The flag of Colombia has 3 horizontal stripes of varying widths and colors. In order from top to bottom, the bands are: yellow, blue, and red. The yellow stripe takes up one half of the flag space, while the blue and red stripes take up one quarter of the area. Officially, the flag of Colombia is known as the National Tricolor. The current version of the flag was officially adopted on November 26, 1861, although the first version was used in 1806.
The colors of the Colombian flag, all primary colors, each have a distinct meaning. The yellow color is said to represent sunlight and the diverse natural resources found within Colombia, like gold, fertile soil, and productive agriculture. The red color represents the difficulties faced by the Colombian people in their quest for independence from Spain, as well as the blood shed during the war. The blue color on the flag represents the rivers that flow throughout the country and into the surrounding blue ocean. It is also said to represent the clear blue sky seen over Colombia.
The original flag of Colombia was designed by Francisco de Miranda, a military revolutionary who participated in the independence movement of South America. He was inspired by both the Burger Guard flag in Germany and a conversation he held with Johann Wolfgang von Goethe about primary colors. He had asked the British government to provide the necessary materials to craft the flags in 1801. The request was not fulfilled at that time, however.
Over the years, the flag of Colombia has undergone several changes. Between 1831 and 1834, the country used the flag of Gran Colombia, an independent nation that was made up of present-day Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador. That flag became the model for the current flags of Venezuela, Ecuador, and Colombia. It had yellow, red, and blue stripes of equal measurements with an oval-shaped emblem featuring cornucopias and arrows in the center. Between 1834 and 1861, the flag featured 3 vertical stripes of the same colors with no emblem in the center. For a few months in 1861, before the current flag was adopted, a circle of eight 5-pointed stars with 1 star in the center was placed in the middle of the flag with vertical stripes. In November of the same year, the current flag design was officially adopted.
This page was last modified on May 1st, 2018
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