FLAG CHALLENGE № 142: Free State of Antwerp
At the London Conference of 1830, French diplomat Charles Maurice de Talleyrand proposed a partition of what is now Belgium, with the western element becoming the Free State of Antwerp, a British protectorate, and the remainder being annexed to France and the Netherlands.
The Challenge: Create a national flag and naval ensign for the Free State of Antwerp. An explanation of the thinking behind the flags would be appreciated. Try to avoid directly using any of the Belgian flags, though I appreciate some crossover may be inevitable.
At the London Conference of 1830, French diplomat Charles Maurice de Talleyrand proposed a partition of what is now Belgium, with the western element becoming the Free State of Antwerp, a British protectorate, and the remainder being annexed to France and the Netherlands.
The Challenge: Create a national flag and naval ensign for the Free State of Antwerp. An explanation of the thinking behind the flags would be appreciated. Try to avoid directly using any of the Belgian flags, though I appreciate some crossover may be inevitable.
Entry 1 said:Flags of the Free State of Antwerp as drawn by the British Admiralty Board. Like other protecterates and dependecies, it feature the Royal Union Flag in canton. The arms on the fly are those of the ancient County of Flanders which had shared the same general territory.
For legal purposes, non-governmental ships registered in Antwerp must fly the Antwerpian civil ensign, a variant of the national flag with a red field.
Entry 2 said:The national flag here was designed to be representative yet also kind of a "blank slate" so to speak. The protectorate is naturally in a very controversial spot and must pay special care to be inoffensive at all times, even in flag choice. As such, the flag is neither monarchist or a tricolor, but blends elements of each. The traditional regional checkered patterned has been reformatted to have the red and gold as bars across a white background. Though consideration has been made to avoid any symbolism that would lay claim to a larger swath of territory, the ubiquitous nature of these two colors make them unavoidable.
For naval considerations there were some concerns that the national flag would not be easily identifiable at the vast ranges involved, or at the very least would lose some detail. In this case the gold encased by red was preferred. Though British symbols were avoided because of the previously mentioned political concerns, some have noted with irony the similarities between this ensign and the Spanish colors which flew over the region in years past. Others have noted the government's insistence on the lack of symbols is quite jarring, and that the lack of a mark in the middle of the ensign is just as big a statement as the potential inclusion of any symbol.
Entry 3 said:Basically, the design of this new flag drew inspiration from the traditional multicolored checkered flag of Antwerp province mixed with the traditional blue-yellow starburst flag of West Flanders province. Of course, the Vlaamse Leeuw (Flemish Lion) as a powerful symbol of Flemish identity could not be kept off of it.
The naval ensign retained the checkered base but ditched the lion for easier identification at sea. Thus, as the larger central square was no longer needed, the design was able to move closer to the traditional Antwerp flag.
Entry 4 said:The national flag of the Free State of Antwerp combines the silver and red colours of the city of Antwerp and the black and gold colours of Flanders, with the national arms - which similar combine Antwerp's castle and hands with the Flemish lion - in the centre. The quartered design recalls the traditional checkered flags of the region.
The naval ensign is a British red ensign defaced with the arms of the Free State, as emphasising its status as a British protectorate is more important in a maritime context.
Entry 5 said:The Civil or National flag carries traditional Yellow and Black for Flanders, and also Brabant where Antwerp was situated in; checkered for Antwerp design.
The Naval flag or ensign includes a red centre reminiscient of the UK Red Ensign. As the Freestate's naval capacity is carried out by the UK this flag tends only to be borne by Coast Guard and other governmental maritime services, though UK ships specifically on patrol of the FSA coast sometimes fly it in addition to the UK's.
