Flag of Peru

The flag of Peru was adopted by the government of Peru in 1825. It is a vertical triband with red outer bands and a single white middle band. Depending on its use, it may be defaced with different emblems, and has different names.

June 7, the anniversary of the Battle of Arica, is celebrated as Flag Day.

Variants

National flag (Bandera Nacional); ratio: 2:3

National (civil) flag

The national or civil flag (Spanish: bandera nacional) is used by citizens. It has no additions to the common form. It was changed several times; before 1950 it looked like the current national flag and was used as both the civil and state flag, when General Manuel A. Odría removed the coat of arms from the national flag and created the state and war flags.

State flag and Naval Ensign (pabellón nacional); ratio: 2:3

National ensign (state flag)

The national ensign or state flag (pabellón nacional), used by state institutions, is marked with the coat of arms of Peru (escudo de armas). It is used during ceremonies in which the flag is hoisted in the presence of spectators (as opposed to a static, permanent flag). A form of this flag, the national standard (estandarte nacional) is used indoors by official and private institutions.

War flag (Bandera de Guerra); ratio: 2:3

War flag

The war flag (Bandera de Guerra), similar to the state flag, is marked with the national shield (Escudo Nacional). It is flown by the Peruvian military and national police, and is typically inscribed with the service, name and number of the unit flying it.

Naval jack (Bandera de proa); ratio: 1:1

The naval jack (bandera de proa) is not based on the triband; it is a square flag, consisting of a white square with the coat of arms (Escudo de Armas) on a red field. It is used on battleships, usually with the ensign of the highest-rank officer on board above it.

History

Main article: Flags of Peru

Proposed flag, 1820 During the Viceroyalty of Peru, the Spanish flag was used in the colonial era. In 1820, during the struggle for independence, British General William Miller hoisted the first flag attempting to represent the emerging country in Tacna. It was a navy blue flag with a golden sun (possibly Inti). This flag was lost, but the description survived.	Flag hoisted by Admiral Miller in October 1820.
1820 flag This design was created by General José de San Martín and decreed as the national flag on 21 October 1820. Two diagonal lines joining opposite corners divide the flag into four fields. The top and bottom ones were white, the other two were red. There was an oval-shaped laurel crown at the center, inside of which there was the sun rising behind mountains by the sea. The origin of the flag is not certain, but speculations exist. A literary tradition, wrote by Abraham Valdelomar in 1917, tells that San Martín, having arrived to the coast of southern Pisco, was inspired by the colors of parihuanas, red-and-white flamingos. Historians of the early Peruvian Republic, such as Leguía y Martínez and Pareja Paz Soldán, give a different explanation: San Martín took the red from the flag of Chile and the white from the flag of Argentina, in recognition of the origin of the men in the liberating army. A major difficulty in the adoption of this flag was the difficulty of its construction. With no standardized measurements in place, it was very difficult to build a triangular-part flag then.	First republican flag, created by General José de San Martín.
March 1822 flag In March 1822, José Bernardo de Tagle, Marquis of Torre Tagle and Supreme Delegate of the Republic, who replaced San Martín provisionally when the latter traveled to Guayaquil, decreed a new design for the flag. This consisted of a horizontal triband, with a white band between two red ones, and a golden sun at the center, similar to the flag of Argentina. This modification was justified, according to Torre Tagle, by the inconvenience in the construction of the previous version, among other issues. A problem came up on the battlefields: the resemblance with the Spanish flag, especially from far away, made the distinction between the armies difficult, which led to a new change to the flag.	Second design, by Torre Tagle.
May 1822 flag On 31 May 1822, Torre Tagle changed the flag's design again. The new version was a vertical triband, with red outer bands and a white middle band, with a golden sun representing Inti at the center.	Third design.
1825 flag On 25 February 1825, during Simón Bolívar's administration, the Constituent Congress changed the design of the flag through a law of national symbols. The sun was changed for the new coat of arms, designed by José Gregorio Paredes and Francisco Javier Cortés.	Fourth flag, created in 1825.

Flag of the Republic of South Peru, 1836-9.

Flags of the Peru-Bolivian Confederation era, 1836-9

From 1836 to 1839, Peru was temporarily dissolved into the Republics of South Peru and North Peru, which joined Bolivia to form the Peru-Bolivian Confederation.

The South was formed first, thus adopting a new flag: a red vertical band on the left, with a golden sun and four small stars above (representing Arequipa, Ayacucho, Cusco and Puno, the four Departments of the republic), and the right side divided into an upper green band and a lower white one. The North kept the currency and all symbols of the dissolved Peru, including its flag.

Flag of the Peru-Bolivian Confederation, 1836-9.

The flag of the Peru-Bolivian Confederation showed the coats of arms of Bolivia, South and North Peru, from left to right and slanted at different angles, on a red field, adorned by a laurel crown.

After the dissolution of the Confederation, the old Republic of Peru was restored to its 1836 composition, as well as its national symbols.

1950 flag

In 1950, General Odría modified the national flag to its current form, removing the coat of arms from the civil flag, since it was used de facto, being easier to make. The national ensign and war flag were created for exclusive uses, each with a variant of the coat of arms, which was also changed slightly. These remain as the official flags today.

See also

• Flags of Peru

External links

• Peru at Flags of the World