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Purple is one of the least used colours in vexillology and heraldry. Currently, the colour appears in only five national flags: that of Dominica, Spain, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Mexico, and one co-official national flag, the Wiphala (co-official national flag of Bolivia). However, it is also present in the flags of several administrative subdivisions around the world, as well as flags of political and ethnic groups and sexual minorities.
Background
editIn the past, purple dye was very expensive to produce, with the first compound used as one, Tyrian purple, being made from the mucus of a family of sea snail found only in the eastern Mediterranean and off Mogador Island near Morocco. To produce small amounts of it, it was required to obtain the mucus of thousands of snails, which was extremely labor-intensive. As such, it remained extremely expensive to use the dye, which resulted in it having almost no presence in flags and gaining the reputation as the color of nobility and royalty, as they were the only groups able to readily afford it.[1] In Asia, the main dye used was Han purple, although it more closely resembles indigo.
During the Medieval Ages, in Europe, the color was used in the standard of the Kingdom of León, during the reign of Alfonso VII,[2] and in the royal standard of the Kingdom of Castile.[3] Both states united in 1230, forming the Crown of Castile, which continued to use the combination of their flags until 1715.[3] In South America, during the Pre-Columbian era, the Wiphala, a flag used by the subdivisions of the Inca Empire, contained the color purple.[4]
In the modern era, synthetic purple dyes became easier to obtain, and flags with the color purple began being used more commonly. In 1931, the Second Spanish Republic established a tricolor flag consisting of red, yellow and purple stripes as its national flag, seeing use in Spain until 1939 and by the Spanish Republican government in exile until 1977. The flag is still sometimes used by supporters of republicanism in Spain.[3]
Currently, the color appears in only five national flags: that of Dominica, El Salvador, Spain, Nicaragua, and Mexico, and one co-official national flag, the Wiphala (co-official national flag of Bolivia). However, it is present in the flags of several administrative subdivisions around the world.[1]
National flags
editCurrent
edit| Image | Country | Date of adoption | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bolivia | 7 February 2009 | Used as the co-official national flag; see Wiphala | |
| Dominica[5] | 3 November 1978 | As purple sisserou parrot, a national symbol (see flag of Dominica) | |
| El Salvador[6] | 27 May 1912 | As part of the rainbow in the coat of arms (see flag of El Salvador) | |
| Nicaragua | 27 August 1971 | As part of the rainbow in the coat of arms (see flag of Nicaragua) | |
| Mexico | 16 September 1968 | As pink cactus fruits in the coat of arms (see flag of Mexico) | |
| Spain | 5 October 1981 | As purpure lion in the coat of arms (see flag of Spain) |
Historical
edit| Image | Country | Years of usage | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sasanian Empire | c. 6th–7th century | See Derafsh Kaviani | |
| Kingdom of León[2] | 11th century | Used during the reign of Alfonso VII (1105-1157) (see heraldry of León | |
| Crown of Castile | 14th century | see heraldry of Castile | |
| 15th century | |||
| ca.1500–1715 | |||
| Saint-Domingue | 1791–1794 | Flag of Saint-Domingue under the rebel control during the Haitian Revolution | |
| United Provinces of Central America | 1823–1824 | As part of the rainbow in the coat of arms | |
| Federal Republic of Central America | 1824–1838 | As part of the rainbow in the coat of arms | |
| Nicaragua | 1896–1908 | As part of the rainbow in the coat of arms (see flag of Nicaragua) | |
| 1908–1971 | |||
| Second Spanish Republic | 1931–1939 | see flag of the Second Spanish Republic | |
| 1931–1939 | civil ensign; see flag of the Second Spanish Republic | ||
| Dominica | 1978–1981 | As purple sisserou parrot, a national symbol (see flag of Dominica) | |
| 1978–1981 | |||
| 1988–1990 |
Subdivisional flags
editCurrent
editHistorical
edit| Image | Administrative division | Country | Years of usage | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antisuyu | Inca Empire | 15th–16th century | ||
| Chinchay Suyu | ||||
| Qullasuyu | ||||
| Department of Cuzco | Peru | 1978–2021 | see flag of Cusco | |
| Jewish Autonomous Oblast | Russia | 1996 | As part of the rainbow (see flag of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast) | |
| Ropaži Municipality | Latvia | 2000–2009 | ||
| 2012–2021 | ||||
| Borova Raion | Ukraine | Until 2020 | ||
| Ichnia Raion | ||||
| Mashivka Raion | ||||
| North Chungcheong Province | South Korea | Until 2023 |
Other flags
edit| Image | Flag | Country | Date of adoption | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flag of Mallorca | Spain | Flag of the island of Mallorca | ||
| Flag of Pourlet | France | Flag of Pourlet, one of traditional regions of Brittany | ||
| Wiphala | Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru | Flag used as the symbol of various native peoples around the area of Andes in South America. Historically associated with the Inca Empire |
City flags
editCurrent
editHistorical
edit| Image | City | Country | Administrative division | Years of usage | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cusco | Peru | Department of Cuzco | 1978–2021 | see flag of Cusco | |
| Montreal | Canada | Quebec | 1935–1939 | see flag of Montreal | |
| 1939–2017 | |||||
| link to the image | Pocatello | United States | Idaho | 2001–2017 | unofficial flag; see flag of Pocatello, Idaho |
Naval flags
editHistorical
edit| Image | Flag | Country | Years of usage | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flag of the Ministry of the Navy | Second Spanish Republic | 1931–1939 | ||
| Flag of the captain general of the Spanish Republican Navy | Second Spanish Republic | 1931–1939 | ||
| Flag of the admiral of the Spanish Republican Navy | Second Spanish Republic | 1931–1939 | ||
| Flag of the viceadmiral of the Spanish Republican Navy | Second Spanish Republic | 1931–1939 | ||
| Flag of the viceadmiral (subordinate) of the Spanish Republican Navy | Second Spanish Republic | 1931–1939 | ||
| Flag of the rear admiral of the Spanish Republican Navy | Second Spanish Republic | 1931–1939 | ||
| Flag of the rear admiral (subordinate) of the Spanish Republican Navy | Second Spanish Republic | 1931–1939 |
Sexual minority flags
edit| Image | Flag | Year of adoption | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| LGBT pride flag | 1978 | ||
| Bisexual flag | 1998 | ||
| Labrys lesbian flag | 1999 | ||
| Asexual pride flag | 2010 | ||
| Demisexual pride flag | 2010 | ||
| Gray asexual pride flag | |||
| Intersex flag | 2013 | ||
| Non-binary flag | 2014 | ||
| Philadelphia Pride Flag | 2017 | ||
| Progress Pride | 2018 |
Political flags
edit| Image | Flag | Year of adoption | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anarcha-feminism | 2004 | see anarchist symbolism | |
| Castilian nationalism | |||
| Castilian nationalism, Castilian Left | |||
| Communist Party of Spain (Reconstituted), First of October Anti-Fascist Resistance Groups | |||
| Marxist–Leninist Party (Communist Reconstruction) | |||
| Independent Party | 1982 | ||
| 1988 | Flag used in during the 1988 Costa Rican elections |
| Image | Flag | Year of adoption | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Choctaw | 1970s | ||
| Kuban Cossacks | Unofficial | ||
| Hispanidad | 1932 | Winning entry in a contest organized by Juana de Ibarbourou | |
| Iroquois | 1980s | see also Flag of the Iroquois Confederacy | |
| Tohono Oʼodham | 2008 |
Religious flags
edit| Image | Flag | Year of adoption | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Armenian Apostolic Church |
Organizational flags
edit| Image | Flag | Year of adoption | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Supreme Court of the Dominican Republic |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "Country Flags With Purple". worldatlas.com. 20 December 2018.
- ^ a b Menéndez-Pidal de Navascués, Faustino (2004): El Escudo de España [The coat of arms of Spain], Real Academia Matritense de Heráldica y Genealogía, Madrid. pp. 64-78. ISBN 84-88833-02-4.
- ^ a b c "Historia de la Bandera de España". ejercito.defensa.gob.es (in Spanish).
- ^ "Bandera indígena boliviana es incluida como símbolo patrio en nueva Constitución". espanol.upi.com (in Spanish). 22 October 2008.
- ^ "Today is Flag Day in Dominica". Dominica News Online. 19 October 2011. Archived from the original on 19 December 2014. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
- ^ Minahan, James. (2010). The complete guide to national symbols and emblems. Santa Barbara, Calif.: Greenwood Press. ISBN 978-0-313-34496-1. OCLC 436221284.