Anjouan page at theWorld Statesmen website: Flag images mostly taken from Jaume’s collection (no credit is shown) and some also from FOTW (asreported byIain Walker, 02 Oct 2002,andAntónio Martins, 08 Oct 2002)
In1816, the Sultan ofAnjouan, threatened byZanzibar, asked for the protection of the Governor of Bourbon Island (nowLa Réunion). On 21 April1886, following the African Big Scramble,France established a Protectorate, which was strengthened on 08 January 1892. Anjouan was a Colony between 1912 and 1914, and later incorporated intothe Comoros.
Ivan Sache, 20 Apr 2002
image byJaume Ollé, 01 Apr 2003Once was another flag similar to the Kawasin flag ofRas al Khaymah,Sharjah andKhor Kalba.
Jaume Ollé, 05 Jun 1997
According toWorldStatesmen.ORG,this flag, ≅1:2 plain (dark?) red, was used until 1833. What is the story behind the dark shade? Anything to do with the laterflag with hand, apparently really of a darker shade (comparing with known mediumred flag)?
António Martins, 01 Apr 2003
image byJaume Ollé, 01 Apr 2003
According toWorldStatesmen.ORG,this flag, ~2:3 red with wide white border, was used from 1833 to an unspecified 19th century date. Was this the «No. 2 Flag» of theGeneral Maritime Treaty 1820? But, how so, if Anjouan was already a French protectorate since 1816?
António Martins, 01 Apr 2003
image byJaume Ollé, 01 Apr 2003According toWorldStatesmen.ORG,this flag, ≅2:3 red-white-red vertical triband with black letters on the white panel, was usedcirca 1850.
António Martins, 01 Apr 2003
The calligraphy on the flag does not look anything like the old Divehi and the Eveyla scripts or the modern Thaana script used in the Maldives.The symbols may have something to do with the fanditha magical symbolism of the Maldives, but I have my doubts over that too.
Chris Abdul-Wahhab, Apr 2004
The flag itself is poorly documented, so it may well be that the original looked different. One possibility is that the top word "-ll" is a representation of the Arabic "ﷲ" ("Allah") by someone who either was unfamiliar with Arabic script or saw the flag at a distance. One problem with such an idea is that it provides no explanation forthe bottom "lh".
Ernest Cline, 09 Jul 2004
My theory is that these are magical symbols inspired on Arabic numbers.
Xavier Romero-Frias, Apr 2004
image byPascal Gross, 10 Apr 1998 |
Accordigng toFlggenmitteilung31, this is the last flag of the sultan of Anjouan.
Jaume Ollé, 05 Jun 1997
According to a report, the separatist movement in Anjouan adopted the name Mawana, after a sultan that once ruled the island. A short note inThe Indian Ocean Newsletter (764 10.05.1997: p. 4) said that «elements of Mwawana sawed down the flagpole flying the national flag and hauled up the white [?] emblem of the late sultan».
Jan Oskar Engene, Jun 1997
The flag used by the Anjouaniseparatists was the personal standard ofthe last Sultan, Omar. This information was communicated in 1980 to L. Philippe [phi02a] by Said Ali Kemal, the Comorian Ambassador in France, who was the nephew of the Sultan of Anjouan and one of the sons of the Sultan of Grande Comore.
Ivan Sache, 18 Jul 2002