Tuesday, May 29, 2007

the Netherlands


This flag design for the Netherlands was once the official flag of the Netherlands, but the top orange stripe was changed to red in 1796. The national and royal color of the Netherlands is orange, but there is no orange on the flag. Also, the red, white, and blue stripes make the flag very difficult to distinguish among many other European flags with red, white, and blue. Ugh! The red being changed to orange would make it easier to distinguish, and Luxembourg wouldn't have to keep the light blue stripe on the bottom of their flag (also they might keep it, which would be fine).

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

It has always been red. Just look at the maritime paintings from 17th century. Orange is the Royal colour, not the national one.

FlagFreak said...

Hmmm. Strange. I have seen the color orange on many of the Dutch sports teams' shirts, equipment, etc. Also, The World Encyclopedia of Flags shows the orange-white-blue tricolor as the former Netherlands flag on page 116. But now that I looked it up, I realize that I got the date wrong. I am going to fix it right away.

Anonymous said...

Actually it was originally orange, not red, and they changed it (a loooong time ago) for better visibility at sea. The original orange shows up in the old flag of South Africa and in the flag of New York City (and the Knicks!)

Anonymous said...

Apologies: I re-read your original and you mention the 1796 change from orange to red. And I agree that reverting to orange would be a good idea; dyes are better today than they were in 1796, although I admit that sometimes, especially if there's been weathering, I cannot tell Ireland from Italy. (Personally, I alwys prefer the addition of a device of some sort, even a simple one -- or [heresy] even a *seal* -- to distinguish one bi- or tri-color from another. Compare Mexico and Italy, e.g.)

FlagFreak said...

Good point. It looks like those tricolo(u)rs need some more difference to each oher, since orange and red, and blue and green, look very similar sometimes when flying in the wind. But what symbol could be put on the Netherlands flag? Hmmmm...