{"id":1044,"date":"2017-10-25T09:51:25","date_gmt":"2017-10-25T09:51:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/?p=1044"},"modified":"2026-01-08T17:33:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T17:33:15","slug":"keith-martin-presents-fun-with-flags-the-evolution-of-the-catalan-estelada","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/keith-martin-presents-fun-with-flags-the-evolution-of-the-catalan-estelada\/","title":{"rendered":"Keith Martin presents Fun with Flags: the evolution of the Catalan Estelada"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/5-Estelada-corrected-2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/5-Estelada-corrected-2-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1112\"\/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Catalan Estelada flag<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><em>&#8220;Hello. I&#8217;m Keith Martin, and welcome to Keith Martin presents: Fun with Flags\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>No, hang on, I promise this won&#8217;t be like Sheldon&#8217;s infamous vexillology video podcasts&#8230; even though one or two of my students have compared me to Sheldon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"1290\" height=\"726\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Xl12Sp1KiEk?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>I&#8217;ve always found national flags fascinating from a graphic design sense. They are meant to represent some aspect of their country, often something pretty obscure, admittedly, but with a lot of political history and formalised symbolism. This means that flags are, in effect, the graphic identity of their countries. They are the visual branding that declares a certain allegiance, a group identity, and so on. Depressingly, this is often linked with aspects of xenophobia, but that\u2019s more a result of how flags are sometimes used than what they were intended for.&nbsp;Having said that, it\u2019s curious that two of the most powerful examples of national graphic design were out-and-out enemies; brand competitors of the ultimate kind. It&#8217;s also fascinating (okay, to me) how these designs have been a part of the evolution of the Catalan Estelada \u2013 but now I&#8217;m getting ahead of myself; let&#8217;s start at the beginning&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\" style=\"padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20)\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-689b0661 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-4232890097475869\"\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\n<!-- Display-full-width-responsive -->\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\n     style=\"display:block\"\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-4232890097475869\"\n     data-ad-slot=\"5061467982\"\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\n<script>\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\n<\/script>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The American &#8216;star-spangled banner&#8217;, while a little complex in its content and symbology, is a visually arresting, slightly circus-like but unarguably memorable design. The phrase &#8216;red, white and blue&#8217; could apply to flags from many different countries including the UK, France, Chile, Cuba and Vietnam, but despite this it makes most people instantly think of the US.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/1-Flag-of-the-United-States-Pantone.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"539\" src=\"https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/1-Flag-of-the-United-States-Pantone-1024x539.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1045\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/1-Flag-of-the-United-States-Pantone-1024x539.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/1-Flag-of-the-United-States-Pantone-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/1-Flag-of-the-United-States-Pantone-768x404.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/1-Flag-of-the-United-States-Pantone-570x300.jpg 570w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Flag of the USA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The old Soviet Union&#8217;s hammer and sickle design was a powerful visual counterpoint. Its symbolism is easier to grok; the union of the workers (hammer) and peasants (sickle) with the Communist party above as a star, on a red background that was symbolic of revolution long before the rise of Soviet Russia and the 1923 adoption of this design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/2-Flag-of-the-Soviet-Union.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"512\" src=\"https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/2-Flag-of-the-Soviet-Union-1024x512.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1046\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/2-Flag-of-the-Soviet-Union-1024x512.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/2-Flag-of-the-Soviet-Union-300x150.jpg 300w, https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/2-Flag-of-the-Soviet-Union-768x384.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/2-Flag-of-the-Soviet-Union-600x300.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Flag of the USSR<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Curiously, this was the second official Soviet flag design, succeeding the first after just four months, and an unofficial design used briefly during the summer of 1923. Both of these short-lived designs were far weaker than the final one, despite using the same core red\/yellow colour scheme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"256\" src=\"https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Flag-of-the-Soviet-Union-1923-unofficial-1024x256.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1079\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Flag-of-the-Soviet-Union-1923-unofficial.png 1024w, https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Flag-of-the-Soviet-Union-1923-unofficial-300x75.png 300w, https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Flag-of-the-Soviet-Union-1923-unofficial-768x192.png 768w, https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Flag-of-the-Soviet-Union-1923-unofficial-600x150.png 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The first (unofficial) flag of the USSR, with only one known use in July 1st 1923 at the opening of the Nizhny Novgorod Fair.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"512\" src=\"https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Flag-of-the-Soviet-Union-1923-1024x512.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1080\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Flag-of-the-Soviet-Union-1923.png 1024w, https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Flag-of-the-Soviet-Union-1923-300x150.png 300w, https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Flag-of-the-Soviet-Union-1923-768x384.png 768w, https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Flag-of-the-Soviet-Union-1923-600x300.png 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The first official flag of the USSR, used for just four months in 1923<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Have you heard of the &#8216;Red Army flag&#8217; design, with the star shown front and centre in an otherwise plain red field? This is an unarguably powerful graphic. But did you know this never actually existed? Along with a number of other fake flag designs of Russian territories it was <a href=\"http:\/\/www.vexillographia.ru\/russia\/mistif.htm\">the invention of&nbsp;Oleg Ivanovich Tarnovsky<\/a> in the early 1990s \u2013 yes, <em>after<\/em> the fall of the USSR.&nbsp;Soviet ground forces never actually had their own flag, instead using the regular Hammer and Sickle flag.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/3-Red-Army-flag-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/3-Red-Army-flag-1-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1048\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/3-Red-Army-flag-1-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/3-Red-Army-flag-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/3-Red-Army-flag-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/3-Red-Army-flag-1-960x640.jpg 960w, https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/3-Red-Army-flag-1-450x300.jpg 450w, https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/3-Red-Army-flag-1.jpg 1876w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Soviet Red Army flag \u2013 or rather, not \u2013 as this never existed<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Anyway, when the cold war ended and the USSR dissolved this West\/East US\/Soviet graphic design power play was ended.&nbsp;The tricolor flag design adopted by the Russian Federation shortly after the fall of the Soviet Union was actually the one used by Russia before the October Revolution of 1917, so it\u2019s more a triumph of tradition than imagination. It is, amusingly, another of the red, white and blue set, and it&#8217;s nowhere near as strong, graphically speaking. (Yes, the top is white \u2013 it isn\u2019t just a bit shorter than most.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/4-Flag-of-the-Russia-Federation.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/4-Flag-of-the-Russia-Federation-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1049\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/4-Flag-of-the-Russia-Federation-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/4-Flag-of-the-Russia-Federation-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/4-Flag-of-the-Russia-Federation-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/4-Flag-of-the-Russia-Federation-960x640.jpg 960w, https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/4-Flag-of-the-Russia-Federation-450x300.jpg 450w, https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/4-Flag-of-the-Russia-Federation.jpg 1876w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Russian Federation flag<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>It&#8217;s not every day that a new flag design appears. Like the current Russian flag, the design I&#8217;ve been noticing recently isn&#8217;t exactly new. However, it is part of a movement that may well end with the emergence of a new independent state. Or perhaps re-emergence would be more accurate, as it&#8217;s a centuries-old argument that&#8217;s coming to a head. Yes, I&#8217;ve finally come around to the Catalan connection!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Catalonia is the region of Spain that includes Barcelona. The \u2018Estelada\u2019 is its flag of independence, as opposed to the official regional flag the \u2018Senyera\u2019 or \u2018les quatre barres\u2019 (the four bars). That\u2019s the base for the Estelada design, which puts a blue triangle with a white star over the stripes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/5-Estelada-corrected-2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/5-Estelada-corrected-2-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1112\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/5-Estelada-corrected-2-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/5-Estelada-corrected-2-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/5-Estelada-corrected-2-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/5-Estelada-corrected-2-960x640.jpg 960w, https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/5-Estelada-corrected-2-450x300.jpg 450w, https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/5-Estelada-corrected-2.jpg 1407w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Catalan Estelada flag<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Somewhat American sounding, you say? Yes, but not in the way you think. It gets a little convoluted&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Catalan Senyera \u2013 not the Estelada, I mean the plain red and yellow stripes version \u2013 was the national and maritime flag of Catalonia from before it was a region of Spain; there are illustrations of it flown on ships from as long ago as the fourteenth century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/6-Catalan-region-flag.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/6-Catalan-region-flag-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1051\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/6-Catalan-region-flag-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/6-Catalan-region-flag-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/6-Catalan-region-flag-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/6-Catalan-region-flag-960x640.jpg 960w, https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/6-Catalan-region-flag-450x300.jpg 450w, https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/6-Catalan-region-flag.jpg 1563w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Catalan Senyera flag<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Around 1600 this was used as the design basis for the British East India Trade Company&#8217;s flag: red and white stripes with a St George Cross and then later in 1707 the composite Union Flag in the upper-left, that part modelled after the Royal Navy\u2019s Red Duster flag. This was also used as the first naval ensign of America, the &#8216;Continental Colors&#8217;, from 1775 to 1777, albeit with the small Union flag part as a square rather than a rectangle. See below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><figure><a href=\"https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Flag-of-the-British-East-India-Company-1707.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/British-East-India-Company-flag.jpg\"><\/a><\/figure><\/td><td>The original British East India Company ensign had the St George Cross in the upper-left corner<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><figure><a href=\"https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Flag-of-the-British-East-India-Company-1707.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Flag-of-the-British-East-India-Company-1707.jpg\"><\/a><\/figure><\/td><td>In 1707 the design was changed to incorporate the then-current Union Flag (without the diagonal red bars)<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><figure><a href=\"https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/The-Continental-Colors-aka-the-22Grand-Union-Flag22.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/The-Continental-Colors-aka-the-22Grand-Union-Flag22.jpg\"><\/a><\/figure><\/td><td>Between 1775 and 1777 the Continental Colors, also known as the Grand Union Flag, was also the first official American flag (despite the use of the Rebellious Stripes from 1767)<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><figure><a href=\"https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Flag-of-the-British-East-India-Company-1801.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Flag-of-the-British-East-India-Company-1801.jpg\"><\/a><\/figure><\/td><td>From 1801 the British East India Company flag included the modern composite Union Flag design<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>If I was writing for Buzzfeed I&#8217;d say you wouldn&#8217;t BELIEVE what happened next \u2013 because the British East India Trade Company\u2019s design was used in 1767 by the Sons of Liberty, the group behind the Boston Tea Party that destroyed the tea being shipped in by that company.&nbsp;The flag design, which was referred to as the \u2018Rebellious Stripes\u2019, was created by removing the Union Jack and flipping the stripes vertically, but those were returned to horizontal in 1773.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/7-Sons-Of-Liberty-9-Stripes-Flag.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"539\" src=\"https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/7-Sons-Of-Liberty-9-Stripes-Flag-1024x539.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1052\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/7-Sons-Of-Liberty-9-Stripes-Flag-1024x539.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/7-Sons-Of-Liberty-9-Stripes-Flag-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/7-Sons-Of-Liberty-9-Stripes-Flag-768x404.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/7-Sons-Of-Liberty-9-Stripes-Flag-570x300.jpg 570w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">\u2018Sons of Liberty\u2019 flag<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>However, this wasn&#8217;t ever the <em>official<\/em> American flag. In 1777 the Continental Colors design was altered; the blue field with white stars was added in place of the small Union flag section, and the American \u2018star-spangled banner\u2019 as we know it was born. Since then it\u2019s just been about the details; it\u2019s always been red and white stripes with some arrangement of white stars on blue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/8-US-Hopkinson-Flag-1777-b.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"539\" src=\"https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/8-US-Hopkinson-Flag-1777-b-1024x539.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1060\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/8-US-Hopkinson-Flag-1777-b-1024x539.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/8-US-Hopkinson-Flag-1777-b-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/8-US-Hopkinson-Flag-1777-b-768x404.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/8-US-Hopkinson-Flag-1777-b-570x300.jpg 570w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">First American flag<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Since then some form of stars and stripes combination has appeared in flags again and again around the world, for example with the Cuban and then the Puerto Rican flag.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/10-Flag-of-Cuba-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"512\" src=\"https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/10-Flag-of-Cuba-1-1024x512.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1059\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/10-Flag-of-Cuba-1-1024x512.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/10-Flag-of-Cuba-1-300x150.jpg 300w, https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/10-Flag-of-Cuba-1-768x384.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/10-Flag-of-Cuba-1-600x300.jpg 600w, https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/10-Flag-of-Cuba-1.jpg 1667w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Cuban flag, designed in 1849 (but only officially adopted in 1902)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/9-Flag-of-Puerto-Rico.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/9-Flag-of-Puerto-Rico-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1054\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/9-Flag-of-Puerto-Rico-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/9-Flag-of-Puerto-Rico-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/9-Flag-of-Puerto-Rico-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/9-Flag-of-Puerto-Rico-960x640.jpg 960w, https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/9-Flag-of-Puerto-Rico-450x300.jpg 450w, https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/9-Flag-of-Puerto-Rico.jpg 1876w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Puerto Rican flag, designed in 1892, based on the Cuban flag<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The Puerto Rican flag was designed by revolutionaries in 1892 by flipping the red\/blue colours of the Cuban flag (and brightening them) but keeping its design structure. It was banned by the Spanish and then, faintly ironically, by the Americans until 1952.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The convoluted loop-back happens here, as Catalan\u2019s Senyera-based Estelada is said to have been designed with reference to the Puerto Rican white-star-in-blue-triangle design, while at the same time reflecting aspects of the American star spangled banner. As far as we can tell this was done in 1918 by a group calling itself the Pro-Catalunya Committee, headed by the Estelada&#8217;s designer Vicen\u00e7 Albert Ballester, in the midst of a wave of new nation-states created by the League of Nations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/ZZ-Primera-estelada-1918-\u2013-public-domain.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"560\" height=\"534\" src=\"https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/ZZ-Primera-estelada-1918-\u2013-public-domain.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1064\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/ZZ-Primera-estelada-1918-\u2013-public-domain.jpg 560w, https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/ZZ-Primera-estelada-1918-\u2013-public-domain-300x286.jpg 300w, https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/ZZ-Primera-estelada-1918-\u2013-public-domain-315x300.jpg 315w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 560px) 100vw, 560px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Primera Estelada proclamation, 1918<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>There were concerted efforts to get support from France and from US President Woodrow Wilson but, thanks in part to Spanish efforts and despite the flag design and lobbying, Catalonia \u2013 for better or worse \u2013 remained part of Spain. But the flag evolution wasn&#8217;t quite finished. Although the red, yellow, blue and white Estelada is the best-known version of today&#8217;s Catalan symbolism, in 1969 a Marxist branch of Catalan independentists created a version of the flag design that used a red star and coloured the triangle yellow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/11-Estelada-red-star.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/11-Estelada-red-star-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1056\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/11-Estelada-red-star-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/11-Estelada-red-star-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/11-Estelada-red-star-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/11-Estelada-red-star-960x640.jpg 960w, https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/11-Estelada-red-star-450x300.jpg 450w, https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/11-Estelada-red-star.jpg 1563w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Alternative version of the Catalan flag<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/12-Estelada-red-star-mural-CREDIT-by-Jey86-from-Wikimedia.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/12-Estelada-red-star-mural-CREDIT-by-Jey86-from-Wikimedia-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1065\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/12-Estelada-red-star-mural-CREDIT-by-Jey86-from-Wikimedia-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/12-Estelada-red-star-mural-CREDIT-by-Jey86-from-Wikimedia-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/12-Estelada-red-star-mural-CREDIT-by-Jey86-from-Wikimedia-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/12-Estelada-red-star-mural-CREDIT-by-Jey86-from-Wikimedia-400x300.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Estelada red star mural &#8211; by Jey86 (from Wikimedia)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The red star on yellow links conceptually to the red\/yellow stars in the left-wing&nbsp;Soviet and Red Army flag designs \u2013 despite the flag design&#8217;s actual roots being more in the right-wing US flag. This version of the Catalan flag exists today, but the leftist origins are largely forgotten and the red-star design is used where a simpler version is needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>All this building of connections may seem a little forced, but note that flag design is almost maniacally rooted in symbolism, tradition and precedent \u2013 despite so often being representative of revolution and change. It\u2019s also quite hard to pin down the truth completely, so do your own research before placing actual bets. There\u2019s some interesting stuff in a Powerpoint document found at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cch.cat\/pps\/vm_apu_08.pps\">www.cch.cat\/pps\/vm_apu_08.pps<\/a>, but note that it\u2019s written in Catalan and, unfortunately, set in Comic Sans. Ouch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As of the time of writing the Estelada isn\u2019t exactly banned by the Spanish government, but it represents a long-unwelcome (to the Madrid-based government) separatist political movement.&nbsp;In graphic branding terms it\u2019s also an exceptionally strong design that easily outdoes the official Spanish \u2018la Rojigualda\u2019 flag. That may not seem politically important, but it does help rather a lot when it\u2019s used as a rallying call.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/13-Flag-of-Spain.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/13-Flag-of-Spain-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1057\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/13-Flag-of-Spain-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/13-Flag-of-Spain-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/13-Flag-of-Spain-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/13-Flag-of-Spain-960x640.jpg 960w, https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/13-Flag-of-Spain-450x300.jpg 450w, https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/13-Flag-of-Spain.jpg 1563w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Spanish flag<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019m not a flag collector as such, but I am tempted to get hold of a decent sized Estelada, both because of its graphic design strength and for its development history. However, it turns out it\u2019s not easy to do if you don\u2019t speak Spanish or Catalan, so if anyone out there can help I\u2019m all ears!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And that concludes today\u2019s episode of Fun with Flags. Bazinga.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>NOTE: I wrote this column in 2014, and I was quickly contacted with positive comments and generous offers of help; I was sent a 5x4ft Estelada by Jaume Avellaneda M and a beautiful original \u2018Estelada\u2019 art print by Sal Mullen. And more recently a graphic correction from V\u00edktor Bautista i Roca. Thanks everyone!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Hello. I&#8217;m Keith Martin, and welcome to Keith Martin presents: Fun with Flags\u201d. No, hang on, I promise this won&#8217;t be like Sheldon&#8217;s infamous vexillology video podcasts&#8230; even though one or two of my students have compared me to Sheldon. I&#8217;ve always found national flags fascinating from a graphic design sense. They are meant to&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1084,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1044","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-design"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Malagrida_P1160108-CREDIT-by-Pere-Prlpz-from-Wikimedia.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8ooc8-gQ","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1044","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1044"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1044\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1881,"href":"https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1044\/revisions\/1881"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1084"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1044"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1044"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thatkeith.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1044"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}