and we also "prometed" severall territories to states, so they got their stars. But since the changes were small, I'll only post the new one.
(1889-Present)
http://www.asbandeiras.hpg.ig.com.br/brasil/119atual.JPG

@luiz: I thought the stars were a picture of the nights star as seen in Rio the night the Republic was proclaimed. I didn't know that each one represented a state.
Btw, that 1889 one is truly the worst...flag...ever.

@ Rolo Master: There are several flags missing there, and about the first one you posted, there is really no evidence that such flag was ever used, and if it was, it was just for a brief period during the rule of Afonso Henriques.

Originally posted by MCdread
@luiz: I thought the stars were a picture of the nights star as seen in Rio the night the Republic was proclaimed. I didn't know that each one represented a state.
Btw, that 1889 one is truly the worst...flag...ever.


It is a representation of the night in Rio when the Republic was procalimed, but the republicans selected the most bright stars and made each of them represent a state. When new states were added to the Federation, other stars that were also visible from the day of the Proclamation were icluded in the flag.

The way they assigned each flag for ecah state is incredably complicated. For exemple, the onle star above the motto represents the state of Pará, but don't ask me why. I always thought it would be more logical if it represented the Federal Distrcit, but I guess thare are intricate atrological reasons that explain it.

About the 1889 flag, it's truly an awful, awful flag. No wonder it only lasted 4 days.

Oh, and I forgot another thing: there used to be a third word in the banner right? "Ordem, progresso e..."

Originally posted by luiz
The way they assigned each flag for ecah state is incredably complicated. For exemple, the onle star above the motto represents the state of Pará, but don't ask me why. I always thought it would be more logical if it represented the Federal Distrcit, but I guess thare are intricate atrological reasons that explain it.


Maybe the motto represents the equator and parts of Pará are above the equator (but so are other states, or perhaps they were not yet states at the time and Pará was the northernmost full state then). Maybe it a tar from the northern sky, more visible in Pará.

I never heard about a third word in the motto. It was inspired in the Positivist motto of Auguste Comte: L'amour pour principe et l'ordre pour base; le progrès pour but

As for the starts, I found this explaining pic

http://en.wikipedia.org/upload/9/9d/Brasil-flag-stars.jpg

The star that represents the Federal District is Sigma Octantis, and its position near the south celestial pole makes it visible across almost the whole country, year round. Also, given its polar position, all the other stars depicted on the flag trace appear to rotate around Sigma Octantis. Choosing this star to represent Brazil's capital is therefore particularly apt (although it is a much fainter star than any of the others).

I knew there was some kind of astronomical explanation!

Originally posted by MCdread
Maybe the motto represents the equator and parts of Pará are above the equator (but so are other states, or perhaps they were not yet states at the time and Pará was the northernmost full state then). Maybe it a tar from the northern sky, more visible in Pará.

By the time of the Republic we already had Roraima, a state completely above the Equator.
Your second guess seems right, though. the star must be visible all year from Pará, or something along those lines.

Originally posted by luiz

I knew there was some kind of astronomical explanation!

Corrected your sentence. :p

I read that about the third word somewhere a few years ago. But it would be fun "Amor, Ordem e Progresso" ;)

Choosing this star to represent Brazil's capital is therefore particularly apt (although it is a much fainter star than any of the others).


DF is also a much fainter place than most other states. Unless you're on architect :D

Originally posted by MCdread
Corrected your sentence. :p


:blush:
If there's an astronomer here he will be pretty angry with me :p

Well, I'm a physicist. I can be angry with you if required. :cool:

Originally posted by MCdread
Well, I'm a physicist. I can be angry with you if required. :cool:

Let's just forget that I confused the astronomers, who are scientists, for astrologists, who are...charlatains :p :D

Originally posted by storealex
http://students.uni-marburg.de/~Bambach/skandinavien/bilder/ecards/danebrog.jpg

Acording to legend, this flag fell from the sky during a medieval battle between Denmark and Estonia. It gave us victory, and has been our flag ever since. I think it's the oldest national flag still in use.

1219 when Denmark conquered Estonia.

There where propably some hospitaller knights along with the danish army. If you know what I mean!?

deleted

I can't see any of your flags.
All I see is this (without the spaces):
[IMG] ftp://binhuang@fester.engr.uconn.edu/public_html/cn!1500b.gif [/ IMG]
This is an model of ancient Chiense flag, in use since the 1200 BCE. The number of stripes indicate the rank.

[IMG] ftp://binhuang@fester.engr.uconn.edu/public_html/cn_1890.gif [/ IMG]
Imperial flag of the Ching dynasty.

[IMG] ftp://binhuang@fester.engr.uconn.edu/public_html/cn-1912.gif [/ IMG]
Flag of the Republic of China, 1911-1927. The five colors represents the 5 biggest ethic groups in China:
Han, Tibetan, Muslim, Zhuang, Manchu.

[IMG] ftp://binhuang@fester.engr.uconn.edu/public_html/tw.gif [/ IMG]
Flag of the Republic of China, 1927-1949, and still in use in Taiwan today. Blue color presents the blue sky, symbol of justice and red color symbolize revolution. The star figure in the center of the blue is symbol of the Nationalist party.

[IMG] ftp://binhuang@fester.engr.uconn.edu/public_html/cn.gif [/ IMG]
Flag of the People's Republic of China. The red color again represnets revolution, and the big star is the Communist party. The four smaller ones represents the population of China

http://www.engr.uconn.edu/~binhuang/cn1500b.jpg
This is an model of ancient Chiense flag, in use since the 1200 BCE. The number of stripes indicate the rank.

http://www.engr.uconn.edu/~binhuang/cn_1890.jpg
Imperial flag of the Ching dynasty.

http://www.engr.uconn.edu/~binhuang/cn-1912.jpg
Flag of the Republic of China, 1911-1927. The five colors represents the 5 biggest ethic groups in China:
Han, Tibetan, Muslim, Zhuang, Manchu.

http://www.engr.uconn.edu/~binhuang/tw.jpg
Flag of the Republic of China, 1927-1949, and still in use in Taiwan today. Blue color presents the blue sky, symbol of justice and red color symbolize revolution. The star figure in the center of the blue is symbol of the Nationalist party.

http://www.engr.uconn.edu/~binhuang/cn.jpg
Flag of the People's Republic of China. The red color again represnets revolution, and the big star is the Communist party. The four smaller ones represents the population of China

Much better! :goodjob:

much better whAT?

Well, before I couldn't see Dida's flags. All I could see was a bunch of HTML tags and names of websites. It was fixed, so then I could see the flags afterwards. So I said "Much better!"

[b]Independent Bosnia -1878

http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/b/ba-1878a.gif


Bosnia must have had a lot more Muslims then than it does now, since now the Muslim population is 44%.

...When we became a Republic, in 1889, we adopted a flag that was a cheap imitation of the american flag. Fortunately it lasted very little.
(15 - 19 of November, 1889)
http://www.asbandeiras.hpg.ig.com.br/brasil/118provrepublica.JPG

Thanks for the new avatar! :p

Here's the flag that Western Canadian Seperatists (British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan) would use if they succeed in gaining independence. I know it doesn't have much to do with the evolution of the Canadian flag, but it looks nice. :)
http://flagspot.net/images/c/ca_wreg.gif

That is actually pretty nice. I think it looks almost as good as the Maple Leaf.

How do I include images in a post?

The colors or the Swedish flag have been around since the 13th century. The coat of arms of the ruling class (Folkungarna) was a blue shield with a golden lion on its hind legs. In 1364, King Albrekt of Mecklenburg adopted a blue shield with three golden crowns as a national symbol. In 1448, King Karl Knutsson merged these two symbols into one. It was a blue shield with a golden cross in the middle with the three crowns and the lion in the corner fields.

The greater coat of arms of Sweden:
http://www.ra.se/ra/bilder/heraldik/Stora%20riksvapnet%2072.jpg

This symbol slowly evolved into a national flag, and this is what it looks like today:

http://www.flpanthers.com/images/Flags/sweden-large.jpg

In 1814, the union between Norway and Sweden prompted a change: in the top left blue field, a mix of the two nations' flags were inserted (commonly known as the "herring salad").

http://w1.318.telia.com/~u31811999/flaggor/sveunion.gif

In 1905, Norway gained their independence and the flag was restored to normal.

There is also a variant used exclusively by the Swedish armed forces:

http://flagspot.net/images/s/se~.gif

The saltire has, according to medieval chronicles, been used since the reign of the Pictish king Ungus II:

http://www.agcasscotland.org.uk/images/saltire.gif

If Scotland were an independent state, it would be the oldest continuously used national flag in the world by a distance. (That honor falls to Denmark, where it was apparently adopted in 1219 by Waldemar II)

First reference occurs in the year 1165 AD, but the story of the first adoption refers to a battle in 832 AD, where Ungus, King of the Picts and Scots, saw a vision during an invasion of Northumbria and adopted the flag upon victory. 1286 is the date when we are certain it was a national symbol.

...In 1814, the union between Norway and Sweden prompted a change: in the top left blue field, a mix of the two nations' flags were inserted (commonly known as the "herring salad").

http://w1.318.telia.com/~u31811999/flaggor/sveunion.gif

In 1905, Norway gained their independence and the flag was restored to normal...

Just curious, what was the name of this new country? Did Sweden just annex Norway and throw them a bone by changing the flag, or was it a Czechoslovakia-like country?

I think it was a union....called the "Kingdom of Sweden and Norway" or.....Norway and Sweden.....I wonder how they figured out who goes first.

It was just a union, called Sweden-Norway or "Sweden and Norway". This union was a compromise, Sweden actually wanted to include Norway completely as a conquered province. The origins of this compromise are found in the Kiel Peace between Denmark and Sweden. In the last stages of the Napoleon war, in which Sweden stood aganist France and its allies, Sweden turned on Denmark right after the battle of Lepzig, won and forced a new peace. Part of this peace was an agreement to hand over Norway (then a part of Denmark) to Sweden. The Norwegians themselves refused to accept this, and hence the union compromise.

The event of parliamentarism weakened the union, having been ruled by a monarch, and in 1905, the Norwegians were almost unanimous in wanting to separate themselves and gain independence. After a long conference in Karlstad, Sweden, the union was disbanded and Norway was finally formed. The debate was sometimes rather harsh, and if Sweden hadn't acquiesced, it may have had come to war.

As it is, Sweden hasn't been at war since 1814, which incidentally makes this the longest peace any now existing nation has ever experienced.

I wonder how they figured out who goes first.

Well, it was Sweden who had claims on Norway, and Norway wouldn't have stood a chance in war against Sweden anyway so they probably didn't linger on that for too long.

Denmark and Sweden have fought many wars, and Denmark has actually ruled over what became Sweden as well. Power has shifted back and forth, and both Denmark and Sweden have been great military powers. One interesting fact though, is that Denmark has ruled over what became Sweden - but Sweden has never ruled over Denmark (though it nearly happened in 1658).

but norway wasn't occupied by denmark?

I'm not an expert on this, far from it, but I think I have seen a map where all of Scandinavia, except Finland (if it's even considered a part of scandinavia) was controlled by Denmark...

Don't take my word seriously because I am probably wrong on this :p

I'm not an expert on this, far from it, but I think I have seen a map where all of Scandinavia, except Finland (if it's even considered a part of scandinavia) was controlled by Denmark...

Don't take my word seriously because I am probably wrong on this :p

Yes, denmark once controlled most of scandinavia, iceland and greenland. Most of the scandinavian world.

Glad I got that right ;) . How did such a tiny country rule so much? :confused:

They also had part of Germany. Here is a map of Europe in 1800, although Denmark controlled Norway(why this map shows Norway as independent is unknown to me):

http://www.civfanatics.net/uploads7/europe1800b.jpg

but norway wasn't occupied by denmark?Norway had been a part of Denmark for 800 years or something like that.

Personally I prefer the darker colours of the (Sweden -Norway) union flag, apart from the actual herring salad, of course...

Hm, why are they calling Switzerland not switzerland? Also, Schleswig and Holstein were fought over by Bismarck, no?

@NeoDemocrat- Because the Swiss call their nation Confoederatio Helvetica.

And IIRC during the Napoleonic period, it was known in English as the Helvetian Republic too (like the Netherlands were called the Batavian Republic).

Yes, Denmark has ruled over Norway (all the way up til 1814), and all of Scandinavia also.

Personally I prefer the darker colours of the (Sweden -Norway) union flag, apart from the actual herring salad, of course...

The colors are pretty much the same IRL, this is just virtual graphics you know :)

...The colors are pretty much the same IRL, this is just virtual graphics you knowNope, actually it isn't. :p The Swedish flag has a much lighter blue since about a hundred years. They just found a new fashionable colour they liked more...
:(:):(
:):):)
:(:):(

@mrtn: Interesting fact. Didn't know that. When searching for flags, I found like 30 different, each with its own blue nuance, so I figured it was just "internet", you know... :rolleyes:

This colour change happen in all the Portuguese flags that I saw in the Internet

As it is, Sweden hasn't been at war since 1814, which incidentally makes this the longest peace any now existing nation has ever experienced.
...Switzerland?

http://www.50states.com/flag/image/nunst005.gif
The State Flag of Arkansas.

The large diamond represents the state being the only in North America where diamonds have been mined.

The stars in the blue outline of the diamond represent that Arkansas was the 25th state to join the Union.

The star above "ARKANSAS" represents our being in the Confederate States of America. The three stars under mean France, Spain, and the United States--three over nations that have ruled here.

And the flag has ARKANSAS writen?

Hm, why are they calling Switzerland not switzerland? Also, Schleswig and Holstein were fought over by Bismarck, no?

Bismark fought over Schleswig and Holstein after the year this map is representing.

Tada. The Iowa State flag. The French tricolor, because of the Louisiana purchase. The eagle, 'cause that's American. Motto: Our liberties we prize and our rights we will maintain. And it has "IOWA" written on it so we can remember the name of the state.

Info about the US Naval Jack:

http://www.wordiq.com/definition/United_States_Navy#Naval_jack

Personally, I don't know why we ever changed our naval jack the first time. The snake one looks better than the blue field with stars.

The Byzantine Empire ( sssssh ! there is another thread for that !)
http://www.e-grammes.gr/flags/byzantine.gif

Palaeologus Dynasty ( the last Emperor ... he was a Greek 100% from Mystras )

http://www.e-grammes.gr/flags/palaeologus.gif

Revolutionary flag of the Society of Friends

http://www.e-grammes.gr/flags/friends.jpg

Sacred Band ( First revolutionary division )

http://www.e-grammes.gr/flags/sacred.gif

Indepedence war flag (1)

http://www.e-grammes.gr/flags/hellas3.gif

Indepedence war flag (2)

http://www.e-grammes.gr/flags/independence.gif

Indepedence war flag (3)

http://www.e-grammes.gr/flags/hellas4.gif

First flag of the free Greek state

http://www.e-grammes.gr/flags/hellas2.gif

Greek Flag ( 1918?-today )

http://194.177.209.42/GR.jpg

Tada. The Iowa State flag. The French tricolor, because of the Louisiana purchase. The eagle, 'cause that's American. Motto: Our liberties we prize and our rights we will maintain. And it has "IOWA" written on it so we can remember the name of the state.It's rather funny to use the tricolor flag, the French revolutionary flag, to represent Louisianna, a land named after a French King.

Not really, as it was sold by Napoleon, at a time when the tricolor was already in used.

How much did Louisiana cost?

15 000 000 $ of the time (1803)

The Louisiana Purchase was a great thing for the United States because this DOUBLED the size of the country. This is also about 1/3 of United States today. The present day states that were part of the Louisiana Purchase are: Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Wyoming

That is 15 states. If they didn't have this area, probably wouldn't have gotten California and the states on the west.

That map is incorrect. There was no part of nodern-day Texas in the Lousiana Purchase, and it does not show the Gadsen Purchase or the anexation of the Republic of Texas. But it does give one a general idea of how we expanded.

http://www.presidentti.fi/eng/institution/ensign.html
http://www.uta.fi/suomi80/art4.htm
the first one has the official ones and is in english, the second is in finnish but has pics of all the suggestions and unofficial national flags.

Since we already have the whole American flag saga up here:

http://www.flags2000.com.au/images/us31_detail.gif

New Jersey isn't quite so dumb as to need its name on its flag to remember which state it is ;)

The two women are named (you guessed it!) Liberty and Prosperity and the plow represents the fact that New Jersey was the most important farming state in 1776.

The horsehead was the symbol of the Dutch portion of New Jersey and became the symbol of East Jersey Colony once the English annexed New Netherlands and New Sweden. West Jersey Colony, which had been Swedish before the annexation, was Quaker and had no flag, so when the two were united the horsehead became the colonial symbol. (The "New" was not added to the name of the colony until they two were united.)

I didn't know the current Canadian flag has only been used since the 1960s! Too bad the "Don't Tred on Me!" flag hasn't been used more often.

California
I hope all these work!

http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/u/us-camsn.gif
1836, The flag used in first attempt at independace from Mexico by the Californios.

http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/u/us-ca!sr.gif
Flag flown at Sutter's Fort ("Sutter's Republic") before and during the period of independance from Mexico.

http://www.ourhealdsburg.com/history/historyhome_files/bear_flag_1846.jpg
1846, The flag made by William Todd (a nephew of Mary Todd, Mrs. Abraham Lincoln) and raised at Somona in the Bear Flag revolt and used during the brief period of independence. Here is a link to some of the other flags proposed for the Bear Flag. http://www.vom.com/bearflag/SOBEARFL.HTM

http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/u/us-ca.gif
Current State flag, a version of the Bear Flag. The flag was offically adopted in 1911, I don't know if another flag was used between statehood in 1850 and 1911.

http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/u/us-jeff1.gif
1941, The State of Jefferson, an attempt to form a new state in northern california and southern oregon.

http://americandigest.org/mt-archives/GADP-Flag.jpg
2004, Anton Wilson's Dope and Guns Party Flag

http://members.cruzio.com/~dwgross/index_files/image001.jpg
California Marijuana Party

California Liberation Front :p