Flag of Nicaragua
Nicaragua Flag
Although
Christopher Columbus sighted Nicaragua in 1502, the first European to
land on its shores was Gil Gonzalez de Avila, who claimed it for Spain in
1522. It remained a Spanish possession until 1821, when it joined Costa
Rica, El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala to form the United Provinces of
Central America (1823-38).
While it was a member of this union, Nicaragua adopted the
blue-and-white-striped flag of the United Provinces, with its central,
triangular emblem and of all of the national flags of the five former
member states, Nicaragua's remains the closest in design to the United
Province's flag. The triangular emblem, which symbolizes equality,
contains five volcanoes (one for each member state), a rainbow denoting
peace and a bright future and a red, Phrygian cap of liberty, from which
sunrays radiate, signifying freedom, all of which appeared on the
original emblem. Today, however, the coat of arms displays the name of
the national state, Republica de Nicaragua, along with America Central,
rather than the words Provincias Unidad del Centro America ('United
Provinces of Central America') that were used in 1823. Nicaragua's
original coat of arms, which was very similar to the arms on El
Salvador's current flag, was adopted in 1823, but underwent several
changes over the years before the current version was introduced in 1971.
