Weekly Flag Challenge: Discussion & Entries

Keperry

Flag Challenge 97: American Monarchies

Your challenge is to create a flag for a monarchy anywhere in the Americas. These can be monarchic versions of OTL countries as well as new countries, surviving indigenous monarchies, or transplanted monarchies from other continents.

Challenge begins: Saturday, August 3
Challenge ends: Saturday, August 10
Voting begins: Sunday, August 11
Voting ends: Sunday, August 18

Dates are PST (GMT -8).
 

Keperry

titulus regius said:
Does the OTL monarchy of Canada fit the bill as 'indigenous'?
Click to expand...

By "indigenous", I meant a surviving Aztec or Inca Empire, etc., but an alternate flag of a still-monarchical Canada could fit. Ideally the flag would be different because of an alternate monarchy rather than just being a different flag of a Canada that's otherwise the same as in OTL.
 

Alternatehistorybuff5341

The French Empire of Louisiana

Napoleon obtained the Louisiana territory from Spain in the 1800 Treaty of Ildefonso. The intention of the territory was to serve as a strategic holding to assist in the development of the Haitian Colony, in the hopes that Haiti would become a profitable source of French income. In OTL, the Haitian Revolution earns the Haitians independence; and as such, Louisiana was more cost than it was worth. Napoleon sold the territory to the United States under President Jefferson in 1803.

In this world, the Haitian Revolution is crushed by the French Military. So, Napoleon never sells Louisiana. The war in Europe continues for the most part unaltered, and Napoleon's forces were defeated in 1814. However, rather than accept surrender at the hands of his enemies. On the eve of the Battle of Paris, Napoleon fled the continent and sailed west with his supporters.

Napoleon first settled in Haiti, and continued to rule as French Emperor, though in exile. The legitimate French Government began plans to reconquer the New World Territories, but Napoleon struck a deal with the other colonial powers. He would make no attempt at claiming, attacking or conquering any other colonial possessions, as long as they kept France off his back. With their colonial holdings already unstable (With several claims of independence), a deal was struck.

All was well for Napoleon until the Second Haitian Revolution began a decade later. The Napoleonic forces eventually had to abandon the region, and fled to New Orleans.

Here, Napoleon established a base of power and loyal supporters throughout the territory. He would continue to rein as self titled French Emperor until his death in 1830. His son, Napoleon II, would rename the territory and the monarchy, having accepted that Napoleonic control over France Proper was no longer possible. Thus, the French Empire of Louisiana was born. The United States did not enjoy having a monarchy right next door, but with the port of New Orleans open to all trade, including American, the new found Empire was tolerated.

In the 1890s, a Revolution would attempt to overthrow Napoleon IV, but a compromise was reached and a Parliament Assembly was established. Today Louisiana is a moderately powerful state, with it's exports earning it the title "Bread basket of the world". Though the culture is definitely French, the years an entirely unique Louisianian culture has developed. Napoleon VI reigns on the throne, while the Conservateur party holds a majority government, with a Labor-Social Démocrate coalition opposition.

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Simreeve

Original flag for
The Kingdom of America

This nation was established, in personal union and imperial federation with the Kingdom of Great Britain, in the year 1769AD, as a result of prolonged discussions between representatives of British government and of the British colonies in North America. God bless King Frederick!

(OOC: This is [a slightly improved version of] my first attempt at creating a flag for the ‘Kingdom of America’ from my still-being-planned ‘Wider Still, And Wider’ [or ‘Earth-Fred’] TL, in which King George II was seriously wounded at the Battle of Dettingen [in 1744] and therefore did not outlive his eldest son Frederick, Prince of Wales, as happened IOTL. As king, Frederick continued to support Pitt and other relatively liberal politicians rather than his father’s old favourites, and they had the sense to begin those discussions with the colonies’ representatives — which initially were about how the colonies’ defence would be financed — during their equivalent of the ‘Seven Years War’ rather than waiting until the period after that conflict when the colonials felt less need to accept reasonable terms. As consequently established the Kingdom had comparable autonomy to OTL Canada c.WW1, but also with some seats in the Westminster parliament [including places for 2 ‘Senators’ at a time per colony amongst the Lords, on a ‘life’ basis] — with it being understood from the start that these American representatives would not vote on any solely ‘British’ matters — and a guaranteed place in the Cabinet for its ‘High Commissioner’: The full-fledged ‘Imperial Council’, meeting separately from the British Parliament, was a later development.)


Explanation

The canton of a Union Flag obviously indicates this kingdom’s British origins and continued connections. The green field for the remainder of the design stands for newness, growth, and hope (OOC: although I’m slightly concerned that in fact the suggestion of using this green field might actually have been dismissed IITL for looking “too Irish”…), with the Sun-and-Waves emblem in the upper fly being the main emblem for the new kingdom and symbolising “A New Day Dawning Across The Ocean”: The smile on the face of the sun represents the friendly nature of the kingdom’s foundation, and IC ITTL was not “borrowed” from the [later, anyway] Argentine flag.
Below that emblem we have a circle [approximately] of twelve stars to represent the twelve colonies that became the nation’s first two ‘cantons’, surrounding a crown to symbolise not only the loyalty that holds them together but also (at least according to later definitions) the American Capital Territory, and two more stars that — paler than the others, but closer to the Crown — represent the 2 additional colonies that were also included in the kingdom but as ‘provinces’ (with less say in the new government, but with more autonomy from it as well) rather than as cantons.
Some people actually go even further with the symbolic interpretation, and assign each of those stars to a specific canton or province, based on their relative positions: Four for the four ‘New England’ cantons (New Hampshire, Massachusetts [at that date still including (most of) Maine], Rhode Island, and Connecticut [which ITTL includes the eastern end of Long Island]) along the top, four for Virginia and the cantons to its south (North Carolina, South Carolina, Guelphia [in OTL terms, basically eastern & central Georgia]) along the bottom, and four in between for the four ‘middle cantons’ that are split 2-&-2 on either side of the ring: The pair on one side are said to stand for the pair of colonies/cantons that had been carved out of the old “New Netherlands”, i.e. New Yorkshire [in OTL terms = New York, less Long Island and the Iroquois lands, but plus northern New Jersey] and New Lincolnshire [in OTL terms a combination of southern New Jersey with Delaware], whilst the pair on the other side represent their western & south-western neighbours Sylvania [in OTL terms, basically eastern & central Pennsylvania] and Maryland respectively. One of the paler, inner stars then stands for Nova Scotia [in OTL terms including all 3 of the Maritime Provinces, plus bits of both Maine and Quebec], and the other for ‘Florida’ [including the ‘West Florida’ lands which that territory lost to other states IOTL].


Later versions of the flag add further stars as the numbers of cantons and provinces increase, up to the 23+5 that were recognised as of the year 1913, with that part of the design stretched out horizontally and moved hoist-wards so that it was centred relative to the flag’s length. Territories, other than the ACT [which consists of the city of ‘Kingston’, with a small hinterland, and occupies the western end of Long Island], have never been represented in the design.


(I’ll have a go at the 1913 design, and post that as well, when I’ve got a little bit more time available.)


(I admit that the image as posted still needs depixelllating in places, and probably better contrast and more brightness for the 'smiling sun' emblem. Art isn't really my strongest field of ability...)

And then in the following three posts we have the KoA's naval ensign (for the 'American Division of the Royal Navy' initially, from the foundation of that force during the 'Louisiana War' of 1776-'83 until a date that I've yet to decide about...), naval jack, and merchant ensign.


Kingdom of America (national flag)

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xt828

By the power of applied handwavium, the Mississippian mound-building cultures survive and prosper. This is the flag of what IOTL is called Cahokia, ITTL a powerful state in central *North America.

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CyberPhoenix001

Well, I've never entered a contest before, but I had this flag lying around, so what the hell?

No real elaborate backstory: the basic idea is that the Seven Years War lasts for a year longer, allowing for Pitt to push for a harder peace. Louisiana and the French Caribbean are annexed.

The French Revolution kicks off several decades earlier; as a result, the British clamp down a bit harder on the colonists, aborting the American Revolution. In time, the British and the Americans work out a compromise and establish British North America as an independent constitutional monarchy.

The flag design takes elements from the flag of Britian, but with a reversed colour scheme, reflecting the Kingdom of North America's status as "Britain, on the other side of the Atlantic". In the centre, are 13 stars representing the 13 original colonies, symbolising their proud heritage, with a larger star in the centre symbolising their unity under their own monarch.

The Kingdom of North America:

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viperhawkz

During the first years of its existence, the Royaume du Canada (variably translated as the Realm or Kingdom of Canada) simply used the flag of New France as its symbol. However, as it became more and more clear to the state's rulers that they could never retake France itself, and as Canadian nationalism began to grow, a new flag was adopted. This flag would remain Canada's flag even after the monarchy was eventually abolished in the late 19th century.

The white cross on blue represents France and the nation's colonial origin. The red canton is Canada's national colour, representing its forests in the fall. The gold stars represent the country's seven provinces: Acadie, Québec, Ohio, Louisiane, les Plaines, Colombie, and les Territoires du Nord-Ouest.


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The Professor

The Professor

Kingdom of New Lorraine (Conincryk Niu Lorryn)

The Kingdom of New Lorraine has its origins in the Atlantian [1] hanse [2] colonies of the Duchy of Nether Lorraine established shortly before the Elector Wars.
Originally administered by the German Roman hanses they came under the Lorrainian Atlantian Hanse during the nascent years of that Kingdom and experienced a surge of settlement from dissidents adhering to the Napolese Roman Church rather than the Catholic Synod established by the Edict of Constance.
The rise of internal dissent and financial issues caused Queen Emma of Lorraine to absorb the Atlantian portion of the LAH under Royal Administration with them later reorganised as the Kingdom of New Lorraine as a separate royal crown.
The Monarch of Lorraine is represented by a ViceRoy - typically the 2nd in line to the Crown - though for 1895-1902 this was the Crown Prince in exile.

The Flag is a simplified version of the old LAH ensign - black and gold stripes with an offset/counterchanged pale near the hoist

[1] OTL North America
[2] Merchant Guilds / Trading Companies

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Richard IV

KINGDOM OF SOUTH TYROL

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The area known as South Tyrol had been promised to Italy in secret protocols (1916) if she declared war on Austria-Hungary. Although Italy declared war in February 1917, little action took place on the border with Austria-Hungary. In 1919 Italy was plunged into civil war, chiefly between the pro-war and anti-war factions. Under the Treaty of Brussels (1921), the victorious powers not only separated Austria and Hungary but also detached South Tyrol, placing it under temporary joint Franco-British control. With the victory of the Communists in Italy, France and Britain declared that the promise to monarchist Italy was no longer valid, but they did not return the territory to Austria, choosing instead to convert it into an independent Grand Duchy (1924). South Tyrol declared itself a Principality in 1930 and a Kingdom in 1952. It grew strong economic ties with Switzerland and Liechtenstein, leading to political integration in 1988.

South Tyrol had no official flag until 1927, when it proposed to adopt this flag:
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However, the Permanent European Peace and Security Inspectorate (PEPSI), established under the peace treaty, found the red/white/red bands too much like the Austrian Flag. Four years later it did however sanction this flag, which has remained in use until the present day:
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TheseusDeuteros

Wow that entry is wonderfully interesting! Love the concept of an independent South Tyrolean kingdom...

Uhm but is it an American monarchy though?
 

Kate The Great

(After seeing Richard IV’s entry I just had to include a map in mine!)


In 1801 the British Prime Minister William Pitt (‘Pitt the Younger’) negotiated the purchase of Spanish lands on the west coast of America, roughly from Vancouver Island to San Francisco bay and abutting the French possession of Louisiana. At the time, Pitt was subject to much outrage and abuse, though he had the strong support of the King, but when the US President Aaron Burr purchased Louisiana from Napoleon, Pitt’s action was declared masterful and a political triumph.

Two months after the death of Napoleon at the Battle of Leipzig (1813) Pitt resigned. The Colony of Columbia came into being in 1815, mainly from lands involved in the Pitt Purchase. Columbia declined to join the Confederation of Canada (1867) and was declared the ‘Dominion of Columbia’ in 1870. It received independence as a constitutional monarchy within the British Commonwealth in 1929.

It was while she was in Columbia that the current monarch, Queen Anne II, learned of the deaths (1998) of her brother Henry IX and his partner Reginald Simpson in a car crash in Paris. The coronation of Anne took place in Westminster Abbey in June 1999.

Columbia has had three flags –

The Union, or Royal Union, flag (1815-1870)


The Dominion flag (1870-1929)


And its current flag (1929-) {MY ENTRY!!!!!!!!!}




Note:
This timeline -
Pitt the Younger was Prime Minister from 1783 to 1813
Aaron Burr was US President from 1801 to 1809
There is no South American nation of Columbia, its nearest equivalent being the Granadine Union
 

titulus regius

Verenigde Staten van Amerika

(Sorry, not much time for blurb)

With the annexation of the Netherlands by the French in 1801, the eleven Dutch colonies in north-east America, who had for years enjoyed a large degree of self-government, joined together to proclaim an independent "Verenigde Staten van Amerika". In 1803 they adopted a flag comprising 11 orange/white horizontal stripes and a top left canton of 11 orange stars on a blue background. After much debate, in a final vote of the Assembly the advocates of a republic were narrowly defeated by the monarchists. Willem Batavus was proclaimed King.

Today the VS comprises 38 states, as evidenced by the 38 stars in the canton. It is a constitutional monarchy, with the powers of the monarch largely ceremonial.

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