Weekly Flag Challenge: Discussion & Entries

[kirrix]

Black Jack's Armed Contracting Company

Black Jack's is the premier private military company of the 22nd century. Founded by Jacob "Black Jack" Martin in the 2093 after serving with the United States Navy SEALs (and after participating in a number of joint operations with the other special operating forces of the United States Military, as well as the British SAS, Israeli Shayetet 13, Korean 707th Battalion, and others), Black Jack's original team earned a name for itself after thoroughly humiliating anti-terrorism units in the United Kingdom, United States, Canada and Mexico. Since then, the company has earned contracts for counter-terrorism (including training), corporate security, bodyguard services, bounty hunting, anti-piracy, privateering, as well as traditional mercenary functions. To date, Black Jack's has toppled thirty governments (13 for foreign governments, 17 for domestic revolutionaries) and has been utilized in over seventy armed conflicted (including a time when the company successfully occupied Damascus for twenty-three days, during which time the company flag flew over the city). Rumors abound that the group has been hired to conduct terrorist attacks, though nothing has ever been proven.

 

[False Dmitri]

I'm surprised nobody hit on the obvious vexilological meaning of the word "jack". I was just going to make a cool navy jack and make it black, but I was not feeling particularly inspired.

Anyway, @Sue - Interesting scenario for the new challenge. Poor Canada! I have one question: why did the Upper Peninsula of Michigan end up joining Canada? Much as many Yoopers would like to, I don't see that addressed in the history.

 

[Rubberduck3y6]

Anyway, @Sue - Interesting scenario for the new challenge. Poor Canada!

More like poor Quebec! They've lost all of their major cities, over half their population and access to the Saint Lawrence!

 

[False Dmitri]

More like poor Quebec! They've lost all of their major cities, over half their population and access to the Saint Lawrence!

That's true. Without looking I wasn't sure if they still had Montreal or not. Can there be a Quebec without a Montreal?

 

[JJDXB]

My entry for ah-Sue's challenge

-Red, White, Blue being the traditional colours of the Union Jack (symbolising courage, peace and prosperity respectively. Peace is more valued than courage, so is place in the larger segment on top of the red).
-The Four stars representing the 4 provinces (Newfoundland Proper, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia & Prince Edward Island).
-The Gold triangles being a stylised representation of the new state, with the blue division between them symbolising the area of water between the two halves.

(Event point 2)

 

[ah-sue]

Anyway, @Sue - Interesting scenario for the new challenge. Poor Canada! I have one question: why did the Upper Peninsula of Michigan end up joining Canada? Much as many Yoopers would like to, I don't see that addressed in the history.

I gave a simple ATL mainly focusing on Newfoundland for the purpose of the flag challenge. For example, I didn't mention Cuba and the American West Indies becoming respectively the 49th and 50th states of the USA (New Columbia = 51st and eventually Alaska = 52nd - the Sandwich Islands remained British then became an Independent Dominion withing the Commonwealth).

In this ATL the Mackinac Transfer, an appendix to the Oregon Treaty (1846), gave the Upper Peninsula to Britain. Thus the rejoicing Yoopers were fortunate to be in effect part of British North America until the formation of the Union of Canada (1908).

 

[Dutchie]

That's true. Without looking I wasn't sure if they still had Montreal or not. Can there be a Quebec without a Montreal?

Without Montreal, yes, though much diminished. However, it seems Quebec City is also annexed, and without that there is no basis for a seperate Republic. Much more likely for large sections of the north to be lost to the Canadians than their capital city, or if the capital was lost, for complete surrender...

 

[kirrix]

There's always the possibility of mass evacuations just before hostilities start.

 

[neamathla]

This is my flag for the 'Newfoundland Now' Party. I used the colors of the traditional Newfoundland flag with lightning bolt of the UK fascists.

 

[Iserlohn]

First of all, regarding the "Quebec City and Montreal discussion", let us just say that Quebec City barely remains part of Quebec and most people from Montreal escape, so that the problem solved and we don't need to discuss the absurdity of Quebec existing ITL!

But back to my original intention...

Here is my entry for Event Point IV of ah-sue's challenge:

The chosen colours represent both the political standpoint (red and black), as well as the past of the nation (red, blue, white). The rune in the half circle near the hoist is named Raido and means "journey". It has been chosen to fit with the Facist ideology, which draws heavy inspiration from the Nordic roots of the British, as well as the Norse settlements during the Middle Ages in the region (Vinland).

 

[actaeon]

Event Point 1: Newfoundland Now Party seizes power (party flag).

I'm not too sure about the 'traditional' Newfoundland flag and how popular it might have been in the 1920s/30s, but the arms had recently been rediscovered and readopted (1928), so based on the view that fascists like taking traditional elements and colours and reworking them into a modernist design, I've used the red, gold and white from the arms.

Black is added as a fascist colour, and the crooked Nordic cross is a nod to the Viking heritage. The chevrons forming an arrow indicate moving forward to a fascist future.

 

[charl]

Event point the fourth: Corporatist state republic.

The flag is based on the Newfie tricolour. The black scribble thing is supposed to be a stylised elk horn, used as a symbol by the Newfoundland party since the 1932. It also has a symbolic meaning, where the three upper-most tops are a metaphor for business, labour and state, who manage the economy in a tripartist social contract. The bottom left top symbolise the people, who are the foundation upon which all else hangs, and the small right top symbolise the law and the justice system, without whom the three managing parties would not be kept in check.

This flag is intended to be one institutionalised by a rather revolutionary political movement which is why it has such an unorthodox design. This first elk horn flag was raised over the capital on January 3rd 1939, and by the end of 1941 it was replaced by one with a more intricate and complex horn symbol, although the colours and the fields remained the same.

 

[Splurgy]

This is at Event Point 2.
It's a three striped flag featuring a simplified horizontal fasces.
I had a look at what the fascist party that won would have used, and in the early thirties the British Union of Fascists were still using a fasces as their emblem, which is a bundle of sticks with an axe on it, used to symbolise strength through unity (it was a Roman thing). The Italian fascists in OTL would use a horizontal fasces (with an Eagle perched on it) that was coloured in, so I figured it would be ok to rotate my fasces and colour it in.
So yeah, that's what the fasces is there for - the fascist party won, and that was likely to be on their flag, so it makes sense that they'd then add it to their national flag like the Italian fascists.
Now, for the colours:
OTL: Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward's Island and New Brunswick all incorporated the colours red, yellow and blue into their flags. The blue in Newfoundland's flag recalls the Union Jack and since the UK is cooperating in this timeline too, I thought the situation would be similar enough for them to want to add it in.
The Red and the Yellow come from the flags of the other states rather than specifically Newfoundland, since if they're merging together I reasoned it would be necessary to appease them by incorporating their colours onto the new flag. So I coloured in the fasces with that.
I was tempted to substitute the horizontal stripes for a St. Andrews Cross (like the current Nova Scotia flag) but I thought it might look a bit too busy visually and be a bit too unoriginal as well.

 

[Dutchie]

Newfoundland Native Flag

The flag of the Newfoundland Native Party. Adapted from the original 'Native'* flag, the vertical tricolour was rotated so as to keep balance between the Prots (rose) and the Papists (green). The celtic cross was overlaid to symbolize the common heritage of the people (lots of scots and irish), with a nod to the union jack centered. Early versions kept the union in blue and red but for simplicity and cost the colours were matched.

*of note, the term 'native' here does not indicate First Nations/Amerindians as, sadly, they were wiped out. 'Native' means those born in the territory.

 

[ah-sue]

I've designed a flag for each event:
Event 1 - the lightning flash on the 'Newfoundland Now' party flag is meant also to be a stylised 'N'
Event 2 - features colours/elements from the flags of Newfoundland, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia & Prince Edward Island
Event 3 - Navy flag (first used during war with Quebec)
Event 4 - The flag of the republic, to represent dynamism and incorporating the party logo.

The 'Event 4' flag is my entry for this challenge!

 

[ah-sue]

Flag Challenge 15 June 2010

This is my entry - option 1, a flag for the South African Federation.

Blue and Orange for the Dutch heritage,
Green for the land (boer = farmer),
Springbok = notable local animal.

 

[ah-sue]

These are NOT entries, just something I did in respect of options 2 and 3 of the challenge.

 

[Dutchie]

Flag of the South African Federation

The colours are drawn from the Dutch Tricolour (the original blue, white, orange, not the faded-to-red version). The crest is backed with zebra stripes and features an acacia tree, symboilizing the African continent. The lion is drawn from the Dutch royal arms.

 

[Iserlohn]

Since I am not really good at imagining a Party Flag for an early French facism and I have no idea to make a British colonial flag interesting, here is my entry for Option #1!

The square-shaped flag's design and colouring is a combination of the flags for Transvaal (mostly the colours) and the already lost Natalia (the triangles), with some minor changes: The stripe at the hoist is seperated into two halfs by the white isosceles triangle. This very stripe also features two stars, representing the union between Transvaal and the OFS. Last but not least there has been a golden map of the SAF, which recently was modified to include the parts annexed from Portugal ten years ago.

 

[JJDXB]

I humbly submit my entry (South African Federation)

-Orange, White, Blue are the traditional Dutch colours
-A circular seal with a stylised version of Devil's Peak, Cape Town, site of the first Dutch settlement in Southern Africa (as seen in this link), representing the struggle the Afrikaners have had to overcome, both in arriving and being forced out of the Cape
-The words Suid-Afrikaanse Federasie (South African Federation in Afrikaans, I think) underneath the seal
-Two orange stars on either side of the name, symbolising Transvaal and the Orange Free State

NB: I was forced to make the seal myself, because of a lack of suitable representations of Devil's Peak.