Theflag of theRepublic of Colombia, also known asEl Tricolor Nacional[1] (The National Tricolor), is thenational flag representing the country and, alongside thecoat of arms and thenational anthem, constitutes one of its official national symbols. The flag consists of a rectangle divided into three horizontal bands featuring the primary colors of theRYB color model. The upper band occupies half of the total height, following a proportional ratio of 2:1:1.
These colors were successively adopted by the Congresses ofGran Colombia on December 17, 1819, and theRepublic of New Granada on May 9, 1834. The current arrangement of the colors was officially adopted on November 26, 1861, and subsequently regulated by Decrees No. 861 of May 17, 1924, and No. 62 of January 11, 1934.[3]
Due to their shared historical origin, the Colombian flag bears resemblance to the national flags ofEcuador andVenezuela, which were once part of the former state of Gran Colombia. Among these, the Ecuadorian flag is the most similar, with its legislation recognizing two official versions that closely mirror the proportions and layout of Colombia's flag, differing only in the specific shades used.[n 1] In the case of Colombia, the use of the national coat of arms on the flag is mandatory exclusively in official institutional contexts.
As a national symbol, the flag is employed by theGovernment and state institutions, with specific variations in its design depending on its intended use by diplomatic, civil, or military bodies.
The horizontal stripes (from top to bottom) of yellow, blue and red tricolor have a ratio of 2:1:1. The Colombian flag, theflag of Ecuador, and theflag of Venezuela are all derived from theflag of Gran Colombia. The stripes of the Colombian andEcuadorian flags are different from most other tricolor flags because the three stripes are not equal sizes. In contrast, the flag ofVenezuela is a more conventional tricolor due to its evenly sized stripes.
The exact colors of the flag have not yet been officially established by law. However, the following colors, approved by theFIAV,[6] are recommended. These colors, for instance, were used in the "Flags and Anthems Manual" for the2012 Summer Olympics:[7]
The flag's colors have other representations, such as blue for loyalty and vigilance, red for the victory of battles for Colombian independence, and yellow for sovereignty and justice.[9]
Francisco de Miranda originally created the common yellow, blue, and redflag of Gran Colombia that Colombia,Ecuador andVenezuela, with slight variations, share today. Miranda gave at least two sources of inspiration for his flag. In a letter written to the Russian countSemyon Vorontsov and the German philosopherJohann Wolfgang von Goethe, Miranda described a late-night conversation he had had with Goethe at a party in Weimar during the winter of 1785. Fascinated by Miranda's account of his exploits in theUnited States Revolutionary War and his travels throughout the Americas and Europe, Goethe told him, "Your destiny is to create in your land a place where primary colors are not distorted." He proceeded to clarify what he meant:
First he explained to me the way theiris transforms light into the three primary colours […] then he proved to me why yellow is the most warm, noble and closest to [white] light; why blue is that mix of excitement and serenity, a distance that evokes shadows; and why red is the exaltation of yellow and blue, the synthesis, the vanishing of light into shadow.
It is not that the world is made of yellows, blues and reds; it is that in this manner, as if in an infinite combination of these three colours, we human beings see it. […] A country [Goethe concluded] starts out from a name and a flag, and it then becomes them, just as a man fulfils his destiny.
In his military diary, Miranda gave another possible source of inspiration: the yellow, blue and redstandard of the Burger Guard (Bürgerwache) ofHamburg, which he also saw during his travels in Germany.[11][12]
In the 1801 plan for an army toliberate Spanish America, which he submitted unsuccessfully to theBritish cabinet, Miranda requested the materials for "ten flags, whose colors shall be red, yellow, and blue, in three zones."[13] However, the first flag was not raised until 12 March 1806, inJacmel,Haiti, during his ill-fated expedition to Venezuela.
The flag was officially adopted by law on 26 November 1861.[3]
Flag of United Provinces of New Granada (1811–1814), later adopted and used byJean Lafitte from 1817 to 1821 at Galveston Island, Spanish Texas, New Spain
Flag of United Provinces of New Granada (1814–1816)
^The civil ensign of Ecuador may cause confusion with the flag of Colombia due to their marked similarity.[4] In contrast, the state flag of Ecuador incorporates thenational coat of arms at its center, thereby distinguishing it more clearly. In both cases, the shades of the colors used in these Ecuadorian flags differ from those employed in the Colombian flag.[5]
^Serpa Erazo, Jorge, [summary of Ricardo Silva Romero's]"La Bandera del Mundo."Archived 2007-08-12 at theWayback MachinePañol de la Historia. Part 1, Section 1 (July 30, 2004). ISSN 1900-3447. Retrieved on 2008-12-02
^Dousdebés, Pedro Julio, "Las insignias de Colombia,"Boletín de historia y antigüedades, August 1937, 462, cited in Nelson González Ortega, "Formación de la iconografía nacional en Colombia: una lectura semiótico-social,"Revista de Estudios Colombianos, No. 16 (1996), 20.
^Miranda, Francisco; Josefina Rodríguez de Alonso; José Luis Salcedo-Bastardo (1983),Colombeia: Segunda sección: El viajero ilustrado, 1787-1788, vol. 4, Caracas: Ediciones de la Presidencia de la República, p. 415,ISBN84-499-6610-8,April 19:[…] around 5:30 in the evening I had the pleasure of seeing the Burger Guard pass by with flag waving and drums beating, which it does every day at a similar time […] The [officers of the] infantry wore red with a yellow emblem, and the artillery blue with red emblem.
^Miranda, Francisco; Josefina Rodríguez de Alonso; José Luis Salcedo-Bastardo (1978),Colombeia: Primera parte: Miranda, súbdito español, 1750-1780, vol. 1, Caracas: Ediciones de la Presidencia de la República, p. 80,ISBN978-84-499-5163-3
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