The Venezuelan flag and the meaning of its colors Represent, identify and differentiate Venezuela from the rest of the countries.
A flag is usually the product of the inspiration of one or more important personages of the nations that has a history behind.
Each country has had, since its establishment as a nation, a series of symbols that distinguish it.
The Venezuelan flag is one of the symbols that has gone through multiple modifications over time, up to the aspect of today. This one has three stripes of equal size, with the primary colors in this order: yellow, blue and red with 8 stars in the central stripe in the form of an arc.
Its creator was Francisco de Miranda , Born Venezuelan born in Caracas. Although it was not the same one that used when disembarking in Coro in 1806, in its liberating expedition. However, the authorship remains the responsibility of the General.
You may also like This list of Venezuelan traditions .
Meaning of the colors of the Venezuelan flag
Traditionally the meaning of the colors of the Venezuelan flag has been explained as follows:
- He Yellow Represents the riches of the nation. This is the color of gold and we want to generalize with it the many resources that Venezuela possesses for its exploitation, such as iron, bauxite, pearls, coal, and of course gold, among many others.
- He blue Represents the waters of the Caribbean Sea off the Venezuelan coast.
- The color Red Symbolizes the blood of the fallen heroes during the independence struggles.
However, this is not the only version that exists on this subject, even has been criticized for its historical lag.
In 1806, when Francisco de Miranda brought with him the first design, there was not yet much knowledge about the riches of the Venezuelan land. Nor had confrontations occurred to speak of"the blood shed by the heroes of independence,"since the final battle occurred in the year 1821.
What is certain is that the stars, which represent each of the seven provinces that adhered to the Declaration of Independence and the subsequent decree adding the eighth star, symbolize Guiana.
Other meanings generally extended through poetry and songs, indicate that yellow is also an allusion to the striking color of Araguaney flowers , The national tree.
The blue coincides with the idea of the representation of the Caribbean Sea although it also mentions the color of the sky as a reference, while the red one is related to the flowers of the Bucare tree And with the blood of the martyrs and even the blood of Christ.
On the other hand, a well-known version argues that the layout of the stripes and colors have their origin in the Spanish flag (yellow and red). And that when Venezuela separated from it, it was meant to symbolize the fact with the inclusion of the blue color in the middle of these colors, as a way of representing the sea (ocean) between both countries.
Also noteworthy are the interpretations given by the politician of the late Gran Colombia, Francisco Zea , During the Angostura Congress in the year 1819.
According to Zea, the yellow represented"the people that we love the federation"; The blue would be a symbol of"the seas, to prove to the despots of Spain, that separates us from its ominous yoke the immensity of the ocean." While red would be a way to declare the willingness of the Venezuelan people to die before they become"slaves"of the Spanish kingdom.
On the other hand, some historians of reputation in the South American country like J.L. Salcedo-Bastardo. They even dare to assure that Miranda was inspired by the Russian Flag (White, Red Blue) and that replaced the white color associated with the cold and the snow, by the yellow of the tropical sun.
Other versions
General Francisco de Miranda
Francisco de Miranda was a man of great culture and it is said that in his relation with important European personalities of his time, he found his inspiration to realize the flag.
In particular, in the Russian Empress Catherine II of which he wanted to express his admiration for his beauty of the monarch on the flag and that would wear as a banner independence: yellow would be for his blond hair, blue for the color of his eyes and Red by the lips of the lady in question.
Catherine II, empress of Russia
This same version has been commonly transmitted in Stockholm, Sweden, but referring to a lady named Catherine Hall, who is said to have also been the object of affection on the part of the general general.
Others, for their part, defend the theory that Miranda devised the Venezuelan flag according to the colors of the flag of France, where he lived and even participated in the French Revolution. Like the version that designates the Russian flag, where the white color, representative of the cold climate, would become the warm yellow of the Caribbean sun.
New findings and meanings
The previous interpretations can be very logical, heroic and even passionate, but in no way they really come close to what would lead Francisco de Miranda to create the Venezuelan flag. At least there is not enough evidence to prove them.
In the book"The National Flag: Three Star Moments of History", its authors (González, C. and Maldonado, C.) mention certain testimonies and concrete evidence that suggest a different origin of the banner created by Miranda.
It is said that in general he got his inspiration from the royal banner of the Incas. This flag was made up of the colors visible in a rainbow, an element that caused great admiration in Miranda.
Also noted is a review that was published by the newspaper The Times , Of London in the year 1806, that in turn had like source to the Caribbean newspaper Jamaica Royal Gazette , Fact that gives credibility to him by the probable closeness with Miranda.
In that review the banner is described as a clearly allegorical symbol to the old pre-Columbian empire of the Peruvian aborigines.
Flag of tahuantinsuyo, Inca empire
In addition, it is known about Miranda's firm belief in the fact that the independence of America had its precursor bases in the old pre-Hispanic cultures.
In this sense, this is indicated as the most probable of the interpretations about the meaning of the colors of the national tricolor of the South American nation: the rainbow as the main reference, an allusion to the solar cult of the Incas and, in turn, to the universal and Its subsequent denouement: a new alliance.
References
- Francisco de Miranda and the National Flag. Retrieved from: loshijosderousseau.blogspot.com.
- New signifiers to an old subject: The Flag of Miranda by Carlos Edsel González and Carlos Maldonado-Bourgoin. Recovered from: analitica.com.
- Historical Evolution of the National Flag: Documentary Compilation. By: Lic. Daniel E. Chalbaud Lange. Retrieved from: web.archice.org.
- González, C. and Maldonado, C. (2006). The National Flag: Three Star Moments of History . Caracas, Monte Ávila Editors.
- Generalís Park Francisco de Miranda. Retrieved from: en.wikipedia.org.