The horizontal red/gold triband flag of Spain first appeared upon the succession of the House of Bourbon to the Spanish throne in 1785. Prior to this event, the flag of the Hapsburg monarchy was the quartered flag symbolizing the union of the Kingdoms of Castille and Leon. (This flag is still the provincial flag of the Autonomous Region of Castillayleon in the heartland of Spain.) Over the years, the Spanish triband has undergone numerous revisions as political circumstances changed. The first red and gold Spanish flag was introduced as civil and war ensign of the Spanish navy. In 1843 it was used for the first time on land. This flag also displayed a heraldic charge representing the union of Castille and Leon. When the first Spanish republic appeared in 1873, the crown was removed from the arms but was returned with the return of the monarchy a year later. It remained until 1931 when the second Spanish republic was proclaimed. With the republic, the lower red band was changed to a purple band, creating one of the most unusual national flags in the world at the time. But these were unusual times as Spain endured a civil war that eventually saw the rise of the regime of Francisco Franco. With Franco in power from 1939, the flag was once again changed, returning the red-gold-red triband but replacing the monarchist arms with a republican style eagle displaying the decidedly monarchist arms of Spain. This republican version of the flag was changed again after Franco's death and finally once more with the return of the Bourbon monarchy in 1981.
The colors red and gold have been associated with Spain for centuries, long before the appearance of the Bourbon flag. The colors are depicted in the arms Catalonia, Aragon, and Castille. The modern representation of these traditional arms are imitated in the current provincial flags of autonomous communities that have replaced these traditional Spanish provinces. They may also be seen in the modern coat-of-arms of the Spanish kingdom. The quartered shield bears the arms of the ancient kingdoms of Castille, Leon, Catalonia, and Navarre. The unification of these kingdom represent the unification of the Spanish state during the ?Renaissance. (The pomegranite at the bottom of the shield represents the southern portion of Spain, Andalusia, that was part of the Moorish kingdom that remained after Spain's unification. The golden fleur-de-lis represent the Bourbon monarchy. The pillars represent the Pillars of Hercules, the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea.) |
