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Flag of Spain

The government usage flag of Spain in its current form was adopted on December 19, 1981, when the now established flag replaced the interim version which, in turn, replaced the official flag of Francoist Spain. The coat of arms was the changing element in all three versions.

Features and Specifications

The flag officially defined as the national flag, according to the Spanish Constitution, is the plain 'civil' variant without the coat of arms. The coat of arms technically denotes government or royal usage, but is the most commonly used version.

The government flag is similar to those used between 1785 and 1931 (as the War ensign until 1843 when the War Ensign became a national flag).

La bandera de España está formada por tres franjas horizontales, roja, amarilla y roja, siendo la amarilla de doble anchura que cada una de las rojas. Artículo 4 1 de la constitución española de 1978

Translation: The flag of Spain consists of three horizontal stripes: red, yellow and red, the yellow strip being twice as wide as each red stripe. Article 4.1 of the Spanish Constitution of 1978

The colours of the flag are:

Scheme	Red	Yellow
CIELAB (H* in degrees, C*, L*)	35.0, 70.0, 37.0	85.0, 95.0, 80.0
CIE (x, y, Y) (Illuminant C)	0.614, 0.320, 9.5	0.488, 0.469, 56.7

History

The colours previously defined in the constitution were amarillo (yellow) and roja (red). Before 1978, the centre band had always been defined in law by the more exact terms amarillo gualda (weld-coloured). The substitution of the archaic term gualda was prompted by the writer and royal senator Camilo José Cela.

This term was brought back in the 1981 legal definition as the descriptions for the technically defined colours.

Cross of Burgundy Flag the flag of the Viceroyalties of the New World

The closest variant of the current flag of Spain can be traced back to 1785 Naval Jack, Bandera de Proa o de Tajamar or Torrotito under Carlos III of Spain. The kingdom, by then under the house of Bourbon, sought a flag that would distinguish itself from the Bourbon royal banners from the two other principal Bourbon kingdoms, France and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.

Allegedly, there was a contest to design the new flag of Spain. Ultimately, the flag that was chosen as war ensign is the direct ancestor of the current flag. It was a triband red-yellow-red, of which the yellow band was twice the width of the red bands, a unique feature that distinguished the Spanish tribanded flag from other tribanded European flags. The flag chosen as civil ensign, meanwhile, consisted of five stripes of yellow-red-yellow-red-yellow, in proportions 1:1:2:1:1.

The origin of the colors is a source of controversy. One of the popular theories is that this scheme is based on the heraldic schemes of the monarchs of Crown of Aragon. Others claim it was Naples flag adopted by Carlos III.

Throughout the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries, this color scheme remained largely intact. The main changes to the flag centered on the coat of arms. In the modern flag, the coat of arms are greatly simplified as compared to previous variants. Each of the four quadrants represent one of the four kingdoms that were merged to form a unified Spain at the end of the 15th century. Namely, the kingdoms are: Castile, represented by the castle, León, represented by the lion, Aragon, represented by the vertical alternating red and yellow stripes (four red stripes, five yellow stripes), and Navarre, represented by the linked chains. Also the moorish kingdom of Granada is represented by the pomegranate fruit in the bottom of the coat of arms. The impaled fleur de lys represents the ruling House of Borbón. The two columns with the "plus ultra" ensign (meaning "further" in Latin) represent Spanish discovery and colonization of America, the columns being the mythological Pillars of Hercules (of the Strait of Gibraltar, gateway to the Atlantic Ocean). The "Plus Ultra" phrase replaced the former "Non Plus Ultra" (something like "No further from here") before the discovery of America, since Spain was considered "the Westernmost point" on Earth (thus, "no further from here".)

The purple band on the flag of the Second Spanish Republic is due to the flag of Castile having a purpure variant as well as a red one. The royalist flag used red-yellow-red (the red-yellow for Aragon and the red for Castile), while the republican one used red-yellow for Aragon and purple for the flag of the Castilian Comunero rebels during the Castilian War of the Communities.

Charles III

Bourbonic flag of Charles III

File:Spain1785.gif

(1) War ensign (1785-1843)

(2) Merchant marine's flag (1785-1927)

In 1760 Charles III it modified the shield of the Royal arms, suppressing the necklace of the Saint Spirit, with which it was only left the Golden Flee, and added two new quarters, corresponding to the House of Farnese (six blue lilies on gold) and Médicis (blue disc with three lilies of gold and five red discs, all on gold). The Royal Order of 1768 arranged the reduction in the number of flags to 2 by battalion, instead of the 3 previous ones, being in the Regiments of line a "Coronela" flag (King's Colour) and a simple one to their first Battalion, and two simple ones for 2º, whereas the slight Regiments, formed by a single Battalion, will have a single Coronela and a simple one.

These new flags were constructed in tafetán white doublet and their measures were of 1'46m x 1'46m, instead of the approximately 2'30m. of previous ones. All the flags of infantry and Military services would continue being white, but the "Coronelas" already with the new Real arms, without cross nor lions, and with a shield of the Regiment in each one of their four corners, stamped these by ducal crowns, safe in those cases in which a Regiment of line and another one of Military services had a same name (Regiment Towns, Seville, Murcia, etc.), in which case the one of line would have a Royal Crown.

The simple ones would be of the new measures, with the red cross of Burgundy finished off by identical shields to those of the "Coronela", but already without the label with the name of the Regiment that appeared in the previous models.

The Royal Guard continued with his peculiar flags, but adapting to the new dimensions, as well as to the new shield of the real arms.

The Cavalry and the Dragoons respectively continued with their standards and scripts, although the crimson color prevailed totally in the scripts of dragoons, whereas in the cavalry still continued being used some blue targets and, in most of the cases still with the arms of the previous monarch in one of its phases, since due to the great duration of their materials these still continued in perfect conditions of use.

The Artillery continued with its "Coronela" of 1748, that would not disappear until 1808, whereas of their battalions, the old ones followed with their simple blue ones of Fernando I, whereas those of new creation received other similars but not so large, according to the decree of 1762.

When Charles III became King, he observed that most of the countries used pavilions in which predominated the white color (Spain, France, Great Britain, Sicily, Toscana...) and, since they were frequently in war to each other, lamentable confusions took place in the sea, not being able to distinguish if the sighted ship were own or enemy until practically the last moment. for this reason, he ordered to its Minister of Navy to present several models of flags to him, having to be visible from great distances. The Minister selected twelve sketches which showed the king. The Sovereign chose two of them, to whom he varied the dimensions of the strips, declaring them prescribed a first one for Navy military (See flag #(1)) and a second one for the Merchant navy (See flag #(2)).

The Second Spanish Republic

Flag of the 2nd Republic

Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Castile showing the crimson colour.

On April 14, 1931 was overthrown the Monarchy and proclaimed the Second Spanish Republic, being visible from the first moments tricolor flags, red, yellow and indigo, symbolizing the new regime, instead of previous red and yellow, considered, at the time, monarchist. Officially it was adopted the 27 of April, and the 6 of May it was officially given to the army. Formed by three horizontal strips of the same width, red, yellow and indigo, with the shield adopted in 1868 by the provisional Government at the center (quaterly of Castile, Leon, Aragon and Navarre, Enté en point for Granada, stamped by a mural crown between the two Pillars of Hercules). Another newness is the smaller dimensions of this flag, of 1m x 1 m.

We cannot ignore 2 great errors which incurred with this change:

• The two-color Flag was not the monarchic one, as demonstrated in Royal Decrees. When talking about it, it is described as NATIONAL FLAG, existing a separate Royal Banner which was privative to the monarch and which, peculiarly, at the time of Isabella II of Spain was of indigo colour.

• The Banner of Castile was not of indigo colour, but crimson. The existing confusion about the color of the Castilian banner was born in the XIX century, when one of the multiple secret societies, that proliferated so much then, took the name from "Comuneros" and adopted the color indigo like a symbol, without having any relation with the true Comuneros that, four centuries before, had hoisted the crimson banner in Villalar, Valladolid.

The Franco years

Flag of Spain under Franco

The Spanish Civil War officially ended on 1 April 1939, the day Francisco Franco announced the end of hostilities. The Republican regime had been defeated and Franco was now undisputed leader of Spain. He ruled Spain until he died on November 20, 1975.

At the conclusion of the war, and in spite of the reorganization of the Army, many sections of the army continued, with their bi-color flags improvised in the 36, but since 1940 new ensigns began to being distributed, whose main newness consisted of which the shield that appeared had an eagle with new quarters, becoming the same one that adopted the Catholic Monarchs after the taking of Granada. In 1938 the Pillars of Hercules were placed outside the wings.

On July 26th, 1945 the commander's ensigns ere supressed by decree, and October, 11 a detailed regulation of flags was published, that fixed the model of the bi-color flag in use, but defining better its details, emphasizing a greater style of the Saint John's eagle, until then something dumpy.

Early years of King Juan Carlos I's reign

Flag of Spain from 1977 to 1981

From the death of Franco, in 1975, and to 1977, the national flag continued with the 1945 regulation. The 21 of January of 1977 a new regulation was approved that differed from the previous one in the fact that the eagle had wings opened much more, ("pasmada" eagle), the Pillars of Hercules returned to be placed within the wings, and the tape with the motto UNA GRANDE LIBRE (ONE GREAT FREE) moveD of the neck of the eagle, to BE locate over it. Not Many flags with these coat were made. Finally, and after the restoration of the House of Bourbon in the Spanish Throne, in the person of HM Juan Carlos I, the Spanish Constitution of 78 was published, whose article 42 in its section 12, says: "the Flag of Spain is formed by three strips horizontal, red, yellow and red, being the yellow of double width that each of the red ones".

The National flag of Spain finally received its present day coat in December 1981.

Historical flags

• 
  Merchant marine's flag (1785-1927)
• War ensign (1785-1843). National Flag (1843-1873 and 1874-1931)
  War ensign (1785-1843). National Flag (1843-1873 and 1874-1931)
• 
  Flag of the First Spanish Republic (1873-1874)
• 
  Flag of the Second Spanish Republic (1931-1939)
• 
  Flag of the Spanish State (Spain under Franco's Rule) (1939-1977)
• 
  National Flag (1977-1981)
• 
  National flag (variant for civil use) without coat of arms
• 
  Naval Jack "Bandera de Proa o de Tajamar or Torrotito"
• Flag of Spain with Osborne's bull (unofficial, mostly used during sports events including a Spanish team or the Spanish national team)
  Flag of Spain with Osborne's bull (unofficial, mostly used during sports events including a Spanish team or the Spanish national team)

Spanish flag law

• Constitution of Spain 1978, defining the national flag.

• Act 39/1981, regulating the use of the flag.

• Royal Decree 441/1981, establishing the detailed technical specifications of the colours of the flag.

See also

• List of Spanish flags
• List of flags of the autonomous communities of Spain
• Royal Standard of Spain
• Flag of Catalonia
• The 1920 flag of New Mexico is red and yellow in a reference to their Spanish past.
• Cross of Burgundy Flag
• Osborne's bull

External links

• Spain at Flags of the World
• Flags of Spain Template:Es icon
• Presidency of the Government - The Banner
• Template:PDFlink Template:Es icon
• Presidency of the Government - The coat of arms.
• Spanish Authorities's Flags Template:Es icon
• History of the flag of Spain Template:Es icon