Flag Of A British Republic

[Puget Sound]

What would the flag of a British Republic look like? I know the Chartists had a flag of their own in OTL, but it's exactly the same as the current Hungarian flag, and that's no fun at all, unless Thande and Co decide to invade Hungary to force them to adopt a different flag to defend British culture...

 

[Nicole]

Well, I mean, it's not like the current British flag is overtly monarchist... I mean, if it's a peaceful transition one wonders why they'd bother changing the flag at all.

 

[The Red]

Some republicans want this:

Realistically though, (as realistic as a British republic can be) I can't see us ditching the Union flag.

 

[Alex Richards]

Yeah, the Union Flag is about as suitable a symbol for Britain as you're going to get. (if you add a welsh dragon somewhere).

BTW: what's with that tricolour? Because if that's what we'd have as a republic, I'm sticking with the monarchy.

 

[Coyote Knight]

Yeah, the Union Flag is about as suitable a symbol for Britain as you're going to get. (if you add a welsh dragon somewhere).

BTW: what's with that tricolour? Because if that's what we'd have as a republic, I'm sticking with the monarchy.

Yes, that flag looks like a ripped off flag of Hungary.

 

[Troyer IV]

Where does the Green come from?

 

[Alex Richards]

Where does the Green come from?

I presume it must be representing farming and the land, because Ireland makes no sense without the blue of Scotland (unless this is just England and Wales)

 

[Frige]

-The chartist flag was the one The Red posted.
-Green was a commoners' colour in Britain.
-No republican organisation in recent times has put forward the chartist flag as a replacement for the union flag, which does not figure in the debate.

 

[Sachyriel]

Wasn't there a flag competition that had some wild designs where they inorporated the Welsh Dragon and people were like "Awesome".

 

[Feo]

Wasn't there a flag competition that had some wild designs where they inorporated the Welsh Dragon and people were like "Awesome".

United Kingdom of Dai Gurren Britain

 

[Tyr]

I presume it must be representing farming and the land, because Ireland makes no sense without the blue of Scotland (unless this is just England and Wales)

Yeah, fotw has a page on this flag which I saw ages ago, IIRC its to represent green as the traditional colour of the pesantry.

 

[I Blame Communism]

Yes, that flag looks like a ripped off flag of Hungary.

Actually, I believe they ripped off us! We were all ripping off the Italians ripping off the French anyway.

Owing to the Hungarian confusion, the (few) people using the flag after 1848 changed the red to purple. That symbolism later got caught up with women's suffrage, but there were still a few dogged republicans waving it when George VI was corontaed, IIRC, and purple is a republican colour insofar as they've got any (note the purple on the flag of EdT's Federation of Worker's Republics).

If we were to become a republic now, we'd keep the Union Flag. But I have been thinking rather a lot about plausible scenarios for a British rveolution in the 1830s, so...

I presume it must be representing farming and the land, because Ireland makes no sense without the blue of Scotland (unless this is just England and Wales)

Yeah, but I have seen an announcement for a Reform league demonstration telling mmebers to bring red-blue-green tricolours. The three-nations symbolism is explicitly identified (sod off, Wales! ).

 

[Susano]

Owing to the Hungarian confusion, the (few) people using the flag after 1848 changed the red to purple.

Purple? Yes. Very Republican, that...

red-blue-green tricolours

Argh! Grün und Blau schmückt die Sau! First rule of colour aesthetics in generaL: Never put blue and green together. And heraldically its uncouth, too, of course.

So, lesson is: Dont let British Republicans make flags!

 

[MrP]

Purple? Yes. Very Republican, that...

Yeah, we live in a strange world when the colour that denoted wealth and power becomes the colour denoting the poor.

 

[Analytical Engine]

Yeah, we live in a strange world when the colour that denoted wealth and power becomes the colour denoting the poor.

Um, we are British, old chap. If we must do something, we might as well be illogical about it...

 

[I Blame Communism]

Argh! Grün und Blau schmückt die Sau! First rule of colour aesthetics in generaL: Never put blue and green together. And heraldically its uncouth, too, of course.

I can't say I find the idea very appealing, although the source is a nice one to bring up when people assert that there was no such thing as "Scotland" in the 19th C (which has happened to me before).

So, lesson is: Dont let British Republicans make flags!

Or more generally "Don't put any sort of power or influence in the hands of British republicans!"

Although the scenario is actually very fascinating. I'm still mulling it, so may I ask your expert opinion:

George IV (or maybe William) is replaced by a British version of Charles X who utterly refuses to budge from strident reactionism, clamping down through secret police and the established church. He gets a France 1830 on his butt at about the same time as France: he can't make parliament dance to his tune (if he's reactionary enough, that could be over Catholic emancipation; if not, suffrage, or just something incidental), so he tries to rule without it: middle class liberals whip up a journalistic fenzy, hungry out-of-work people start throwing stones at policemen, students go onto the streets with flags wrapped round themselves, etcetera etcetera, and he abdicates and decamps. After some horse-trading in London and no William III presenting himself, a republic is established.

Whither Hanover?

 

[Nekromans]

I can't say I find the idea very appealing, although the source is a nice one to bring up when people assert that there was no such thing as "Scotland" in the 19th C (which has happened to me before).



Or more generally "Don't put any sort of power or influence in the hands of British republicans!"

Although the scenario is actually very fascinating. I'm still mulling it, so may I ask your expert opinion:

George IV (or maybe William) is replaced by a British version of Charles X who utterly refuses to budge from strident reactionism, clamping down through secret police and the established church. He gets a France 1830 on his butt at about the same time as France: he can't make parliament dance to his tune (if he's reactionary enough, that could be over Catholic emancipation; if not, suffrage, or just something incidental), so he tries to rule without it: middle class liberals whip up a journalistic fenzy, hungry out-of-work people start throwing stones at policemen, students go onto the streets with flags wrapped round themselves, etcetera etcetera, and he abdicates and decamps. After some horse-trading in London and no William III presenting himself, a republic is established.

Whither Hanover?

For your reactionary tyrant, might I recommend Ernest Augustus for the role? A thoroughly horrid man, by all accounts.

 

[SRegan]

English Commonwealth Flag

Surely it's worth noting that we DID have a British Republic with at least two official flags - the English Commonwealth, 1649-1660. Here's a fairly good list - it's worth noting that they also used the First Union Jack/Naval Ensign heavily (it's actually listed incorrectly as the official Commonwealth flag on its Wikipedia entry). As you can see, at no time did they stray too far from the national cross-symbology, although the Red Saltire was deemed inappropriate, forcing them to find ways of incorporating the Leinster Harp into the mix. I personally like the Second Commonwealth Flag, seen below, although it does perhaps give undue prominence to Ireland in the Union.

 

[I Blame Communism]

For your reactionary tyrant, might I recommend Ernest Augustus for the role? A thoroughly horrid man, by all accounts.

Ho-hum. He'd certainly be an ideal candidate. I had thought that replacing Georgia would give more time to set things up, but it might have also have major consequences too early. Given how frantic things got in 1830-32 as it was, and Ernest's unpopularity, this seems like an excellent suggestion.

Surely it's worth noting that we DID have a British Republic with at least two official flags - the English Commonwealth, 1649-1660. Here's a fairly good list - it's worth noting that they also used the First Union Jack/Naval Ensign heavily (it's actually listed incorrectly as the official Commonwealth flag on its Wikipedia entry). As you can see, at no time did they stray too far from the national cross-symbology, although the Red Saltire was deemed inappropriate, forcing them to find ways of incorporating the Leinster Harp into the mix. I personally like the Second Commonwealth Flag, seen below, although it does perhaps give undue prominence to Ireland in the Union.

Hmm. Interesting, but how popular was the Cromwellian legacy with your 1830s Radicals? I'll need to try and look over some literature of theirs.

 

[Susano]

Whither Hanover?

No, Hanover still has Hannover, after all