National Flag of the Republic of Cuba (1902)

Cuba was a Spanish colony from early in the 16th century until late in the 19th century, when after years of sustained hostility by Cuban independence fighters, United States intervention finally signalled an end to European colonial rule on the Caribbean island.

The design of the flag has been credited to a Cuban exile living in the United States in the mid-19th century and was modelled on the stars and stripes flag of the United States.

The flag, first flown on Cuban soil in a failed liberation attempt in 1850, wasn't officially adopted as the Cuban national flag until the 20th of May 1902.

Even though Cuba went through a communist revolution in the 1950s, the national flag has remained unchanged since inception.

The Symbolic Meaning

The three blue stripes represent the three provinces of Cuba, present at the time the flag was created and the white stripes represent the purity of the revolutionary cause.

The red equilateral triangle symbolises the revolutionary motto: Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. 

Red is for the blood sacrificed for independence and the five-pointed white star symbolises the independence of the nation.