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The Four Flags of Cuba

 

From its time as a colony to now, Cuba has seen a few different flags flying over the island.

 1.  The Spanish Flag of the House of Burgundy

 


This was the colonial flag of Spanish overseas territories and by default, the flag of Cuba from the founding of Havana in 1515, up until Cuba an American territory after the Spanish-American War in 1898. The flag was also known as the St. Andrews Cross.

 2.  The Stars and Stripes

 


After the Spanish-American War, Cuba was a territory of the United States, and the American Stars and Stripes flag flew over the island for a short four-year period from 1898-1902.

3. The 26th of July Flag

 


The M-26-7, also fashioned as M-26-J, was the flag of the revolution that overthrew President Batista in 1959. It was designed to appear similar to the flag of Angola. The M-26-7 stands for Movimiento 26 de Julio. The 26th of July Movement was an early attempt to overthrow Batista that failed and resulted in the conspirators, including Fidel Castro, being thrown in prison. The flag is now seen as an unofficial flag of the CPC.

4.   Estrella Solitario, The Lone Star Flag

 


The Lone Star Flag is the current flag of Cuba. The flag was designed by Narciso Lopez and Miguel Teurbe Tolon after Lopez’s exile to The United States of America. The flag was adopted in 1902 after gaining independence from the United States*. The flag is a white star on a red triangular background with three blue stripes and two white stripes alternating to the right of the triangle. The three blue stripes represent the three historical departments of Cuba, the white stripes stand for the purity of ideals, the red triangle is a reference to the three ideals of the French Revolution (liberty, equality, and fraternity) with the red being the blood of the revolution, and the white star represented the potential of being an American State.

*The independence was essentially in name only as the United States continued to act with suzerainty over Cuba until the fall of Batista.


References

“26th Of July Movement.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., www.britannica.com/topic/26th-of-July-Movement.

“Flag of Cuba.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., www.britannica.com/topic/flag-of-Cuba.

 

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