Exploring the vibrant symbolism of Cuba's flag

Cuba. 34% of your votes went to the sunny Caribbean country, so here we go. Cuba. Land of some of the world's most famous cigars, rum, music, and vintage cars. They are the largest island of the Caribbean, with around 105,000 square kilometers, being the second most populous at 11 million people. The flag of Cuba is actually one of my favorite flags. It's very simple yet eloquent. It's made up of five stripes, three blue and two white alternating, and a red triangle placed on the left side of the flag with a white five-pointed star in the middle. But this flag was only implemented officially in 1902. So what was the flag or flags flying over the island before this? To answer this question, we have to go back about 500 years. Before the Spanish arrived, Cuba was populated by some native people. These were called the Arawaks. They were tribes of the West Indies, as they were known at the time. Keep in mind that the term Arawak is generalized and includes many native tribes in a lot of American lands. Now, I couldn't find any standards, let alone flags, of these people. However, I did find something pretty interesting. Apparently, In Colombia, a land where these native people also lived, it is a custom up to today to make these types of bags called the Arawak mochila. In them, we see a lot of patterns and symbols and apparently these symbols are actually related to the native population. Here we can see how they mean certain things, one being the balance of the earth, the other being law, vegetation amongst others. So, the closest we can get to a flag or at least a symbol that these people used to represent themselves seemed to be this set of patterns. But then came the Spanish, who colonized the island and a lot more around it. From 1511 to 1521, the island was ruled under the Governorate of Cuba and its flag was the Spanish flag, adjoining of the banners of León and Castile, the two previous independent kingdoms of Spain. Throughout the Spanish Empire's lifespan, they reorganized their territory a lot. So, in 1521, Cuba officially became part of New Spain, using Spain's new flag, the Burgundy Cross. A couple hundred years later, in 1607, the organization changed again, and while still belonging to New Spain, they became the Captaincy General of Cuba, bearing a new Spanish flag more similar to the current one. However, as we know, Spanish rule of the island was not meant to last forever, and in 1895, the Cuban War of Independence began, where Cubans, along with the United States, fought against Spain and won. This revolutionary war also took place at the same time as the Philippine Revolutionary War, and they were both aided by the US, which were involved in the broader Spanish-American War. Like I said, the Cubans won, and in 1898, the Treaty of Paris was signed. Spain relinquished all claim of sovereignty over Cuba and ceded Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines to the United States. However, Cuban independence wasn't immediate, because from 1898 to 1902, they were ruled by a US military government, so during these four years, they technically used the US flag. This was because, on top of relinquishing claims on Cuba, Spain technically also ceded it to the United States. The period is referred to as the first occupation of Cuba. And then, finally, in 1902, Cuba became fully independent. There was a brief second occupation from 1906 to 1909 when they used the US flag again. But in 1908, free elections took place and in 1909, full sovereignty was recovered. The current Cuban flag was in use during this first Cuban Republic, although in slightly lighter tones than the current version apparently. Now we get to the year of 1959, the time of the Cuban Revolution. it was an armed revolt conducted by the revolutionary 26th of july movement and its allies against the military regime at the time i mentioned the revolution because it's also interesting to take a look at the flags that were flown in the conflict and that sometimes influence future flags of institutions in cuba today the 26th of july movement used a red and black flag with an abbreviation of the name in white letters. Another of the revolutionary factions, the Student Revolutionary Directorate, are said to have used a plain red flag at some points. However, both them and another independent guerrilla group used the current flag, a darker version of the First Republic ensign. The revolutionary movement won and the current Cuban regime was put into power. The flags stayed the same, but it seems they adopted a darker set of tones for the colors of the flag. However, I'm not sure if this was an official and conscious change or just a result of modern depictions showing the current flag darker than the earlier one. So, now that we understood the evolution of Cuba's flags until today, let's take a look at the origin and meaning of their current flag. Despite only being officially adopted in 1902, the flag was designed earlier, in 1849. This man, Narciso López, was its designer. He began as a Spanish general, fighting for the Spanish crown against the rebel armies of Venezuela. But soon after, he moved to Havana. Becoming involved in anti-colonial movements, he was forced into exile. In 1849, he moved to New York City, where he continued to advocate for an independent Cuba and supposedly designed this flag along with his friend, a poet called Miguel Teurbe Tolón. It is said that the three blue stripes represent the three departments in which Cuba was divided at the time, western, central and eastern. The white is for the purity of the ideals, the red triangle originated from the French revolution and the three ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity, while the red stands for the blood and courage of the Cuban people. According to some sources, the star was for the new state that should be added to the United States. This last meaning is a little controversial, I guess, taking into account the troubled relationship between the two states further on in history. In fact, a lot of other sources leave this out and state that the star just has the same meaning as the triangle or that the fact it was only one star symbolized the desire for full independence. Narciso López used this same flag in 1850 to carry out his coup attempt to liberate Cuba from Spanish rule, but failed. At the time, the town of Cardenas was the first town that saw the independence flag hoisted on May 19 of 1850. Later on in history, after the Ten Years' War between Cuba and Spain, the first constituent assembly of Cuba took place, and they chose between this flag or another one, which apparently resembled Chile's flag, but they decided to go with Narciso López's design. Interestingly, this flag was the model for the flag of Puerto Rico adopted in 1892 by the Puerto Rican Revolutionary Committee, a pro-independence group that worked in close ties with the Cuban Revolutionary Party. The independence movement of Catalonia in Spain also uses the same model, although with more stripes and different colors. As for the coat of arms of Cuba, which was created by the co-designer of the flag. It was adopted in 1906 and it is this one. It consists of a shield in front of a fasces crowned by the Phrygian cap, all supported by an oak branch on one side and a laurel wreath on the other. The oak branch symbolizes the strength of the nation and the laurel, honor and glory. The Phrygian cap or liberty cap is located at the top as a crown symbolizing liberty with a sole star on it standing for independence. The shield itself is divided into three parts. In the chief a key charging a blue sea between two rocks symbolizing Cuba's geographical position between Florida and Yucatan Peninsula. A bright rising sun in the background symbolizes the rising of the New Republic. A key is a symbol of Cuba as the key to the Americas. On the left are the stripes of the flag. These represent the division of the island into states in the colonial period. On the right is a common Cuban landscape. Royal palm tree, a symbol of Cuba and mountains in the background. The flag and coat of arms are considered the main symbols of Cuba, along with the national anthem. Inside Cuba, these symbols are used in other state banners, like the Presidential Standard, which is a blue flag with a coat of arms and six white stars. The Prime Minister Standard, although I'm not 100% sure if this is still the current one, was slash is this white flag, with a blue border and four blue stars. The Cuban army known as the Revolutionary Armed Forces use this blue circular symbol. Inside it is a star which uses the red and black colors of that original revolutionary movement. This pattern is also present in the flag of the commander-in-chief adding a white star to the center, while the flag of the chief of the army is red with a white canton and red star. The naval flag on the other hand is this one, a blue stripe at the bottom, red and white at the top with a white star inside of the red, similar to the flag of Chile or the flag of Texas. So this was a brief look at the history and meaning of the Cuban flag plus the main national symbols of the country, their origin and evolution until reaching the current Cuban flag. Thank you for watching the video, if you notice any mistakes or have any additional information, make sure to leave a comment below. Subscribe if you want to catch future videos and join the Discord server to chat with fellow subscribers and myself. I will see you next time for more general knowledge.