Flag of Ecuador
 The
Ecuadorian flag has three horizontal stripes which from the bottom
up are red, blue, yellow and the coat of arms in the center. The
yellow stripe is twice as wide as the red and blue ones. The
symbolism of the colors is as follows:
Red stands for the blood shed by the soldiers and martyrs of
the independence battles. Blue represents the color of the sea and
sky. Yellow symbolizes the abundance and fertility of the crops and
land.
History of the Ecuador Flag
We can identify eight periods in the history of
Ecuador's flag.
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The 1810 leaders raised a red flag with white
mast against the Spanish authorities. It fell in bloody Samano's
hands in 1812.
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A flag with five horizontal stripes BWBWB and
three stars in the middle stripe to symbolize Guayaquil,
Portoviejo and Machala, was raised by the patriots in the 9th
October 1820 Liberation.
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The previous flag changed by decree the 2nd
June 1822: "The flag of the free province of Guayaquil shall be
white and its first quarter blue with a centered star [no colour
indicated for the star]".
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The Colombian tricolour, which
presided the heroic deed of Pichincha and later on flied over the
Tejar tower, and the 25th May was officially hoisted on the Panecillo fort, served as well as a sign of annexation of
Guayaquil to Colombia and became definitive.
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When Ecuador comes apart from Greater Colombia
in 1830 it keeps the previous flag. During the 1845 Marxist
Revolution the blue/white flag returns, now as a vertical tricolour WBW, the blue stripe with stars.
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The Cuenca Convention ratified by decree the
6th November 1845 the blue colour of Ecuador's skies, changing the
three stars into seven, "as symbols of the seven provinces which
make up the Republic".
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The Marcist flag lasted from 1845 to 1860.
After Garcia Moreno's victory over the forces of Castilla [a
person, not Castile] and Franco [nothing to do with the Spanish
dictator] and the shameful Treaty of Mapasingue, he orders that
"The bicolour [WBW tricolour] has been shamed out of treason and
bears a washproof stain. Let the old Ecuadorian flag, sealed with
heroes' blood, be forever consecrated as the people's ensign and
the pride of our national glories".
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The 1861 Convention confirmed this decree and
it became definitive in 1900, by decree of the Legislative. It is
made up of three colours Yellow Blue and Red in horizontal
stripes, with the yellow having double the width.
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