Venezuelan
Flag
Flag of
Venezuela
Christopher
Columbus having visited Venezuela in 1498, the first Spanish settlement
was established there in 1520, and it remained a Spanish colony for more
than 300 years. Venezuela was finally liberated by the South American
nationalist, Simon Bolivar, in 1819, joining Colombia, Ecuador and Panama
in the new state of Greater Colombia.
Like those of Colombia and Ecuador, Venezuela's flag is based on the
tricolor of Francisco de Miranda, the initiator of the 1806 revolt
against Spain in the province of New Granada. This flag was a plain
tricolor of yellow, blue and red horizontal bands symbolizing the ocean
(the middle, blue band) that separated the Americas (red) from the
Spanish rulers (yellow). As a member of Greater Colombia, Venezuela
continued to fly a yellow, blue and red tricolor, although with a
double-width yellow stripe. In 1830, when Venezuela seceded from Greater
Colombia and became a republic, the stripes of the flag reverted to equal
widths, the colors now being said to symbolize the richness of the region
(yellow), the sea (blue) and the blood of the patriots shed during the
struggle for independence (red). The flag remained a plain tricolor until
1836, when seven stars representing Barinas, Barcelona, Caracas, Cumana,
Margarita, Merida and Trujillo (the seven provinces that had joined the
revolt against Spain) were added.
