The main symbol of the state of the Republic of Haiti was officially approved in February 1986.
Description and proportions of the flag of Haiti
The flag of Haiti is rectangular, like the vast majority of flags of other world powers. The flag is divided horizontally into two equal parts. The upper stripe of the Haiti flag is dark blue and the lower stripe is red. In the center of the panel is the coat of arms of Haiti on a white rectangular field. The military flag of Haiti looks just like the state flag, but the civilian flag does not have a coat of arms in the center.
Proportionally, the sides of the Haiti flag relate to each other as 5: 3.
The red color on the flag of Haiti symbolizes the mulattoes living on the island, and the blue color represents the black population. Both colors go back to the colors of the flag of France, whose colony was the state of Haiti for a long time. Today, blue and red on the country's flag symbolize only the peaceful union and coexistence of mulattoes and people from Africa in Haiti.
The country's coat of arms, applied to the modern flag of Haiti, was officially approved back in 1807. In its central part there is a palm tree, which is crowned with the symbol of freedom - a Phrygian two-tone cap. War trophies are located around the palm tree: anchors and cannonballs, the cannons themselves, axes and rifles. On a green field, scraps of chains are applied in gold - a reminder of the country's colonial past, and six battle flags of the national Haitian colors surround the palm tree. The motto of the State of Haiti "Union creates strength" is inscribed on a white ribbon at the foot of a palm tree.
History of the flag of Haiti
The first flag in the history of the Free Republic of Haiti was adopted in 1804, when the country won independence from France. It was a panel divided horizontally into two equal fields: the upper one was blue, and the lower one was red. A year later, the country adopted a new flag, on which two stripes of the same width were inscribed vertically. The black one was located closer to the flagpole, and the red one - on the free edge of the flag.
Over the next 150 years since 1806, the country changed the political structure and appearance of the main state symbol several times. It became now a state, now a kingdom, now an empire, now a republic. Different versions of the coat of arms appeared on the flag, then it disappeared altogether. The stripes on the cloth were located both vertically and horizontally, and their colors changed from bright red and black to light blue and dark pink. The current version of the national flag of Haiti was finally approved in 1986 following the overthrow of the ruling Duvalier clan.
