Paraguay
Flag
Flag of
Paraguay
Originally
inhabited by the Guarani people, Paraguay was first reached by the Europeans
during the 1520s, Jesuit missionaries later administering the country
from 1600 until their expulsion in 1767. It then became part of the
Spanish Viceroyalty of Peru and, from 1776, part of the Viceroyalty of
Buenos Aires, before declaring its independence from Spain in 1811.
Influenced by the French Tricolore, which had become a symbol of
liberation, a number of variant designs of the Paraguayan flag were in
use prior to the adoption of the current Paraguay flag in 1842. Red, white and
blue flags were carried by Paraguayan troops defending Buenos Aires
against British invasion in 1806, for example, while in 1814, during the
regime of Jose de Francia, a tricolor was flown that bore the arms of the
city of Asuncion on one side and those of the king of Spain on the other.
The current flag continues the unusual practice of featuring emblems on
each side: on the obverse (front) is the country's name and the 'Star of
May', indicating the month in which Paraguay gained its independence: on
the reverse is the 'Treasury Seal' of Paraguay, which depicts a lion
guarding a pole supporting a cap of liberty. The motto reads Paz y
Justicia ('Peace and Justice').
