Flag Challenge 271: Colonized Europe
Your task is to draw a colonial or post-colonial flag of a European country in a world where global hegemony was achieved by another continent and Europe was colonized.
Your task is to draw a colonial or post-colonial flag of a European country in a world where global hegemony was achieved by another continent and Europe was colonized.
Entry 1 said:
The end of the Mughal Reich was a cause for celebration across Europe, a symbol of colonialism’s slipping grasp. However jubilation turned to horror as the bloody Partition of Germany began. The All-Catholic League demanded, and received, a Catholic Nation, separate from the Protestant majority of Germany. However the partition was controversial, and the lines between Catholic and Protestant were not always clear. Mass communal violence followed independence, with millions fleeing across the lines drawn by the departing Mughals. In Berlin, the new Republic of Germany was declared, but in Munich the Most Catholic Republic of Bruderland, which took letters from Bavaria, Ostereich, and Rhineland and added some in to make a proper sounding word being “Brother Land,” was proclaimed. Shortly after the First Hesse War ensued, which Bruderland lost. For their flag, Bruderland took the colors of the Old Austrian Hapsburgs (deposed since the Great Mutiny) for much of the flag. The left third was given to the blue of Bavaria and the Virgin Mary, a common Catholic symbol. Notably no nods were given to those living on the Rhine border, presaging the tensions that would soon emerge within the Republic.
Entry 2 said:
Originally (previoulsy to the Japanese colonization) divided into the kingdoms of Castilla, Aragon, Granada and Portugal, the nation that is now known as the United Kingdom of Iberia obtained its independence from the Empire of Japan (its colonizer since the beginning of the Iberian wars between 1590 and 1630) through a combination of hard negotiations and pressure by the guerrillas of the Fronte de Liberaçao de Ibêria (Iberia Liberation Front in Iberian).
This FLI has been dedicated since the 1950s, after the end of the Great Global War, to hostigate the Teikoku Rikugun forces (Japanese Imperial Army) and the infamous iberian-recruited garrisons Teikoku Iberia Minpei (imperial Iberian militia), imperial Iberian militia), popularly known as Kuro no Kishidan / Cabaleiros Negros (Black Knights in Iberian). At the same time, the Cortes Xerales Ibêricas (Iberian National Council in Iberian) have dedicated themselves to doing political activism for the independence of Iberia by non -violent media such as strikes, demonstrations and media and political pressure.
These Cortes Xerales Ibêricas were also threatened by the acts of aggression of the extinct Lliga Catalá (Catalan League in Iberian) and the equally extinct Viriatos Lusitanos (Lusitanian Viriatos, being Viriato an ancient freedom fighter against Old Roman rule), secessionist groups of the extreme right and very violent that respectively sought the secession of the Eastern Aragon and Lusitania regions of the United Kingdom of Iberia.
Currently, the United Kingdom of Iberia (Rêino Unido da Ibêria) struggles to get ahead, after spending some turbulent first decades from its total independence in 1972 and suffering an effective civil war until 1985 (including a coup d'etat by a democratic military board in 1974, which, which He returned power after elections in November 1975, and a terrorist campaign by the terrorist groups mentioned above until their eventual destruction). However, economic dependence from former Asian-based colonizers of Europe persists, particularly by the powerful Chinese Federation and the Republic of Korea, in addition to the great presence of Japanese industries in the Iberian market.
In contrast to its economic performance not-so-good-as-they-could, the United Kingdom of Iberia has dedicated great efforts to accommodate the persistent Japanese community that resides in the country (and is estimated at 12% of the total population). This has helped all Japanese settlers who could have caused problems fled during the emergency between 1972 and 1985, remaining only those who felt more Iberian than Japanese. Discrimination is persecuted by law and severely punishable. Despite this, relations occasionally worsen due to diverse incidents, although luckily the characteristic religious syncretism of Iberia has prevented religious tensions as has happened in other neighboring countries.
The flag combines the symbology of the ancient kingdoms that made up Iberia, especially highlighting the Burgundy cross used by the last dynasty prevailing in Iberia. The blue color and the armilar sphere are symbols that date back to the reign of Manuel I of Avis, one of the last kings of the ancient kingdom of Portugal. The in turn, the coat of arms was designed as a compromise solution to include simplified weapons shields of all the kingdoms, as well as the Crown of Castile, in the same way that the Portuguese Armilar sphere was included.
Entry 3 said:
Flag of the Christian Union of Galicia-Portugal (in Arabic, Ghalisia-Burtuqal), since 1845
Abbasid Colonization and Independence: After greatly declining throughout the 1100s, the Abbasid Caliphate experienced a massive revival, taking back much of their old lands in the Middle East. Defeating the Mongol Armies on the frontiers of the empire in Khorasan, the Caliphate easily managed to stay relevant for most of the rest of the 2nd Millennium. From their core territories in Iran, Mesopotamia, and the Levant, the Abbasids began to conquer European lands, and, then, subsequently sent large amounts of Arabs to settle in Europe. The Islands fell like dominoes: Cyprus, Crete, Sicily, Corsica, Sardinia, the Balearic Islands. Finally, the Abbasids began their conquest of Italy, Spain, and the Balkans. Along with this, they also began to conquer and settle northern India. The Byzantines were finally conquered, but this time in the 14th century by the Abbasids rather than the 15th by the Ottomans.
As the rest of the European powers struggled to hold back the tide of the Abbasid advance, the Hispanics, Portuguese, and Galicians began to prosper under the rule of the wealthy Abbasids. Finally, all religions were given (near) equality under the law. However, as the centuries wear on, nationalism took root in many of the native populations that the Abbasids had conquered. Inspired by the anti-Islamic Revolutions in 1790s France, the inhabitants of the Iberian Peninsula rose up against the Caliphate in 1836, and some managed to secure their independence with French support by 1840. As a result, the northern half of the Iberian Peninsula became composed of Independent States--Navarre (later unified with France), Castille (the largest and most powerful), and two smaller states, Galicia and the northern half of Portugal (The rest remains nominally Abbasid, though actually an Indpendent Emirate).
Despite these countries's independence, their economies are now comparatively worse off than during Abbasid times. A good portion of the educated Arabs in the area were forced to leave, or pushed to live in certain barren sections of the country--these Arabs were the merchants, the scholars, the poets, and the artists of Iberian Society. Though the upper classes in the Iberian states could afford to be educated in France, most peasants could not, leaving a rowdy and unstreamlined workforce without much cultural basis. With a rejection of Arabic culture, these countries had to rely heavily on ornate Catholic rituals to wow their subjects into obeying. However, by the time of independence, Arabic had become the lingua franca of all Iberian states (though unsuccessful efforts were made to change this).
Castille, with it's high amount of valuable minerals and sheer population size, quickly became the most powerful Iberian state. Galicia and Portugal were now left geopolitically isolated--French-supported Castille to the north, and the remnants of the Abbasid Caliphate's Andalusian empire to the south. Thus, in the interest of both country's independence, they decided to form a personal union in 1845, creating the Christian Union of Galicia and Portugal. This state, though still not incredibly powerful, has withstood Castilian attempts at invasion until the modern day.
The Union had largely expelled Arabs from the country by 1900, perceiving such an act as justice against their former colonizers. Galicia and Portugal today remains one of the most isolated and traditionalist states in Europe, with a struggling economy, a poorly educated populace, and a nearly-absolute Monarchy with a heavy emphasis on Catholicism. Though Iberian Islamic converts were once common in the country, most of them have been either killed or exiled from it. Conversion from Christianity to Islam is strictly prohibited on pain of death.
Meanwhile, the Abbasid Caliphate continued to decline and splinter apart into separate states, eventually only controlling Iraq, losing the Holy Land to European states, who had decided that it was time to colonize the colonizer. Arabs remain one of the most discriminated-against minorities in Europe to this day.
...
Flag of Ghalisia-Burtuqal (Union of Galicia-Portugal): For the past several hundred years, the only flag seen in Portugal and Galicia was the black standard of the Abbasid Caliph. However, throughout, memory persisted in Portugal of brave Count Henry's flag, a cross on a field of white, and of the famous Cross of the Galicians, borne by the kings of the same country. When both countries became independent in 1840, their flags were proportioned 1:1, like the battle banners of the attempted Reconquista (and also to stand in sharp contrast to the long, flowing banner of the Abbasids). The flag of (north) Portugal was white with a blue cross, and the flag of Galicia was blue with a yellow cross. However, once these countries merged, their flags were also merged together, with 4 other greek crosses in each of the corners.
The representation is this: The complete small crosses in the upper right and lower left represent the history of independence of both Kingdoms, and thus their national identities. The split small crosses in the upper left and lower right represent total unity and the protection of God. The large split cross in the middle also represents this, but also represents the continued fight for independence against the Arab invaders (as this large cross represents the historical battle banners from both Galicia and Portugal).
...
An Important Note: After tomorrow I will be gone for the next three weeks and I will not be able to respond to anything, as I will not have my computer with me.
Also note, you can find a large image of the flag (though not the image I will be using to enter the competition) below, if you want to see the flag in greater detail.