Flag with three bands (bends or pales), not necessarily in three colours
A triband is a
vexillological style which consists of three stripes arranged to form a
flag . These stripes may be two or three colours, and may be
charged with an emblem in the middle stripe.
[1] All tricolour flags are tribands, but not all tribands are tricolour flags, which requires three unique colours.
Design
Outside of the name, which requires three bands of colour, there are no other requirements for what a triband must look like, so there are many flags that look very different from each other but are all considered tribands.
Some triband flags (e.g. those of
Croatia and
Ghana ) have their stripes positioned horizontally, while others (e.g. that of
Italy ) position the stripes vertically. Often the stripes on a triband are of equal length and width, though this is not always the case, as can be seen in the flags of
Colombia and
Canada . Symbols on tribands may be
seals , such as on the
Belizean flag , or any manner of emblems of significance to the area the flag represents, such as in the flags of
Argentina ,
India and
Lebanon .
A triband is also a tricolour if the three stripes on the flag are all different colours, rather than two being the same colour. Examples of tricolour flags include those of
the Netherlands and
France .
Tricolour
The first tricolour flag, called the
Prince's Flag , is the predecessor of the
flags of the Netherlands and inspired many red-white-blue tricolour flags.
The
flag of France , an example of a tricolour flag.
A tricolour (
BE ) or tricolor (
AE ) is a type of triband design which originated in the 16th century as a symbol of
republicanism ,
liberty , or
revolution . The oldest tricolour flag originates from
the Netherlands , whose successor later inspired the
French and
Russian flags.
[2]
[3] The flags of
France ,
Italy ,
Romania ,
Mexico ,
Ireland and
Paraguay
[4] were all adopted with the formation of an independent
republic in the period of the
French Revolution to the
Revolutions of 1848 , with the exception of the Irish tricolour, which dates from 1848 but was not popularised until the
Easter Rising in 1916 and adopted in 1919.
[5]
History
The first association of the tricolour with republicanism is the orange-white-blue design of the
Prince's Flag (Prinsenvlag , predecessor of the
flags of the Netherlands ), used from 1579 by
William I of Orange-Nassau in the
Eighty Years' War , establishing the independence of the
Dutch Republic from the
Spanish Empire . Its red-white-blue successor is the oldest tricolour flag still in use. The flag of the Netherlands inspired both the French and Russian flags, which in turn further inspired many tricolour flags in other countries.
[2]
[3]
Though not the first tricolour flag, one of the most famous, known as Le Tricolore , is the blue, white and red (whence also called Le Bleu-Blanc-Rouge )
flag of France adopted in 1790 during the
French Revolution . Based on a 1789 design of the
Cockade of France , it was easy to construct and also stood in a visual opposition to complicated royal banners of the Ancien Regime .
With the formation of
French client republics after 1795, the revolutionary tricolour was exported and adopted more widely in Europe, by the
Republic of Alba 1796 (red-blue-yellow), the
Cisalpine Republic 1797 (
Transpadane Republic , green-white-red), the
Cisrhenian Republic 1797 (green-white-red), the
Anconine Republic 1797 (blue-yellow-red), the
Roman Republic 1798 (black-white-red), the
Helvetic Republic 1798 (green-red-yellow;
canton of Neuchatel 1848), the
Parthenopean Republic 1799 (blue-yellow-red), and the
Principality of Lucca and Piombino 1805 (blue-white-red). Thus providing the format for many of modern Europe's national flags, from the
flag of Italy , to the
flag of Germany ,
flag of Ireland ,
flag of Belgium ,
flag of Romania ,
flag of Bulgaria ,
flag of Moldova , and others around the world such as the
flag of India ,
flag of Cameroon ,
flag of Chad ,
flag of Ivory Coast ,
flag of Gabon ,
flag of Guinea ,
flag of Mali , and
flag of Nigeria .
The green-white-red tricolour remained a symbol of republicanism throughout the 19th century and was adopted as
national flag by a number of states following the
Revolutions of 1848 . It was also adopted by the
Kingdom of Sardinia (inherited by the
Kingdom of Italy 1861).
The
flag of Germany (black-red-gold) originates from the uniform colours of the
Lützow Free Corps during the
Napoleonic Wars , which contained volunteers from many German states and became famous through propaganda. Prominent veterans and later students became the core of the republican movement of early 1800s which adopted the colours. At the time the flag was known as Dreifarb , a German
calque of Tricolore . It was a symbol of opposition against the German
Kleinstaaterei and the desire for
German Unification . It was at first illegal in the
German Confederation , but was adopted as the national flag at the
Frankfurt Parliament of 1848/9. The
flag of Belgium was introduced in a similar context, in 1831, its colours taken from the flag used in the
Brabant Revolution of 1789. The first national flag of the
New World inspired by this symbolism was the
flag of Mexico , adopted when the
First Mexican Empire gained
independence from Spain in 1821.
After 1848, the young republican
nation states continued to pick triband designs, but now more prevalently expressing the sentiment of
nationalism or
ethnic identity than anti-monarchism, the
flag of Hungary (1848), the
flag of Romania (1848), the
flag of Ireland (1848), the
flag of Estonia (1880s), the
flag of Lithuania (1905), and the
flag of Armenia (1918). By contrast, the
flag of Russia was adopted by the
Tsardom of Russia in the late 17th century and while it may or may not have been inspired by the Dutch tricolour, it never had any republican implications.
The political ideology of the unification of an ethnic
nation state associated with tricolour flags since the 19th century has resulted in the design of new "tricolours" expressing specific
nationalisms in the 20th century, the
Pan-African colours adopted in the 1920s for
Pan-Africanism , chosen in numerous African flags during
decolonisation (green-yellow-red, taken from the triband design used by the
Solomonic dynasty for the
Ethiopian Empire since 1897). The
Pan-Arab colours adopted in
Arab nationalism 1916 are a comparable concept, even though they combine four, not three, colours. Also in the 20th century, Pan-Iranian colours for
Iranian nationalism and
Pan-Slavic colours for
Slavic nationalism were adopted based on the triband design of the flags used during the 19th century by the
Qajar dynasty and the
Russian Empire , respectively.
During the brief
Second Spanish Republic , a red-yellow-purple tricolour was adopted as its official flag. Today, it is still used by Spanish republicans.
The
Indian independence movement in 1931 also adopted a tricolour (loan-translated as Hindi, तिरंगा Tiraṅgā ) in the traditional symbolism of "national unification" and republican "self-rule" (
Purna Swaraj ), adopted as the
flag of the Indian Republic in 1947.
[6]
In 1999, a red, green, and blue tricolour was proposed as the
Flag of Mars . The design symbolises
liberty , and also the
terraforming of Mars by
humanity from a red planet to a green one, and eventually an Earth-like blue one.
Gallery
The
flag of Afghanistan (1928), a charged horizontal triband.
The
flag of Afghanistan (1928–1929), a charged vertical triband.
Variant of the
flag of Afghanistan (1928–1929), a charged vertical triband.
The
flag of Afghanistan (1929), a charged vertical triband.
The
Alamo Flag , a charged vertical triband.
The flag of the
Republic of Alba (1796), a simple vertical triband.
Variant flag of the
Republic of Alba (1796), a simple horizontal triband.
The flag of the Italian
National Liberation Committee (1944), a charged vertical triband.
The
flag of Albany, New York , a charged horizontal triband.
The flag of
Anaheim, California (2018–2019), a charged horizontal triband.
The
flag of Andorra , a charged vertical triband.
The flag of the
Arabian Republican movement , a simple horizontal triband.
The flag of the
Republic of Ararat , a charged horizontal triband.
The
flag of Argentina , a charged horizontal triband.
The
flag of Armenia , a simple horizontal triband.
The
flag of Austria , a simple horizontal triband.
The flag of the
Federal State of Austria , a charged horizontal triband.
The
flag of Azerbaijan , a charged horizontal triband.
The
flag of Barbados , a charged vertical triband.
The
flag of Belgium , a simple vertical triband.
The
flag of Belize , a charged horizontal triband.
The
flag of Biafra , a charged horizontal triband.
The
flag of Birmingham, Alabama , a charged vertical triband.
The
flag of Bolivia , a simple horizontal triband.
The flag of
The Bronx , a charged horizontal triband.
The
flag of Bulgaria , a simple horizontal triband.
The flag of
Cabinda Province , Angola, a simple horizontal triband.
The
flag of Cambodia , a charged horizontal triband.
The
flag of Cameroon , a charged vertical triband.
The
flag of Canada , a charged vertical triband.
The
flag of Chad , a simple vertical triband.
The flag of the
Cispadane Republic , a charged horizontal triband.
The flag of
Coahuila y Tejas , a charged vertical triband.
The flag of
Coclé Province , Panama, a charged vertical triband.
The
flag of Colombia , a simple horizontal triband.
The
flag of Colorado , a charged horizontal triband.
The
flag of Colorado (1911–1964), a charged horizontal triband.
The flag of
Conway, Arkansas , a charged horizontal triband.
The
flag of Crimea , a simple horizontal triband.
The
flag of Croatia , a charged horizontal triband.
The flag of
SR Croatia , a charged horizontal triband.
The
flag of Curaçao , a charged horizontal triband.
The
flag of Dallas, Texas , a charged horizontal triband.
The
Dodson Flag , a charged vertical triband.
The flag of the
Donetsk People's Republic , a simple horizontal triband.
The flag of the
Durrani Empire , a simple horizontal triband.
The flag of the
Dutch West India Company , a charged horizontal triband.
The
flag of East Germany , a charged horizontal triband.
The
flag of Ecuador , a charged horizontal triband.
The
flag of Egypt , a charged horizontal triband.
The
flag of El Salvador , a charged horizontal triband.
The
flag of Estonia , a simple horizontal triband.
The
flag of Ethiopia , a charged horizontal triband.
The
flag of France , a simple vertical triband.
Variant of the
flag of France , a simple vertical triband.
The flag of
Free France , a charged vertical triband.
The
flag of French Polynesia , a charged horizontal triband.
The
flag of French Sudan , a charged vertical triband.
The
flag of Gabon , a simple horizontal triband.
The
flag of Gagauzia , a charged horizontal triband.
The
flag of the German Empire , a simple horizontal triband.
The
flag of Germany , a simple horizontal triband.
Variant of the
flag of Germany , a charged horizontal triband.
The
flag of Ghana , a charged horizontal triband.
The
flag of Ghana (1964–1966), a charged horizontal triband.
The
flag of Gran Colombia (1819–1820), a charged horizontal triband.
The
flag of Gran Colombia (1820–1821), a charged horizontal triband.
The
flag of Gran Colombia (1821–1830), a charged horizontal triband.
The
flag of Guatemala , a charged vertical triband.
The
flag of Guinea , a simple vertical triband.
The
flag of Honduras , a charged horizontal triband.
The
flag of Hungary , a simple horizontal triband.
The
flag of India , a charged horizontal triband.
The
flag of Iowa , a charged vertical triband.
Variant
flag of Iowa , a charged vertical triband.
The
flag of Iran , a charged horizontal triband.
The
flag of Iraq , a charged horizontal triband.
The
flag of Ireland , a simple vertical triband.
The
flag of Italy , a simple vertical triband.
The
civil ensign of Italy , a charged vertical triband.
The
state ensign of Italy , a charged vertical triband.
The
naval ensign of Italy , a charged vertical triband.
The
war flag of Italy , a simple vertical triband.
The flag of the
Kingdom of Italy , a charged vertical triband.
The
flag of Ivory Coast , a simple vertical triband.
The
flag of the Kazakh SSR , a charged horizontal triband.
The flag of
Kyiv Oblast , a charged vertical triband.
The
flag of Laos , a charged horizontal triband.
The
flag of Latvia , a simple horizontal triband.
The
flag of Lebanon , a charged horizontal triband.
The
flag of Lesotho , a charged horizontal triband.
The
flag of Libya , a charged horizontal triband.
The
flag of Lithuania , a simple horizontal triband.
The
flag of the Lithuanian SSR , a charged horizontal triband.
The flag of the
Luhansk People's Republic , a simple horizontal triband.
The
flag of Luxembourg , a simple horizontal triband.
The
flag of Malawi , a charged horizontal triband.
The
flag of Mali , a simple vertical triband.
The flag of
Manhattan , a charged vertical triband.
The
flag of Mauritania , a charged horizontal triband.
The
flag of Mexico , a charged vertical triband.
The
flag of Missouri , a charged horizontal triband.
The
flag of Moldova , a charged vertical triband.
The
flag of the Moldavian SSR , a charged horizontal triband.
The
flag of Mongolia , a charged vertical triband.
The flag of
Monseñor Nouel Province , Dominican Republic, a simple horizontal triband.
The
flag of Myanmar , a charged horizontal triband.
The
flag of Nauru , a charged horizontal triband.
The
flag of the Netherlands , a simple horizontal triband.
The
flag of New York City , a charged vertical triband.
The
flag of Nicaragua , a charged horizontal triband.
The
flag of Niger , a charged horizontal triband.
The
flag of Nigeria , a simple vertical triband.
The flag of
North Caribbean Coast , Nicaragua, a charged horizontal triband.
The
flag of Ossetia , a simple horizontal triband.
The
Pan-African flag , a simple horizontal triband.
The
flag of Paraguay , a charged horizontal triband.
The
state flag of Peru , a simple vertical triband.
The
Prince's Flag , a simple horizontal triband.
The flag of
Príncipe , a charged vertical triband.
The
flag of Prussia (1892–1918), a charged horizontal triband.
The
flag of Prussia (1918–1933), a charged horizontal triband.
The
service flag of Prussia (1933–1935), a charged horizontal triband.
The flag of the
Roman Republic (1849) , a charged vertical triband.
The
flag of Romania , a simple vertical triband.
The
flag of Russia , a simple horizontal triband.
The
flag of Russia (1991–1993), a simple horizontal triband.
The
flag of Rwanda , a charged horizontal triband.
The flag of
Santa Cruz Department, Bolivia , a simple horizontal triband.
The flag of
Schenectady County, New York , a charged horizontal triband.
The
flag of Senegal , a charged vertical triband.
The
flag of Serbia , a charged horizontal triband.
The flag of
SR Serbia , a charged horizontal triband.
The
flag of Sierra Leone , a simple horizontal triband.
The
flag of Slovakia , a charged horizontal triband.
The
flag of Slovenia , a charged horizontal triband.
The flag of
SR Slovenia , a charged horizontal triband.
The
flag of Somaliland , a charged horizontal triband.
The
flag of South Africa (1928–1994) , a charged horizontal triband.
The
flag of Spain , a charged horizontal triband.
The
Statenvlag , a simple horizontal triband.
The
flag of Syria , a charged horizontal triband.
The
flag of Tajikistan , a charged horizontal triband.
The
flag of Transnistria , a charged horizontal triband.
The flag of
Ulster County, New York , a charged horizontal triband.
The flag of the
Union of African States (1958–1961), a charged horizontal triband.
The flag of the
Union of African States (1961–1963), a charged horizontal triband.
The
flag of Utah , a horizontal triband charged with a
beehive .
The flag of the
United Team of Germany , a charged horizontal triband.
The
flag of Venezuela , a charged horizontal triband.
The
flag of Yemen , a simple horizontal triband.
The
flag of Yugoslavia , a charged horizontal triband.
The
flag of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia , a simple horizontal triband.
The
flag of Yukon , a charged vertical triband.
The flag of
SR Zanzibar , a simple horizontal triband.
See also
References
External links