The national flag of the Republic of Cape Verde was first officially raised in September 1992, when the country embarked on a path of democratic development.
Description and proportions of the flag of Cape Verde
The flag of Cape Verde has a classic rectangular shape. However, its proportions are not quite typical of the flags of most independent world powers. The ratio of the length of the flag to its width can be expressed as a ratio of 17:10. The Cape Verde flag can be used for any purpose on land or water. It can be raised by state citizens and officials. The flag is used by the country's land forces and its navy. The national flag of Cape Verde is flown on the masts of private and state vessels and on ships of the merchant fleet.
The flag of Cape Verde is a deep blue strip, divided horizontally into two unequal parts by a group of thin stripes. In the center of the group there is a bright red thin stripe, and above and below it there are white stripes of the same width. In the left half of the cloth there are ten gold five-pointed stars in a circle. The center of the circle is on the red stripe of the flag. The radius of the circle is equal to a quarter of the width of the flag rectangle.
The total width of the group of red and white stripes is a quarter of the width of the flag of Cape Verde. The same amount is occupied by the lower blue part. The width of the upper blue field is equal to half the width of the entire panel.
The blue fields of the Cape Verde flag symbolize the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, in which the Cape Verde islands "drift", on which the state is located. Blue is the color of the sky over a country in the tropics. The red stripe on the flag of Cape Verde is a tribute to the stubborn and persistent disposition of the islanders, and the white ones are a symbol of the peace that the people aspire to. According to the number of inhabited islands of Cape Verde, the flag is marked with the number of stars, united into a single state by a circle.
History of the flag of Cape Verde
Colony of Portugal since the 15th century, the Cape Verde Islands lived under the governor's flag. In the middle of the twentieth century, the colonial existence ceased to suit the inhabitants of the country, and a movement for independence unfolded on the islands. The PAIGK party, which led the liberation struggle, used a three-color red-yellow-green cloth with a black five-pointed star at the flagpole as a flag. The colors of the flag symbolized the blood spilled by patriots, the desire for material wealth and hope for the best. The black star served as a symbol of the unity of all the peoples of the African continent.
This flag became the state symbol of the newly independent Guinea-Bissau in 1974. Portugal recognized the autonomy of Cape Verde a few months later, and on July 5, 1975, the country was declared independent.
The first flag of a sovereign state was a cloth, on the left side of which, on a vertical red field, was a five-pointed black star surrounded by a wreath of green corn stalks with ripe ears. the base of the wreath was a yellow seashell. In 1992, the new flag replaced the old one on the flagpoles, and to this day it serves as the state flag without changes.
