Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Peru Flag History Today

By Lorra Needle


Peru was once part of the great Incan Empire and later the major vice-royalty of Spanish South America. It was conquered in 1531-1533 by Francisco Pizarro. On July 28, 1821, Peru proclaimed its independence, but the Spanish were not finally defeated until 1824. For a hundred years thereafter, revolutions were frequent; a new war was fought with Spain in 1864-1866, and an unsuccessful war was fought with Chile from 1879 to 1883 (the War of the Pacific).

The form of the flag was unusualâ€"a diagonal division forming two white and two red triangles with a coat of arms in the center. When local independence partisans established themselves, another flag was adopted on March 15, 1822. The resemblance of this flag (equal red-white-red horizontal stripes with a red sun, the traditional emblem of the Inca empire, in the center) to that of Spain caused confusion, and it was soon altered (May 31) to a flag with vertical stripes, but the sun emblem remained in the center.

On February 25, 1825, the design now in use was established. The red-white-red vertical stripes from the previous flag were retained, but the sun was replaced by a new coat of arms. Its shield is framed by one wreath (of palm and laurel branches) and surmounted by another.

Another great liberator, Simón Bolívar, introduced a fourth and final design (as used today) on February 25, 1825. This flag used the same vertical triband design as introduced by José Bernardo de Tagle, but with the Peruvian coat of arms replacing the central sun.

The red stripes represent the blood shed for Peruvian freedom; while the white stands for peace. The flag of Peru was designed by José de San Martín, who hailed from Argentina. San Martin was a general and the prime leader of southern South America's successful fight for independence from Spain. Together with Simón Bolívar from the north, San Martín is regarded as one of the liberators of Spanish South America. He is a national hero of Argentina.

There is a barrage of cheap and inferior Peru flags being imported and sold, that do not comply with the flag statute. This is bad for a number of reasons. Some flags are cheaply made and more importantly, the designs, materials, colors, and methods of printing do not compare well with the better quality, longer-lasting, and correctly designed flags. The Flag Company Inc specialized in flag designs offered a special edition of decals and flags to memorize the history of Peru future.




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