Following the conflict we now know as the Great War, the Great Powers saw the necessity of ensuring that such terrible bloodshed and destruction never be allowed to afflict mankind again. Therefore the League of Nations was born on the ashes of man's greatest, and most terrible, folly.
The primary signatories were, of course:
- The Republic of France
- Imperial Great Britain
- Kingdom of Italy
- Imperial Japan
- Imperial Russia
- United States of America
Established by the Treaty of Verdun in 1920, there were initially 43 sitgnatories in all. Over the succeeding decades new members were added until the LoN covered 81% of countries and 93% of the world population by 1955.
The LoN flag was adopted at the second biennial executive congress in Marseilles of 1922. Nicknamed the 'butterfly flag' after the use of Bernard Cahill's Butterfly projection of the world atlas (1909). The six stars were unofficially adopted for the six primary signatories; however the official explanation was that they represented the six continents of man. The purple field was chosen as being representative of no one national flag, though indicative of many (ie. mixing red, white, and blue). The white box represents the inclusiveness of the League, where all people are welcome as long as they have peace in their hearts.