|
Originally orange, white and blue and including up to nine horizontal stripes, the Dutch flag, nicknamed the ‘Prince’s Flag’, was patterned on the heraldic colours (coat of arms) of Prince William of Orange, who led the campaign for Dutch independence against Spanish rule in 1568.
The orange-white-blue flag first appeared around the early 1570s.
In the early to mid-17th century, the orange stripe gave way to a red stripe, the reason for this is not completely clear, however, one possibility is that red
is more visible than orange when viewed at a distance.
Another suggestion is that it may have been politically motivated; orange closely linked the flag to the royal family, the
House of Orange.
Red, white and blue were officially set out as the colours of the Dutch flag in 1796.
The flag was outlawed for a short period at the turn of the 19th century after France, led by Napoleon Bonaparte, annexed the Netherlands and introduced French imperial emblems.
In 1813, the Netherlands was again independent and the tricolour was
reinstated.
On the 19th of February 1937, a Royal Decree outlined the colours of the Dutch national flag as bright vermilion, white and cobalt blue.
As a flag representing freedom and independence the Dutch flag may have
the distinction of influencing the design of one of the most famous flags in the world, the French
Tricolore.
However, the Dutch tricolour did influence the design of the Russian flag.
Peter the Great, Tsar of Russia, visited the Netherlands in the 17th century to observe the Dutch shipping
industry. On his return to his homeland he produced his own fleet and created a white, blue and red
flag in honour of the Dutch. That flag would later become the state flag of Russia.
The Russian flag would in turn go on to inspire the flag designs of many of the Slavic nations and the colours would become known as the pan-Slavic colours. |
