While the concept of a
national flag did not exist in the Middle Ages, the symbol of Spain was the Royal Shield. It was frequently made up of other different flags, full of images and symbols that represented all the values that the troops or the King defended.
Standard of the Catholic monarchs of the
Catholic Monarchs' infantry In Spain the medieval kingdoms which merged in the sixteenth century had their own heraldic symbols and their navies used to display their own flags and standards on both the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, where the Aragonese and Castilian Crowns had their respective areas of influence. The flag of the
Crown of Aragon was a yellow flag with four red stripes (an element which is still common in the present flags of the territories that formed the Crown:
Aragon,
Catalonia,
Valencia, the
Balearic Islands and
Roussillon in
France). The
Crown of Castile, since the final union between the kingdoms of
Castile and
León in 1230, used a quartered flag alternating the Castilian (Gules, a tower Or, masoned sable and ajouré azure) and Leonese (Argent, a lion rampant purpure crowned or, langued and armed gules) emblems. Aragonese and Castilian flags and coats of arms merged when the
Catholic monarchs created the new symbols of their personal union of the crowns in 1475. The banner of Castile and León was the first European symbol to arrive in the
New World.
Cross of Burgundy The Cross of Burgundy was introduced to Spain after the marriage of
Joanna of Castile to
Philip the Handsome, Duke of Burgundy in 1496. The flag was the primary symbol of Philip the Handsome. It introduced into Spanish vexillology a design that, although of foreign origin, would become the primary symbol of Spain. The flag was usually embroidered on white or yellow cloth. The Cross of Burgundy is also known as "The Vane of Burgundy" or as it is derived from
St. Andrew's Cross. Since the reign of
Charles I of Spain (1516–1556), different Spanish armies have used flags with the Cross of Burgundy on different fields. It was also incorporated in the uniforms of Burgundian archers, and later in the uniforms of the rest of the army. It also appeared on Spanish regimental flags.
Habsburg Spain When the
House of Habsburg took the Spanish throne by mid-16th century each military company had its own flag in which appeared usually the arms of its commander over the
Cross of Burgundy. In order to represent the King, they used to have another one, the "Coronela", during the reign of
Charles I (Charles V as Holy Roman Emperor) that was made of yellow silk (the imperial color) with the embroidered
imperial shield. When
Philip II came to power, he ordered that, in addition to the flags of each company, each
Tercio should have another one in yellow with the
Cross of Burgundy in red. The units of Cavalry took the same flags but of smaller size, called
Banners. However, at this time the concept of a national flag as understood nowadays did not exist, and so the true symbol of the nationality was represented by the Royal arms. The use of other flags besides the mentioned ones was frequent, with various images or symbols. Some examples are the flag of
Santiago (Saint James the Great), the green one the Emperor took during the conquest of
Tunisia or the crimson one used by
Hernán Cortés in
Mexico.
Philip V and the new Bourbon dynasty The arms of
Bourbon-Anjou were added in 1700 when
Philip V became King of Spain. He introduced several changes on the
royal arms. The king's new arms were designed by the French heraldists
Charles-René d'Hozier and
Pierre Clairambault in November 1700. Philip V also changed the philosophy and the design of the flags of Spain. He was the first to give Spain a unified symbol of its own when putting on white fabric the
Cross of Burgundy and the Royal coat of arms. It still was not a national flag, but a first attempt, in line with similar attempts in other European nations. The flags were organized in three groups: • Standard or Royal flag: it continued being crimson, with the royal arms embroidered, the
Golden Fleece and the collar of the Order of the Holy Spirit. • Military flag: the color was reduced to white with the
Cross of Burgundy and the Royal arms. • Pavilion of the Navy: again white, with the Royal arms. The white color, characteristic of the Bourbons, was the fabric used in the 18th century by the various Bourbon branches reigning in France, Naples, Tuscany, Parma, and Sicily, as well as in Spain. This fact compromised and made it difficult to distinguish the respective national flags of ships. For this reason, at some point (likely after some fateful mistake), a change in the flag of Spain's warships began to be considered. This is supported by the fact that in an article from His Majesty's Ordinances for the Military, Political, and Economic Government of his Naval Armada, from 1748,
Ferdinand VI established that:
Por ahora, usarán todos los navíos de la Armada la bandera ordinaria nacional blanca con el escudo de mis armas, hasta que yo tenga a bien disponer otra cosa. Y, entre tanto, no arbolarán otra sino en las ocasiones en que es permitido según estilo de mar. For now, all ships in the Armada will use the ordinary national white flag with my ''coat of arms until I see fit to arrange otherwise. In the meantime, they won't fly any other flag except on occasions permitted by maritime custom.''
Origins of the present ensign: Charles III In 1760, Charles III modified the shield of the Royal arms, suppressing the collar of the Holy Spirit, maintained the
Golden Fleece and added two new quarters, corresponding to the
House of Farnese (six blue lilies on gold) and
Medici (five red discs and one blue disc with three lilies of gold, all on gold). The military flag or
Coronela of Spanish regiments was, during the Bourbon years, the
Cross of Burgundy with different additions in each military unit depending on their territorial origin, commander, etc. King
Charles III commissioned
Antonio Valdés y Fernández Bazán, the Secretary of State and Universal Department of the Navy (Minister of the Navy), to design a new, easily identifiable flag for the Armada. That is, one that would not be confused with the sails, would stand out against the colors of the sky and sea, would be visible in unfavorable weather, and would not be mistaken for those of other nations. Valdés' cabinet developed a proposal with twelve different versions. In the drawing containing the twelve versions, the flags are grouped into three rows of four flags each, presenting different combinations of colors and coat of arms formats. In the first row, the chosen colors for the variants use red and yellow. In the second row, the flags are identical to those in the first one, but substituting white for yellow. In the third row, cruciform versions of the flags predominate. Finally, Charles III, through the Royal Decree of May 28, 1785, established a new national ensign:
Para evitar los inconvenientes, y perjuicios, que ha hecho ver la experiencia puede ocasionar la Bandera nacional, de que usa mi Armada naval, y demas Embarcaciones Españolas, equivocándose á largas distancias, ó con vientos calmosos con las de otras Naciones; he resuelto, que en adelante usen mis Buques de guerra de Bandera dividida á lo largo en tres listas, de las que la alta, y la baxa sean encarnadas, y del ancho cada una de la quarta parte del total, y la de en medio amarilla, colocándose en esta el Escudo de mis Reales Armas reducido á los dos quarteles de Castilla, y Leon con la Corona Real encima; y el Gallardete con las mismas tres listas, y el Escudo á lo largo, sobre quadrado amarillo en la parte superior: Y de las demas Embarcaciones usen, sin Escudo, los mismos colores, debiendo ser la lista de en medio amarilla, y del ancho de la tercera parte de la Bandera, y cada una de las restantes partes dividida en dos listas iguales encarnada, y amarilla alternativamente, todo con arreglo al adjunto diseño. No podrá usarse de otros pavellones en los Mares del Norte por lo respectivo á Europa hasta el paralelo de Tenerife en el Océano, y en el Mediterraneo desde primero del año de mil setecientos ochenta y seis: en la América Septentrional desde principio de Julio siguiente; y en los demas Mares desde primero del año de mil setecientos ochenta y siete. Tendréislo entendido para su cumplimiento. To avoid the inconveniences and damages that experience has shown can be caused by the national flag used by my naval Armada and other Spanish vessels, which can be mistaken at long distances or in calm winds for those of other Nations; I have resolved that henceforth my warships shall use a flag divided lengthwise into three stripes, of which the top and bottom shall be crimson, each a quarter of the total width, and the middle one yellow, with the coat of arms of my Royal Arms reduced to the two quarters of Castile and Leon with the Royal Crown above placed upon it; and the pennant with the same three stripes, and the coat or arms lengthwise on a yellow square in the upper part: And other vessels shall use the same colors without the coat of arms, the middle stripe being yellow and one-third the width of the flag, and each of the remaining parts divided into two equal stripes, crimson and yellow alternately, all in accordance with the attached design. No other ensigns may be used in the Northern Seas with respect to Europe up to the parallel of Tenerife in the Ocean, and in the Mediterranean from the first day of the year one thousand seven hundred eighty-six: in North America from the beginning of the following July; and in the other Seas from the first day of the year one thousand seven hundred eighty-seven. You shall understand this for its compliance. The design selected by the monarch corresponds to the versions of Valdés' proposal that use red and yellow colors; specifically, the one with three horizontal stripes, red, yellow, and red, respectively. However, it differs regarding the central stripe, which became double the width of the top and bottom stripes, so that the coat of arms could be larger. For the same purpose, the coat of arms was simplified to only the quarters of Castile and León and was placed offset towards the mast or hoist (not horizontally centered on the central stripe); this made it easier to identify and see it when the flag was not fully unfurled. Beyond achieving better identification at sea and distancing itself from other Bourbon kingdoms by discarding the dynastic white color from the national flag, some authors believe that the flag's design, based on red and yellow colors, plus the coat of arms, also represents a
fusion of the symbology of the kingdoms that originally formed Spain. This resulted in a common
national symbol: colors derived from the Aragonese flag, a Castilian coat of arms, and the whole being Spanish. In 1793, through the General Ordinances of the Naval Armada, it was ordered that the national ensign should fly in maritime plazas, their castles or others on the coasts, as well as in arsenals, shipyards, and barracks of the Armada.
19th century Already in the 19th century, the red and yellow flag also began to be used in Army camps and border fortifications, although the Army flags differed from those of the Navy in the representation of the coat of arms: quartered in the first case and split in the second. From 1808 onwards, given the explosion of patriotic sentiment during the War of Independence, the
red-weld was used by the people and for volunteer enlistment flags, and were made official as the colors of the Cortes de Cádiz and the
National Militia. In 1843, the decree of October 13, from the Second Government of
Joaquín María López, set forth the necessity of suppressing the differences between the national ensign and those particular to army corps, ordering the unification of all flags and standards of the armed forces:
Las banderas y estandartes de todos los cuerpos e institutos que componen el Ejército, la Armada y la Milicia Nacional, usarán iguales en colores a la bandera de guerra española, y colocados éstos por el mismo orden que lo están en ella. The flags and standards of all corps and institutions that make up the Army, Navy, and National Militia will use the same colors as the Spanish war flag, and these will be arranged in the same order as they are on it. First Spanish Republic The
First Spanish Republic, established in 1873, did not alter the colors of the flag, but all royal symbols of the monarchy were removed from the coat of arms.
Early 20th century In 1908, through the Royal Decree ordering the Spanish flag to fly on all public buildings on national holidays, extending to hangings and illuminations, it was established that it was compulsory for the flag to fly on all public buildings on national holidays. By Royal Decree of July 19, 1927, during the Dictatorship of Primo de Rivera, it was arranged that the merchant navy would use the same ensign as the war flag but without the shield, and the five-stripe civil ensign was suppressed.
Second Spanish Republic On 14 April 1931, the monarchy was abolished and replaced by the
Second Spanish Republic. The regime change was symbolized by a new tricolor flag, red, yellow and
murrey (), instead of the previous red and yellow bicolor, and changing the coat of arms to the design that appeared on the reverse of the five pesetas coins minted by the provisional government in 1869 and 1870, moved to the central position on the yellow stripe. The three stripes had the same width. In addition to symbolizing the radical change in the system of government, the inclusion of the third color sought to recognize
Castile as a vital part of a new state. This was based on the assumption that the red and yellow colors represented the Crown of Aragon, and the belief that the flag of Castile had been murrey. Many authors consider erroneous that the flag of Castile was murrey, but
crimson.
Spanish State The
Spanish Civil War officially ended on 1 April 1939, when the last Spanish Republican outposts were overrun by the
Nationalists. The Republican regime in Spain was destroyed and
Francisco Franco became the of the country and remained in power until his death on 20 November 1975. On 29 August 1936, the
National Defense Junta issued Decree No. 77 that declared: "The red and gold/yellow bicolor flag is re-established as the flag of Spain", which served as the first flag of
Nationalist Spain. This flag was replaced in 1938 by a flag bearing the
Eagle of Saint John added to the shield. The new arms were allegedly inspired in the coat of arms the
Catholic Monarchs adopted after the taking of
Granada (represented using a , word that also means '
pomegranate' in Spanish) from the
Moors, but replacing the arms of the
Kingdom of Sicily for those of
Navarre, and adding the
Pillars of Hercules on each flank of the coat of arms. In 1938 the columns were placed outside the wings. On 26 July 1945, the commander's ensigns were suppressed by decree, and on 11 October a detailed regulation of flags was published, that fixed the model of the bi-color flag in use, with a new version of the Saint John eagle. The models established on that decree were in force until 1977. During this period two more flags were usually displayed together with the national flag: the flag of
Spanish Falange (three vertical strips, red, black, red, with the black stripe being wider than the red ones, and the
yoke and arrows emblem in red placed on the centre of the black stripe) and the
Carlist flag (the Saint Andrew
saltire or
Cross of Burgundy red on white) as representation of the
National Movement.
Spanish transition From the death of Franco in 1975 to 1977, the national flag remained that of the 1945 regulation. On 21 January 1977 a new flag was approved that differed from the previous one in that the eagle's wings opened further (the "pasmada" eagle), the
Pillars of Hercules were again placed within the wings, and the ribbon with the motto UNA, GRANDE Y LIBRE (ONE, GREAT and FREE) written in a
serif font was moved from the eagle's neck to above the eagle's head. Not many flags with this coat of arms were produced. Article 42 section 12 of the
Spanish Constitution of 1978, which was promulgated during the transition to democracy, stipulates that the flag "is formed by three horizontal stripes, red, yellow and red, the yellow being double the width of each of the red ones." The present-day coat of arms were adopted on 19 December 1981. ==Unofficial flags and uses==