The flag of Ecuador, which consists of horizontal bands of yellow (double width), blue and red, was adopted on September 26, 1860. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Ecuador topics. Events 46 BC - Julius Caesar dedicates a Year 1860 ( MDCCLX) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year starting It is very similar to that of Colombia and Venezuela, which are also former members of Greater Colombia. Colombia (kəˈlʌmbɪə officially the Republic of Colombia () is a country in northwestern South America. Venezuela (ˌvɛnəˈzweɪlə) officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (Spanish República Bolivariana de Venezuela) is a country on the Gran Colombia ( Spanish for Great Colombia) is a name used today for the Republic of Colombia of the period 1819-1831 It is based on a proposal by Francisco de Miranda. Sebastián Francisco de Miranda y Rodríguez ( Caracas, March 28, 1750 – in prison El Arsenal de la Carraca, Cadiz,

Contents 1 Civil, state, war and municipal flags 2 History 3 Symbolism 4 Resemblance to other flags 5 External links

Civil, state, war and municipal flags

The law of 5 December 1900 (Registro Oficial No. Events 63 BC - Cicero reads the last of his Catiline Orations. Year 1900 ( MCM) was an exceptional Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar 1272) specifies that Ecuador's civil flag and ensign are different from its state flag and ensign in that the state flags are charged with Ecuador's coat of arms whereas the civil flags are not. A civil flag is a version of the National flag that is flown by civilians on non-government installations or craft The civil Ensign (also known as merchant flag or merchant ensign) is the National flag flown by civil ships (merchant ships and others to denote There are two separate meanings for the term state flag in Vexillology – the flag of state of a Government, and the flag of an individual subnational state The coat of arms of Ecuador (Spanish Escudo de armas del Ecuador) in its current form was established in 1900 based on an older version of 1845 However, in practice the state flag is often used as a civil flag, especially where this is necessary to distinguish it from the flag of Colombia, which is similar but of different proportions. List of Colombian flags The Flag of Colombia was adopted on November 26, 1861.

The naval ensign and war flag have 2:3 proportions but are otherwise the same as the state ensign.

A special flag is reserved for municipal buildings: this is the civil flag with a ring of 19 white stars (one for each of the provinces, although these now number 24) on the blue stripe.

History

Eight periods may be identified in the history of Ecuador's flag:

1810–12 The leaders of a rebellion against the Spanish authorities raised a red flag with white mast. This uprising, based in Quito, was defeated in 1812. Quito, officially San Francisco de Quito, is the Capital of Ecuador in northwestern South America.

1820–22 A flag with five horizontal stripes and three stars in the middle stripe, now the flag of the province of Guayas, was raised by the patriots in 9 October 1820 liberation.

1822 The previous flag was changed by decree of 2 June 1822: "The flag of the free province of Guayaquil shall be white and its first quarter blue with a centered star".

1822–45 Ecuador was subsumed into Greater Colombia, during which time the Colombian [horizontal] tricolour became definitive. Although Ecuador seceded from that union in 1830, the flag was retained.

1845 During the 1845 Marcist Revolution the pale blue and white colours return, but as a vertical tricolour of white, blue, white, with three white stars in the central stripe. On March 6, 1845, the people of Guayaquil, Ecuador, revolted against the government of the General Juan José Flores under the leadership

1845–60 The Cuenca Convention ratified, by decree of 6 November 1845, a change to a deeper blue, and the increase in the number of stars to seven "as symbols of the seven provinces which make up the Republic".

1860–1900 Gabriel García Moreno, on assuming power, declared "The bicolour has been shamed out of treason and bears a washproof stain. Gabriel Gregorio García y Moreno y Morán de Buitrón ( December 24, 1821 – August 6, 1875) was an Ecuadorian Statesman Let the old Equatorian flag, sealed with heroes' blood, be forever consecrated as the people's ensign and the pride of our national glories". Thus the yellow, blue and red triband was returned to use.

1900–present The flag re-introduced by Moreno became definitive in 1900, and the coat of arms is added for official state use. The coat of arms of Ecuador (Spanish Escudo de armas del Ecuador) in its current form was established in 1900 based on an older version of 1845

1820-1822	1822	1822-1830	1830-1845
1845	1845-1860	1860-1900

Symbolism

de Miranda described a letter he had received from Goethe on the theory of primary colours, explaining "First he explained to me the way the iris transforms the light into the three primary colours. ˈjoːhan ˈvɔlfgaŋ fɔn ˈgøːtə (in English generally ˈgɝːtə 28 August 1749 22 March 1832 was a German writer Primary colors are sets of Colors that can be combined to make a useful range ( Gamut) of colors . . then he said why Yellow is the most warm, noble and closest to the bright light; why Blue is that mix of excitement and serenity, so far that it evokes the shadows; and why Red is the exaltation of Yellow and Blue, the synthesis, the vanishing of the bright light into the shadows".

The patriotic symbolism ascribed to the colours is:
Yellow - wealth of agricultural and other resources in the country;
Blue - the ocean and the clear skies;
Red - the blood of those who died in wars for the country's freedom.

The significance of the elements of the coat of arms are described thus:
Condor - power and courage
Landscape - Chimborazo and Guayas River
Boat (the "Guayas") with a caduceus as mast - accord and trade
Golden Sun - pre-Colombian traditions
Zodiac signs - The Marcist revolution
Palm and Laurel leaves - Peace and dignity. The inactive Stratovolcano Chimborazo (tʃimboˈraso is Ecuador's highest summit The Guayas River is a River in western Ecuador. It gives name to the Guayas Province, and it is the most important river in South America The caduceus (/kəˈdjuːsiəs/ -ʃəs -ˈduː- κηρύκειον in Greek) or wand of Hermes is typically depicted as a short herald's staff On March 6, 1845, the people of Guayaquil, Ecuador, revolted against the government of the General Juan José Flores under the leadership

Resemblance to other flags

Ecuador's flag bears a strong resemblance to the flag of Colombia and the flag of Venezuela, because all three are derived from the flag of Gran Colombia. List of Colombian flags The Flag of Colombia was adopted on November 26, 1861. The flag of Venezuela dates from 1811, the beginning of that nation's struggle for independence The Flag of Gran Colombia was based on Francisco de Miranda 's Tricolour, which served as the national flag of the First Republic of Venezuela Internationally, the flag is flown with the nation's seal in the centre. This is to distinguish it from the flag of Colombia without which it could easily be confused, the only difference between the civil flags being in their proportions. This convention holds, although Ecuador had a flag of this design before Colombia.

External links

• Ecuador at Flags of the World
• Patriotic Symbols of Ecuador (in Spanish)

For a list of flags see List of flags or Gallery of flags by design.

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