Badposter rates every country flag

[badposter]

Flag of Nepal

Ratio: You may think this doesn't apply, but it kinda does. Not counting the blue border, the bounding rectangle has a 4:3 ratio. Counting the border, it has a

ratio.
Nepal's flag is the only flag to be taller than it is wide.
Adopted: 18th or 19th century (current version adopted on 16 December 1962).
Part 1
Rule 1: A child may not be able to draw the exact number of points in the sun or moon, but recognizabilty is more important than perfection.
Rule 2: Before the mid-18th century Nepal was multiple small principalities. This changed when Prithvi Narayan Shah, prince of Gorkha, unified Nepal and became king of Nepal. Afterwards, his dynasty began to rule Nepal. The newly unified kingdim would expand into what is now India (and tried to conquer Tibet, but was defeated by China).
From 1814 to 1816 the Anglo-Nepalese War was fought between the British East India Company and Nepal. The Company expected that it would be an easy victory, which led to Nepal beating in the beginning of the war. However, the war ended in a Company victory after they commited more resources to the war. The war would end with the signing of the Treaty of Sugauli, which made Nepal lose one third of its territory.
In 1846 the Rana dynasty became the hereditary prime ministers of Nepal. Afterwards, they would the real power in Nepal, and the kings became figureheads. The Ranas were very pro-British, and helped to put down the 1857 Indian Rebellion, which led to Nepal gaining parts of the Terai region, and its current borders, in 1860. Nepal also fought with the Allies during both world wars.
In 1951 the Nepali Congress led a revolution which ended the rule of the Rana dynasty, gave power back to the king, and made the Prime Minister an elected position. However, in 1960 King Mahendra suspended the constitution, dissolved parliament, and imprisoned the Prime Minister. The Panchayat system, which had no parties, democratic elections for representatives, and a powerful monarch would be established . (Parties would return to Nepal after the People's Movement I, which would also reduce the powers of the king and give Nepal a new constitution.)
Nepal's flag was adopted somewhere in the 18th or 19th century. Previously, the moon and sun had faces, but the 1962 constitution (which also established the Panchayat system) removed them.
The red symbolizes victory in war and is the color of the rhododendron, Nepal's national flower, the blue symbolizes peace (Nepal had a civil war between the government and Maoists from 1996 to 2006, which led to Nepal becoming a republic in 2008), the moon symbolizes calmness and the cool weather of the Himalayas, the sun symbolizes fierce resolve and the heat of the lower part of the country, and the shape of the flag comes from the Himalayas. The sun and moon symbolizes the hope that Nepal will live as long as those celestial objects.
Rule 3: Blue, red, and white. This flag has an unusual shape but very used colors.
Rule 4: The sun and moon are simple.
Rule 5: If all the elements of the flag were removed, the flag would still be distinctive due to its shape.
Part 2
pre-1962

Spoiler

I prefer the faceless version.
Part 3
A nice and distinctive flag. I like it, and I think almost everyone does.
.
By the way, this is how to make the flag of Nepal, according to Nepal's 1990 constitution:

(A) Method of Making the Shape inside the Border

(1) On the lower portion of a crimson cloth draw a line AB of the required length from left to right.
(2) From A draw a line AC perpendicular to AB making AC equal to AB plus one third AB. From AC mark off D making line AD equal to line AB. Join BD.
(3) From BD mark off E making BE equal to AB.
(4) Touching E draw a line FG, starting from the point F on line AC, parallel to AB to the right hand-side. Mark off FG equal to AB.
(5) Join CG.

(B) Method of Making the Moon

(6) From AB mark off H making AH equal to one-fourth of line AB and starting from H draw a line HI parallel to line AC touching line CG at point I.
(7) Bisect CF at J and draw a line JK parallel to AB touching CG at point K.
(8 ) Let L be the point where lines JK and HI cut one another.
(9) Join JG.
(10) Let M be the point where line JG and HI cut one another.
(11) With centre M and with a distance shortest from M to BD mark off N on the lower portion of line HI.
(12) Touching M and starting from O, a point on AC, draw a line from left to right parallel to AB.
(13) With centre L and radius LN draw a semi-circle on the lower portion and let P and Q be the points where it touches the line OM respectively.
(14) With centre M and radius MQ draw a semi-circle on the lower portion touching P and Q.
(15) With centre N and radius NM draw an arc touching PNQ [sic] at R and S. Join RS. Let T be the point where RS and HI cut one another.
(16) With Centre T and radius TS draw a semi-circle on the upper portion of PNQ touching it at two points.
(17) With centre T and radius TM draw an arc on the upper portion of PNQ touching at two points.
(18) Eight equal and similar triangles of the moon are to be made in the space lying inside the semi-circle of No. (16) and outside the arc of No. (17) of this Schedule.

(C) Method of making the Sun

(19) Bisect line AF at U and draw a line UV parallel to line AB touching line BE at V.
(20) With centre W, the point where HI and UV cut one another and radius MN draw a circle.
(21) With centre W and radius LN draw a circle
(22) Twelve equal and similar triangles of the sun are to be made in the space enclosed by the circles of No. (20) and of No. (21) with the two apexes of two triangles touching line HI.

(D) Method of Making the Border

(23) The width of the border will be equal to the width TN. This will be of deep blue colour and will be provided on all the sides of the flag. However, on the five angles of the flag the external angles will be equal to the internal angles.
(24) The above mentioned border will be provided if the flag is to be used with a rope. On the other hand, if it is to be hoisted on a pole, the hole on the border on the side AC can be extended according to requirements.

Explanation: The lines HI, RS, FE, ED, JG, OQ, JK and UV are imaginary. Similarly, the external and internal circles of the sun and the other arcs except the crescent moon are also imaginary. These are not shown on the flag.

 

[badposter]

Flag of the Netherlands

Ratio: 2:3 (normal)
Adopted: In use since the 16th century. Officially adopted on 19 February 1937.
Part 1
Rule 1: It's a simple tricolor.
Rule 2: The first flag used in what is now the Netherlands is the Cross of Burgundy, used by the lords of Burgundy, which ruled Eastern France in the late 14th century and most of the 15th century. In 1477, Duchess Mary of Burgundy (who had lost parts of the Duchy to France that same year) married Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, (of the House of Habsburg) . When Mary died in 1482, Philip IV, her son, became Duke of Burgundy, which would become ruled by the Habsburgs. Philip would marry Joanna, daughter of the queen of Castile and the king of Aragon. In 1504 the Queen of Castile died, which made Joanna queen of Castile. Philip would be crowned king of Castile, but he would die the same year. Philip would be succeded as duke of Burgundy by Charles II, his son with Joanna. When the king of Aragon died in 1516, Charles II became king of Castile and Aragon (Spain) in 1516 as Charles I, despite the fact that Joanna (who was considered mad) was still alive and remained, officially, the queen of Castile (and after her father died, Aragon). Thus, after 1516 Spain and the Netherlands had the same ruler (Maximilian I would die in 1519 and be succeded as Holy Roman Emperor by Charles, who became Holy Roman Emperor as Charles V, so after 1519 Spain, the Netherlands, and the Holy Roman Empire had the same ruler)
In 1555 Joanna died, and in 1556 Charles did the same. They were succeded in Spain and the Netherlands by Philip II, under whose reign the Netherlands became officially incorporated into Spain. Philip's heavy taxation of the Netherlands, and persecution of Protestants living in it, led to the Dutch Revolt and the Eighty Year's War. The first part of the revolt was led by William I, Prince of Orange (Orange was a principality in southern France), whose coat of arms featured the colors orange, white, and blue. The Watergeuzen (Sea Beggars), pro-independence privateers, flew an orange, white, and blue horizontal tricolor, known as "the Prince's flag", as those colors came from the Prince of Orange's coat of arms. An atlas made in 1613 shows a red, white, and blue flag being flown by the Watergeuzen in a naval battle against Spain.
By 1581, when the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands was founded, the Netherlands was practically independent, though Dutch independence wouldn't be recognized by Spain until 1648. The Netherlands, though officially a republic, would be ruled by a stadtholder, who would very often be the Prince of Orange.
The new Dutch Republic would be quite wealthy and powerful, having a colonial empire. The current flags of Ney York City and Albany, New York, along with the 1928-1994 flag of South Africa come from the Prince's Flag.
After 1630, the orange in the flag was gradually replaced by red. This may be because orange is a faint color, hard to distinguish at sea, or because the orange was made by red and yellow dyes, and the latter faded out first. In any case, the Prince's Flag continued being used, but less frequently.
In 1648 the Peace of Münster, which ended the Dutch Revolt and the Eighty Year's War, was signed by the Dutch Republic and Spain. Spain recognized the independence of the Northern Netherlands, while the Southern Netherlands (what are now Belgium, Luxembourg, and Limburg, along with parts of what is now France and Germany) remained Spanish (after the Treaty of Rastatt was signed in 1714 the Southern Netherlands became Austrian.
In 1795, during the French Revolutionary Wars, the Batavian Republic, a French puppet state made up of the Northern and Southern Netherlands, was founded. Its flag was a red, white and blue horizontal tricolor with an emblem featuring a Netherlands maiden, holding a shield and a lance, with a lion at her feet, on the upper hoist side. The emblems on the upper hoist side were removed in 1806, when the Kingdom of the Netherlands, whose king was Louis Bonaparte, Napoleon's younger brother, was founded. Napoleon intended his brother to be a puppet. However:

In addition to refusing to introduce conscription, he declared himself Dutch rather than French and demanded that his ministers renounce their French citizenships as well. He made a sincere effort to learn the Dutch language, and required his court and ministers to only speak Dutch. He went as far as to adopt the Dutch spelling of his name, Lodewijk.

This led to Louis being forced to abdicate, and the Kingdom of Holland being annexed by France. The French were defeated in 1813, and the Sovereign Principality of the United Netherlands was founded. After the defeat of the Netherlands, the Prince's Flag was flown along with the other Dutch flag, to show the attachment of the Dutch to the House of Orange.
After the Congress of Vienna in 1815 the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which included the Northern and Southern Netherlands, was founded. The Kingdom would lose the Southern Netherlands after the Belgian Revolution in 1830, though the Netherlands wouldn't recognize Belgian independence until the 1839 Treaty of London was signed. That treaty gave the eastern part of Limburg to the Netherlands (and the eastern part to Belgium). The current Belgian-Dutch border was established in the 1843 Treaty of Maastricht.
In 1931 the National Socialist Movement in the Netherlands, a fascist party, was founded. The Prince's Flag was used by members of the party. This may have been why the red, white, and blue flag was established as the only national flag of the Netherlands in a Royal Decree by Queen Wilhelmina in 1937. During the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands (1940-1945) the National Socialist Movement was made the only legal party in the Netherlands, which has made the Prince's Flag controversial. However, Dutch flags are flown with an orange pennant on King's Day.
Rule 3: Red, white, and blue. This flag may have inspired the Russian flag, which inspired the Pan-Slavic flags, which is one of the reasons this color combination is so common. I do think that this flag has good colors.
Rule 4: The flag of the Netherlands is a simple tricolor with no text or emblems.
Rule 5: There are many flags similar to that of the Netherlands. However, the Dutch flag is older than all of them, so it's not the Netherlands' fault.
Part 2
Cross of Burgundy

Spoiler

This flag is nowadays more associated with the Spanish Empire, which used it even after losing the Netherlands.
Prince's Flag

Spoiler

This flag is distinctive, though it's also controversial. Design-wise, I think it's a good flag.
Batavian Republic (1795-1806)

Spoiler

The emblem is pretty complex, and that's bad.
Part 3
I would consider this flag a boring tricolor if it weren't older than every other red, white, and blue tricolor. I think this flag's okay.

 

[badposter]

Flag of New Zealand

Ratio: 1:2 (normal)
Adopted: In use since 1869. Officially adopted on 24 March 1902
Part 1
Rule 1: A child may not be able to draw St. Patrick's Cross in the Union Jack perfectly from memory, especially if the flag is small.
Rule 2: New Zealand was one of the last places to be inhabited by humans. The first people to come there were eastern Polynesians, ancestors of the Māori, who came in the late 13th century.
The first European to come to New Zealand was Abel Tasman, a Dutchman who came in 1642. It was an hostile encounter, and four members of Tasman's crew were killed. Europeans wouldn't visit New Zealand again until 1769, when James Cook, a British explorer, mapped almost all of New Zealand's coast. Afterwards, New Zealand would be visited by multiple European ships, and things in Europe, such as muskets, would be introduced to the islands, which led to the Musket Wars.
In 1834 the ship Sir George Murray, built in the Hokianga, was seized by Customs in Sydney due to having no flag (New Zealand had no flag at the time), which violated British navigation laws. The ship had two high-ranking Māori chiefs in it, leading to indignation by the Māori. This led to the United Tribes of New Zealand, a meeting of chiefs from northern New Zealand convened by James Bubsy (who was British), which adopted a flag featuring a St. George's Cross. On the canton, it had another St. George's Cross, which was on a blue field. The cross divided the canton into four parts, and on each part was a whote star. Originally, the cross on the canton was had a black border, but the black was changed to a white fimbration. The flag was chosen out of three proposed designs, all designed by Henry Williams.
In 1835 the the Declaration of Independence of New Zealand was signed by the United Tribes, being ratified the following year. In 1840 the Treaty of Waitangi was signed. It made New Zealand by governed by a British govenor, and gave the British government the sole right to purchase land in exchange for giving the Māori the rights of British subjects and recognizition of Māori ownership of their lands. After the treaty was signed, New Zealand's flag would become the Union Jack, though the United Tribes would keep being used unofficially, especially on land.
After the Colonial Navy Defence Act 1865 was passed in the UK, British colonial ships were ordered to fly the Blue Enisgn with the colony's badge (which is why British colonial flags are so similar). New Zealand, however, didn't even have a badge, so in 1867 New Zealand used a flag featuring the Blue Ensign with the letters "NZ" in red (with a white border) on the lower fly side.
In 1869 Albert Hastings Markham, a Royal Navy lieutenant, proposed a flag, which was the Blue Ensign defaced by the four brightest stars in the Southern Cross (a symbol of the Southern Hemisphere, used in the flag of other nations and regions in it) in red with a white border, to George Bowen, Governor of New Zealand, who approved the flag. While the flag originally was only to be used at sea, it increasingly became used as the national flag, which led to the Ensign and Code Signals Bill, in which New Zealand's current flag was adopted, being passed by the government of New Zealand, before being approved by King Edward VII on 24 March 1902.
On 26 September 1907 New Zealand was declared a dominion, becoming mostly independent, though the UK still controlled defense, constitutional amendments, and foreign policy. After the Statute of Westminister Adoption Act 1947 was passed, New Zealand adopted the Statute of Westiminister (1931), which established legislative independence. After New Zealand Constitution Amendment (Request and Consent) Act 1947 was passed, New Zealand gained the right to amend the New Zealand Constitution Act 1852. Technically, the British Parliament could still legislate on New Zealand's affairs, with the consent of the latter, until the Constitution Act 1986 was passed.
In 2015-2016 there were two referendums on New Zealand's flag. There were 10,292 desugn suggested, but only five made it to the first round, in which the alternative to the current flag was chosen. The second round of the referendum was between the current flag and the alternative, and the current won with 56.73% of the vote.
Rule 3: Blue, white, and red. This is the third time in a row I write about a flag with this color combination, it's really used a lot, though that doesnt mean it's bad.
Rule 4: Stars are simple. I've written that a lot. There are many flags with stars.
Rule 5: This image is about Australia's flag, but it also applies to New Zealand's
Part 2
United Tribes of New Zealand (1834-1840)

Spoiler

This flag is distinctive, though I find it kinda boring.
1867-1869

Spoiler

Text. And besides, the "NZ" is placed somewhat awkwardly.
Part 3
It's undistinctive and I don't like its symbolism. This flag is better, or at least more distinctive.

 

[Specific Neptune]

w00t nz <3

 

[badposter]

Flag of Nicaragua

Ratio: 3:5 (the third most common flag ratio)
Adopted: 4 September 1908. (officially adopted on 27 August 1971)
Part 1
Rule 1: A child could not draw the flag in the coat of arms from memory.
Rule 2: This is alphapbtically the last flag with Central American colors, so for the very last time, the Central American copypasta:

The Federal Republic's flag was influenced by Argentina's flag and had two blue stripes (representing the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans), and a white stripe between them (representing the land between them). The blue and white of this flag, and of every country that was a member of the Federal Republic's flag, comes from this

Nicaragua was the very first country to leave the Federal Republic, dong it in 1841. After that, the history of its flag becomes somewhat unclear. It is not known what flag Nicaragua used from 1841 to 1852, and two flags atributted to Nicaragua from 1852 to 1854, and from 1889 to 1893, may not have been used by Nicaragua (the latter may, in fact, have been Costa Rica).
From 1854 to 1858, and also from 1873 to 1889, Nicaragua used a flag which was a yellow, white, and nacre horizontal tricolor, with unkown meaning. From 1858 to 1873, Nicaragua used a blue and white triband, which again became Nicaragua's flag in 1893, when the liberal José Santos Zelaya came into power. In 1896 Nicaragua, Honduras, and El Salvador, united to form the Greater Republic of Central America (Guatemala and Costa Rica considered joining it, but never did). On 27 August 1898 the Greater Republic changed its name to "United States of Central America". The United States wouldn't last long: On 13 November 1898 Tomás Regalado took power in El Salvador after a coup d'état, and afterwards left the United States. The federation failed to stop this, and on 1 December Nicaragua left the United States (and went back to having a blue, white, and blue triband). El Salvador left the United States on 10 December 1898, ending the federation.
On 4 September 1908 the current flag was adopted, but the shade of blue and ratio were only specificied in a law adopted on 25 August 1971. The law also stated that the blue symbolizes justice and loyalty, and that the white symbolizes purity and integrity.
The meaning of the coat of arms:

The triangle signifies equality, the rainbow signifies peace, the gorro frigio (Phrygian cap) symbolizes liberty and the five volcanoes express the union and brotherhood of all five Central American countries.[1] Lastly the gold words surrounding the emblem: Republica De Nicaragua - America Central (English: Republic of Nicaragua - Central America).

Rule 3: Not counting the colors in the coat of arms, blue and white, which are good colors (counting the colors in the coat of arms, this is the only flag to have violet).
Rule 4: This flag has text and a complex coat of arms. Bad.
Rule 5: This flag can be confused with El Savador's, which is very similar. This flag isn't distintive.
Part 2
1852-1854 (maybe)

Spoiler

This flag may not have been actually in use, but I like the mountain. It's a good, simple emblem.
1854-1858, 1873-1889

Spoiler

I like this flag's colors, and also like that the flag is distinctive. This flag is better than the current.
1858-1873, 1893-1896, 1898-1908

Spoiler

It's a pretty generic flag, which I think can be confused with other flags with Central American colors.
1889-1893 (maybe)

Spoiler

The flag of five stripes was shown first in Le Gras' album in 1858!! It was reproduced in several encyclopaedias around 1890! So the flag was used much earlier. But when it was shown in the 1858 album des pavillons it must have been in use even earlier! I assume that this flag was mistakenly shown for Nicaragua, but was a flag of Costa Rica, when this state intervened in the Walker affair in 1855.

Part 3
Out of the five national flags with Central American colors, Honduras' and Costa Rica's are good (the five stars and the red stripe, respectively, make the flags distinctive), Guatemala's is mixed (it's vertical, which makes it distinctive, but it also has a complex coat of arms, which is bad), and El Salvador's and Nicaragua's are bad (both have complex coat of arms and text, and can easily be confused with the other).

 

[badposter]

Flag of Niger (it's pronounced niːˈʒɛər, nee-JHER. And its name from the Niger River, whose name either comes from Niger, which is black in Latin, or from the Tuareg n'eghirren, which means river of rivers)

Ratio: Actually not defined. For some reason, it is commonly shown with an unusal 6:7 ratio, though the government of Niger tends to show it with more usual proportions.
Adopted: 23 November 1959 (less than a year before independence on 3 August 1960)
Part 1
Rule 1: A child can draw this flag from memory, perfectly if they have a compass.
Rule 2: Niger was from 1902 to 1904 part of the French colony of Senegambia and Niger. In 1904 the territory was reorganized and became the colony Upper Senegal and Niger. In 1911 Niger was split from the colony, becoming the Niger Military Territory. From the beginning of colonization to 1922 revolts against the French were common.
In 1922 the Colony of Niger, under French civilian rule, was founded. In 1958, like in most other French colonies, there was a referendum on whether Niger should become independent or become part of the new French Community. Becoming part of the French Community won with 78.43% of the vote, and on 19 December 1958 Niger gained autonomy. It adopted a constitution on 25 February 1959 and a flag on 23 November 1959.
Niger's flag hasn't been given an official meaning, but the orange is thought to symbolize the Sahara (or the Sahel), the white is thought to symbolize purity, the green is thought to symboize hope and the fertility of Southern Niger (if you look at this satellite image, you'll see the southernmost parts of the country are green), and the circle is tought to either symbolize the sun or independence.
Niger became fully independent on 3 August 1960, and left the French Community. It kept its flag, and despite its political instability (It went through five constitutions from 1989 to 2010), it has never changed its flag since.
Rule 3: Orange, white, and green. I like the colors of this flag.
Rule 4: The circle is a simple emblem.
Rule 5: This flag is pretty similar to India's. However, it has a circle instead instead of a wheel, and a different shade of orange, so I think it's distinctive.
Part 2
Before 1959, Niger used the French tricolor.
Part 3
It's simple and it has good color, but I don't really like the circle. I prefer India's flag, even though it's more complex.

 

[badposter]

Flag of Nigeria

Ratio: 1:2
Adopted: 1 October 1960 (Nigerian indepndence)
Part 1
Rule 1: It's a simple triband.
Rule 2: In 1900 two British protectorates were created in what is now Nigeria: the Northern Nigeria Protectorate and the Southern Nigeria Protectorate. In 1914 the protecorates were merged, and the Nigeria Protectorate and Colony, whose region had more autonmous than other colonies'. On 1 October 1960 the Nigeria Independence Act 1960 was passed, and the Federation of Nigeria, an independent country which had the same monarch as that of the UK, was founded. That same day, Nigeria's current flag was adopted. There was a contest for Nigeria's flag in 1959, and a design very similar to the current, designed by Taiwo Akinkunmi, won. The only difference between Akinkunmi's flag and the current is that Akinkunmi's flag had a red sun in the center.
In Nigeria's flag, the green symbolizes Nigeria's natural wealth (Nigeria's economy is mostly based on petrol), and the white symbolizes peace (it had a quite bloody civil war from 1967 to 1970, and right now it's at war with Boko Haram).
On 1 October 1963 Nigeria abolished its monarchy and became the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Rule 3: Green and white. I think those are good colors.
Rule 4: This flag has no text or coat of arms.
Rule 5: This flag is similar to Norfolk and Rhodesia's (1968-1979). However, both of those flags are younger than Nigeria's, and have emblems which make them distinctive. Therefore, I think this flag is distinctive.
Part 2
Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria (1914-1960)

Spoiler

This flag has a Star of David, which represents Igbo Jews, which is interesting because there's no more than 5000 of them. Other than that, it's a British colonial flag, which I don't like.
Part 3
A simple, distinctive flag. I like it.

 

[badposter]

Flag of North Korea

Ratio: 1:2 (normal)
Adopted: 8 September 1948 (one day before North Korea was officially established)
Part 1
Rule 1: This flag is simple. A child could draw it from memory.
Rule 2: After the Japan-Korea Treaty of 1910 (which wasn't actually signed by Sujong, Korea's emperor) was signed, Korea (which had been a Japanese protectorate since 1905, and whose internal affairs had been controlled by a Japanese Resident-General since 1907) was annexed by the Japanese Empire, ending the rule of the Joseon dynasty, which had ruled Korea as kings from 1324 to 1897, and as emperors afterwards. After the annexation, Korean were forced to adopt Japanese names and to worship at Japanses Shinto shrines. Korea's language and history were taken out of education. Some Korean cultural artifacts were destroyed or taken to Japan.
The Japanese Empire would rule Korea until 1945, when Korea was split into two zones divided by the 38th parallel north: A noerthern, Soviet-occupied zone, and a southern, American-occupied zone.
Soviet adminisitration over North Korea ended in February 1946, and The Provisional People's Committee for North Korea, chaired by Kim-Il Sung, was established. Its government was modelled after the Soviet Union's. During that time the flags of both northern and Southern Korea were identical.
Soviet troops left Korea in 1948, and North Korea, officially known as the "Democratic People's Republic of Korea", a dictatorship ruled by Kim Il-Sung, whose official ideology was Juche. The day before North Korea was founded.
American troops left South Korea in 1949. The next year, North Korea, with the permission of the Soviet Union, which believed that the United States didn't care much about Korea. This led to the passing of UN Security Councul Resolution 83, after which the UN Command, led by the United States, was created (the Soviet Union didn't veto the resolution because it was boycotting the Security Council due to the fact that the Republic of China (Taiwan) held a permanent seat in the council instead of the People's Republic of China). UN troops almost managed to drive the North Korean troops to the Chinese border, which led to China intervening and managing to send the UN troops back to the 38th parallel. The border between northern and southern-controlled areas stabilized in July 1951, and after the Korean Armistice Agreement (which ended the fighting) was signed in 1953, that border became the current border between North and South Korea.
In North Korea's flag, the red symbolizes revolutionary traditions, the blue stripes symbolize sovereignity, peace (note that there was no peace treatyw which ended the Korean War, meaning that the two Koreas are technically still at war), and friendship, the white symbolizes purity, and the red star symbolizes communism.
However, according to Rodong Sinmun (the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea), Kim Il-Sung (the official designer of the flag according to the North Korean government, despite the flag's designer actually being unkown) gave a different meaning to the flag:

The red colour of the flag symbolises the anti-Japanese fervour, the red blood shed by the Korean patriots and the invincible might of our people firmly united to support the Republic. The white colour symbolises the one bloodline, one land, one language, one culture of our monoethnic country, which lived in purity. And blue stands for the gallant visage of our people, symbolising the spirit of the Korean people fighting for world peace and progress.

Rule 3: Blue, white, and red. I think that's a good color combination, but I also think it's overused.
Rule 4: This flag, like many other, has a star, which is simple.
Rule 5: This flag is similar to Cambodia's, Costa Rica's, Laos, and Thailand's, and out of all of those only Cambodia's is younger than North Korea's. However, I think the star on this flag makes it distinctive.
Part 2
From 1910 to 1945 Korea used Japan's flag, and from 1945 to 1946 it used the Soviet Union's. From 1946 to 1948 northern Korea used the Taegukgi, also used in southern Korea. I'll write about that flag, along with the pre-1910 Korean flags, when I do South Korea's flag.
Part 3
The North Korean government is very bad and I don't like it. But North Korea's is pretty good, design-wise.

 

[badposter]

Flag of Norway

Ratio: 8:11 (all Nordic flags have strange ratios from some reason).
Adopted: 13 July 1821 (readopted on 15 December 1899)
Part 1
Rule 1: A child could draw this flag from memory.
Rule 2: After the Treaty of Kalmar was signed in 1397, Sweden, Denmark, and Norway were united under the same monarch (though they remained independent otherwise). The only thing about the union's flag is that king Eric of Pomerania sent a letter to the priests of Vadstena and Kalmar, in which he orders them to wear the "banner of the realm", a red cross on a yellow field.
The Kalmar Union was dissolved in 1523, when Gustav Vasa was crowned in Sweden, but Denmark and Norway still shared monarchs. Norway officially became part of Denmark in 1536, but it once again became a separate kingdom (still sharing a monarch with Denmark) in 1660. While Norway and Denmark shared monarchs, Norway used Denmark's flag.
In January 1814, during the Napoleonic Wars, the Treaty of Kiel, was signed by Sweden, the United Kingdom (both oppised to Napoleon) and Denmark (which supported Napoleon), the war between the signatories ended and Norway was ceded to the king of Sweden (though the Norwegian possessions of Greenland, Iceland, and the Faroe Islands remained Danish). However, Norwegians opposed to the treaty declared independence, adopted a constitution, made Christian Frederick (future king of Denmark) king of Norway, and adopted a flag similar to the Danish one, but with a crowned lion holdin an axe in the upper hoist side. This led to the 1814 Swedish-Norwegian War, won by Sweden, after which Christian Frederick abdicated and Sweden and Norway began to have a shared monarch, though both countries continued being independent. Norway kept its flag, though Norwegian ships south of Cape Finisterre flew the Swedish flag. After 1818 Norwegians ships south of Cape Finisterre could also fly a flag similar to Sweden's, but with a white saltire on a red field in the canton.
In May 1821 the Storting (Norwegian parliament) voted to adopt Norway's current flag, designed by Fredrik Meltzer. However, the king refused to sign the flag law, but allowed the the flag for civil use, and for ships north of Cape Finisterre. Norwegian ships south of the cape were allowed to fly the Norwegian flag after 1838.
Though Frederik Meltzer did not state what the flag meant during the voting, there was a letter written by him a few days before about a proposed flag which was red and white. Meltzer opposed those colors, due to those being too similar to those of Denmark's. Meltzer, opposed to a flag associated to a country Norway had connections with, instead suggesting a red, white, and blue tricolor, since he considered those the colors of freedom and free countries, like the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, the United States, and revolutionary France. However, Meltzer later proposed a flag similar to both the Denmark and Norway's, symbolizing the countries Norway had shared monarchs with (during the votes for the flags, there were flags where red dominated, designed by those who supported the union with Denmark, and flags which were mostly blue, designed by those who preferred union with Sweden). The cross symbolizes Christianity.
In 1844 the union mark, which symbolized the union between the Sweden and Norway, was added to the canton of the flag of both of those countries. As the union with Sweden became less popular, the Storting voted in 1898 to remove the union mark. The law was not signed by the king, but still cam into effect due to being by three Stortings in a row. The flag law came into effect in 1899. The Storting voted to end the union on 7 June 1905. Sweden accepted the end of the union on 26 October 1905, when King Oscar II of Sweden gave up his claim to Norway. In 18 November 1905 Prince Carl of Denmark was elected king of Norway. Afer being elected, he took the name Haakon VII. Norway has had its own king since.
Rule 3: Red, white, and blue. Good colors, but they're used a lot. Since the 13th day of this month, I've written about five flags with this combination (including htis one), and three flags with a different combination.
Rule 4: I in the past said the crosses on Nordic flags were emblems, but nowadays I don't think they are. Still gonna leace the old write-ups as they were when written. (all of future changes of old writeups will be making small flags bigger, adding the ratios and dates of adoption for flags which I wrote about before they were introduced, fixing typos and broken images, having the rules be in the correct order during the writeups in which I made a mistake, and bolding and/or underlining things which are now bolded and/or underlined)
Rule 5:

Something nice about Nordic flags is that they all have different colors that make them distinctive.

Part 2
1814-1821

Spoiler

I don't like the lion, it's too complex.
1844-1899

Spoiler

The badge was jokingly or derogatorily called Sildesalaten ("the herring salad") because of its jumble of colours and resemblance to a popular dish on the breakfast tables of both countries

And besides, Norway and Sweden no longer share monarchs, so Norway shouldn't readopt this flag.
Part 3
Like most Nordic flags, a good flag (though this actually the Nordic I like the the least. I still like the colors of this flag, just less than those of the other Nordic flags)

 

[badposter]

Flag of Oman

Ratio: 1:2 (normal)
Adopted: 17 December 1970 (width of stripes changed on 25 April 1995)
Part 1
Rule 1: A child could not draw the complex emblem on the upper hoist side.
Rule 2: From 1650 to 1820 what is now Oman was split between the Sultanate of Muscat, a coastal sultanate which had a plain red flag and an empire which included parts of East Africa (including Zazibar), and Oman proper, which was more inland and conservative, being ruled by imams of the Ibadi sect of Islam. In 1820 the Sultanate and Oman proper were united. That same year, the United Kingdom and the emirates which now make up the United Arab Emirates signed the General Maritime Treaty, which banned slavery and piracy in the Persian Gulf. However, Muscat and Oman kept slavery (the Sultanate of Muscat participated in the slave trade in eastern Africa).
In 1856 Sultan Said bin Sultan died without appointing a heir, which caused a succesion crisis. After British mediation, it was agreed that Thuwaini bin Said al-Said (Said's third son) would become the sultan of Muscat and Oman, while Majid bin Said Al-Busaid (Said's sixth son) would become sultan of Zanzibar, which would pay tribute to Muscat and Oman.
In 1868 Azzan bin Qais took power in Muscat and Oman. He was religious, and named himselft imam instead of sultan. During his rule Muscat and Oman flew a plain white flag, and was governed by religious law. In 1871 Azzan was assassinated by Turki bin Said (uncle of the Sultan who came before Azzan), and Oman went bace to being a sultanate with a red flag.
The sultanate was frequently attacked by Ibadi tribes from the interior, which led to it becoming a British protectorate in 1892. The sultanate, however, would lose control of the interior, whih led to the 1920 Treaty of Seeb, which gave autonomy to the Imamate of Oman. Muscat and Oman would be at peace until 1954, when it was discovered there was oil in the Imamate of Oman and the sultan gave licenses to the British Petroleum Company, which led to Ghalib Bin Ali Al Hinai, Imam of Oman (and Talib, his brother), supported by Saudi Arabia, began a rebellion against the sultanate. The rebellion was put down in 1959 with British help, and the Imamate of Oman lost its autonomy.
Despite the discovery of oil, before 1970 Oman remained a very poor country:

Oman had an infant mortality rate of 75%. Trachoma, venereal disease and malnutrition were widespread. There were only 3 schools, with the literacy rate at 5%, and 6 miles of paved roads before the 1970 coup

This led to the Dhofar rebellion, in which insurgents in the provinces of Dhofar, supported by China, the Soviet Union, and South Yemen rebelled against the sultanate. This led to sultan Said bin Taimur being overthrown by his son Qaboos bin Said al Said, who began modernizing the country, abolished slavery, ended the British protectorate, changed the country's name to "Sultanate of Oman", and introduced Oman's current flag. The rebellion was put down in 1976, with Iranian and British help.
In Oman's flag the white, which is also a symbol of the Imamate of Oman, symbolizes peace, the red is a traditional color used by the Sultanate of Muscat, and the green symboizs the Jebel Akdar ("the green mountains"). On the upper hoist side is the national emblem of Oman, which features two swords and the khanjar, a traditional dagger (which is still used ceremonially), which symbolize the weapons historically used by Oman's people.
The red stripe was originally thinner than the other two stripes, but the flag was changed in 1995 so that all the stripes ould be equal.
Rule 3: Red, white, and green. I like the colors of this flag.
Rule 4: This flag has a complex emblem. Bad.
Rule 5: I think this flag would be distinctive even without the emblem: the vertical red stripe makes the flag distinctive and allows it to be different from Bulgaria's
Part 2
Sultanate of Muscat (1650-1820), Sultanate of Muscat and Oman (1820-1868, 1871-1970)

Spoiler

There have been many plain red flags in history. This flag isn't distinctive.
1970-1995

Spoiler

The flag change in 1995 wasn't really that big.
Part 3
I like the flag, but I don't like the complex emblem.

 

[Specific Neptune]

o man, that flag is suh-weet!

 

[RandomYoshi]

Friendly reminder to not nuke Norway.

 

[badposter]

Flag of Pakistan

Ratio: 2:3
Adopted: 11 August 1947 (three days befor Pakistani independence).
Part 1
Rule 1: A child could draw this flag from memory.
Rule 2: In 1858 the British Raj, a British crown colony, was created from land which had been ruled by the British East India Company before. The Raj's territory included what is now India (Hindu-majority), Pakistan, Bangladesh (both Muslim-majority) and, before 1937, Myanmar (Buddhist majority). In 1906 the All-India Muslim League was created to define the civil rights of Indian Muslims and protect them. The league had a flag similar to Pakistan's current, but eith a lighter shade of green and no vertical white stripe. In 1930 the scholar Sir Muhammad Iqbal made a speech in which he formulated an idea for a Muslim-majority state, separate from India, in what was currently the northwest of the Raj. Pakistan's name originated in a 1933 declaration (in which it was named "Pakstan", without the i). In 1940 the Lahore Resolution, under which the Muslim-majority areas of the Raj would form an independent country. All this led to the Pakistan movement (which supported the creation and independence of Pakistan) and the Indian Independence Act 1947, under which India and Pakistan would become independent on 15 August 1947. However, Lord Mountbatten (the last governor of the British Raj) had to attend the transfer of power in both countries, which led to Pakistan becoming independent on 14 August, one day before India did. Thus, the Dominion of Pakistan, which shared monarchs with the United Kingdom and whose territory included what is now Bangladesh (then known as East Pakistan). Afterwards, many Muslims in India moved to Pakistan, and many Hindus and Sikhs in Pakistan moved to India. The movement was bloody, and led to the deaths of at least 200,000 people.
Pakistan abolished its monarchy in 1956, becoming the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Bangladesh gained independence in 1971 after a quite bloody war (don't click the previous link if you don't want to read about crimes against humanity).
In Pakistan's flag the green symbolizes Islam and Pakistan's Muslim majority (96.4% of the population). The white symbolizes religious minorities (the bigggest religious minorities in Pakistan are Hindus (2%) and Christians (1.6%)). The crescent symbolizes progress and the star symbolizes light. Pakistan's flag is based on that of the All-India Muslim League.
Rule 3: Green and white. I like the dark shade of green on the flag.
Rule 4: The star and crescent is a simple emblem.
Rule 5: This flag is similar to Mauritania's, but this flag has a diagonal white star and crescent (as opposed to Mauritania's yellow horizontal star and crescent), a darker shade of green, and a whte stripe, so I think it's distinctive.
Part 2
Before 1947 Pakistan was part of the British Raj, whose flag I wrote about in my India writeup.
Part 3
A simple flag with a nice-looking sade of green. I like it.

 

[badposter]

Flag of Palau

Ratio: 5:8 (an unusual ratio also used by Argentina, Guatemala, Poland, and Sweden.)
Adopted: 1 January 1981
Part 1
Rule 1: A child could draw this flag from memory, especially if they had a compass.
Rule 2: Palau was first inhabited about 3,000 years ago by people who came from Philippines (look at Palau's geographical location and you'll see it's pretty close to the Philippines). In 1574 they became part of the Captaincy General of the Philippines, a Spanish colony which also included the Philippines. Palau would remain Spanish until 1899, when the Spanish-German Treaty, in which Spain sold the islands to Germany, was signed.
In 1914, during WWI, Japan occupied the islands. Palau officially became part of the Japanese South Pacific League of Nations mandate after the Treaty of Versailles was signed in 1919.
The United States captured the islands in 1944, after the Battle of Peleliu, in which the US beat the Japanese Empire. In 1947 Palau officially became part of the United Nations Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, administered by the United States. Palau adopted a constitution, along with its current flag on 1 January 1981, after which Palau became "the Republic of Palau". Palau and the United States signed the Compact of Free Association in 1982. The trusteeship ended on 25 May 1994, and the Compact came into effect on 1 October 1994, making Palau independent.
In Palau's flag, the blue symbolizes the Pacific Ocean, and the yellow circle is the full moon, which is important in Palau's culture:

The Palauans consider the full moon to be the optimum time for human activity. At this time of the month, celebrations, fishing, sowing, harvesting, tree-felling, and the carving of traditional canoes are carried out. The moon is a symbol of peace, love, and tranquility.

Rule 3: Blue and yellow. Good colors.
Rule 4: The moon is a simple emblem.
Rule 5:

This flag, like those of Japan and Palau, have a circle. In the case of Bangladesh and Japan, the circle represents the Sun, and in Palau's case, the circle represents the Moon. However, the colors of those flags make them distincive.

Part 2
Palau has used the flags of Spain, the German Empire, Japan, and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (which I wrote about when I did the flag of the Federated States of Micronesia).
Part 3
A nice, simple flag. I like it.

 

[badposter]

Flag of Palestine (a UN observer, recognized by 136 UN members)

Ratio: 1:2 (normal)
Adopted: 1964 as flag of the Palestinian people. 15 November 1988 as flag of the State of Palestine.
Part 1
Rule 1: It's a simple flag. A child coul draw it from memory.
Rule 2: First, the meaning of the Pan-Arab colors:

Basically, there are two set of Pan-Arab colors: the most used set uses red, black, green and white. These colors were first used in the 1916 Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire and each color represented an Arab dynasty: black represented the Abbasids, white the Ummayads, green the Fatimids and red the Hashemites.

After the 1948 Arab-Israeli War Israel managed to control most of the former British Mandate of Palestine west of the Jordan River, except for the West Bank, annexed by Jordan, and the Gaza Strip, officially governed by the All-Palestine Government, seated in Cairo, though in fact the Gaza Strip was controlled by Egypt. The All-Palestine Government was dissolved in 1959, and the Gaza Strip was occupied (but not annexed) by Egypt.
In 1964 the Palestine Liberation Organization was founded. It adopted a flag for the Palestinian people which was very similar to that of the 1916 Arab Revolt.
After the Six Day's War in 1967 Israel gained all of the former mandate of Palestine west of the Jordan River (plus the Sinai peninsula, which was given back to Egypt in 1979, and the Golan Heights).
In 1974 the Palestine Liberation Organization was given UN observer status as a "non-state entity". In 1988 the Palestinian Declaration of Independence was written, and the State of Palestine was declared. It adopted the flag of the Palestinina people as its flag. Afterwards, the name "Palestine" was used instead of "Palestine Liberation Organization by the UN. After UN General Assembly Resolution 67/19 was passed the UN recognized Palestine as a "non-member observer state", a status it shares with the Holy See.
Rule 3: Red, black, white, and green. I don't like the Pan-Arab colors that much.
Rule 4: This flag has no text or emblems.
Rule 5: This is flag is very similar to Jordan's (the only differences being that Jordan's flag has a bigger triangle and a star), and is almost identical to the flag of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party (the PLO isn't Ba'athist: both flags are based on that of the 1916 Arab Revolt).
Part 2

Claiming the flag of British Palestine or of the Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem (part of the Ottoman Empire) is an historical Israeli or Palestinian flag is a politically loaded move, and in the interest of political neutrality Part 2 will be empty when I write about Israel or Palestine's flag, except if the flags are of the State of Israel or the State of Palestine. The State of Israel has only had one flag (the current) so there will be no flags in this section.

Part 3
An undistinctive Pan-Arab flag. I don't like it.

 

[badposter]

Flag of Panama

Ratio: 2:3 (normal)
Adopted: 3 November 1903. Current version provisonally adopted on 4 June 1904, and officially adopted on 25 Maech 1925.
Part 1
Rule 1: A child could draqw this flag from memory (though I've sometimes had trouble memorizing the pattern).
Rule 2: Panama, despite being a Central American country, does not have a flag based on that of the Federal Republic of Central America. This is because Panama, like Belize, but unlike the other countries in Central America, never joined the federal republic. It was never in the Captaincy General of Guatemala (a Spanish colony), instead being part of the Viceroyalty of New Granada.
After gaining independence from the Spanish Empire in 1821. Panama, along with New Granada, Venezuela, and Ecuador, joined Gran Colombia. After Gran Colombia was dissolved in 1830 Panama remained part of New Granada/Colombia until 1903, when Panamanian separatists, supported by the United States (seeking to build a canal there) declared the independence of Panama on 3 November 1903.
The first proposal for Panama's flag was from Philippe-Jean Bunau-Varilla, a French engineer and soldier. The flag was like that of the United States, but the colors of the white stripes were changed to yellow (red and yellow appear in the flags of Spain and Colombia, the two countries Panama gained independence from), and in the canton, instead of stars, were two suns connected by a line: the suns represented North and South America, and the line symbolized Panama, which connected the two.
Bunau-Varilla's proposal was rejected, due to being designed by a foreigner. Panama's first flag to be adopted was drawn by Manuel Encarnación Amador (son of Manuel Amador Guerrero, the country's first pesident) and sewed by María de la Ossa de Amador, his mother. Panama's first flag was very similar to its current one, but the position of the blue square and star were swapped, and the same was true with the red star and square. The flag, with its current design, was adopted on 4 June 1904. The flag was meant to be temporary, but it was officially adopted on 25 March 1925. The flag was officially described in a 1949 flag law.
The red and blue symbolize Panama's main political parties at the time: the liberals and the conservatives, respectively (note that currently, the two biggest parties in Panama are the Democratic Revolutionary Party and Democratic Change, and that the Liberal and Conservative parties in Panama are defunct. This is why I think flags shouldn't symbolize political parties), the white symbolizes peece between them (there was a bloody war between Liberals and Conservatives in Colombia from 1899 to 1902), the blue star symbolizes purit and honesty, and the red star symbolizes authority and the law.
Rule 3: White, blue, and red. That color combination be overused, but it's not bad and I like how it looks on the flag.
Rule 4: This flag has two stars, both of which are simple.
Rule 5: This flag is pretty distinctive. I don't know of any flag with a similar design.
Part 2
1903-1904

Spoiler

This flag is pretty similar to the current. I have the same opinion on this flag and the current.
Part 3
A good, simple, distinctive flag. I like it a lot.

 

[badposter]

Flag of Papua New Guinea

Ratio: 3:4 (an unusual ratio)
Adopted: 1 July 1971
Part 1
Rule 1: A child could not draw the bird from memory.
Rule 2: In 1884 the German Empire began colonizing what is now the north of Papua New Guinea, founding the colony of "German New Guinea". That same year, in the south of the island, the colony of British New Guinea was founded (by the way, the west of the island was colonized by the Dutch, and remained a Dutch colony until 1962, when it became a Dutch protectorate after Indonesia invaded it the previous year. It was formally annexed by Indonesia in 1962). German New Guinea was at first administered by the German New Guinea Company, which had a white flag with the flag of the German Empire in the upper hoist side and a black lion on the lower fly side. German New Guinea began to be administered directly by the German government in 1899, and afterwards it used the German flag.
British New Guinea began to be administered by the Commonwealth of Australia in 1902, though that wasn't official until the Papua Act 1905, which also renamed the colony to "territory of Papua".
In 1914, during WWII, Australian forces captured German New Guinea. After the treaty of Versailles was signed in 1919 what was once German New Guinea became the Territory of New Guinea, a League of Nations Mandate administered by Australia.
New Guinea was invaded and occupied by the Japanese Empire in 1942, leading to the New Guinea Campaign, which caused the death of more than 200,000 people and ended in Japanese defeat. In 1946 the Territory of New Guinea became an United Nations Trust Territory, still adminstered by German New Guinea.
After the Papua and New Guinea Act 1949 was passed in the Australian Parliament, and Papua and New Guinea were merged to form the new territory of Papua and New Guinea. In 1965 Papua and New Guinea adopted a green flag with a bird-of-paradise on it. In 1970 Papua New Guinea's flag was changed to a vertical blue, yellow, and green tricolor, with the Southern Cross on the blue and a white silhouette of a bird of paradise on the green. The blue symbolized the sea and islands of Papua and New Guinea, the southern cross was a guide for travellers, the yellow symbolized natural wealth, unity, and the coasts, the green symbolized the country's forested highlands and mainland, and the bird-of-paradise symbolized unification under one nation. However, the new flag was unpopular, and in 1971 it was replaced by Papua New Guinea's current flag, which was designed by Susan Karike, a 15-year old girl, and adopted after a nationwide competition.
In 1972 the territory's name was changed to "Papua New Guinea", which became self-governing. After the Australian Parliament passed the Papua New Guinea Independence Act 1975, after which Papua New Guinea gained independence as the "Independent State of Papua New Guinea, a constitutional monarchy which shares monarchs with the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms.
Red and black are traditional colors of Papua New Guinea. The Southern cross is a symbol of the Southern Hemisphere, where the country is Papua New Guinea's national bird, and also appears in the emblem of Papua New Guinea.
Rule 3: Black, red, white and yellow. I have to say I love the colors of the flag.
Rule 4: The southern cross is simple, but the bird-of-paradise is not.
Rule 5: The bird-of-paradise and the southern cross make this flag distinctive.
Part 2
German New Guinea (1885-1899)

Spoiler

I like the lion, but it's complex. And I don't think Papua New Guinea should keep using this flag, since it'sm no longer a German colony.
Territory of Papua (1906-1949)

Spoiler

Both Australian and British colonial flags are bad.
Territory of New Guina (1914-1949), Territory of Papua and New Guinea (1949-1965)

Spoiler

Same as above.
Territory of Papua New Guinea (1965-1970)

Spoiler

The bird-of-paradise looks better in silhouette. I thinnk this flag looks ugly.
Territory of Papua and New Guinea (1970-1971)

Spoiler

I like the colors of the tricolor, but I prefer the current flag.
Part 3
The bird-of-paradise is domplex, but otherwise this is a good flag, especially since it was designed by a15-year-old.

 

[badposter]

Flag of Paraguay
Obverse side.

Reverse side.

Spoiler

Ratio: 11:20 (an odd ratio, which no other national flag shares).
Adopted: 25 November 1842 (current version adopted on 15 Julio 1823).
Part 1
Rule 1: A child could not draw the flag from memory. It has text in a small space, and the reverse side has a lion, which is complex.
Rule 2: From the time it was conquered by Spain until 1776, Paraguay was part of the Viceroyalty of Peru. In 1776 Paraguay became part of the new Spanish colony of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, which also included Argentina, Bolivia, and Paraguay. After the May Revolution (1810) in Buenos Aires, amd the founding of the First Assembly, a militia sponsored by Buenos Aires attempted to conquer Paraguay, but were defeated.
After the troops from Buenos Aires were defeated, there was a revolution in May 1811 which led to the overthrow of Bernardo de Velasco y Huidobro, governor of Asuncion, and the establishment of a junta two days after the revolution. On 17 June 1811 the junta was replaced by the First National Congress, which established a five-man junta. The junta sent a letter to Buenos Aires in July establishing its wish for Paraguayan independence.
Paraquay adopted three flags in 1811. The first flag was blue with a six-pointed white star on the upper hoist side. Paraguay's first flag symbolized Saint Mary of the Assumption, patron of Asuncion. The second flag was a green, white, and blue horizontal tricolor whose meaning I haven't able to find. The last flag was a red, yellow, and blue horizontal tricolor, the red and yellow symbolizing Spain and the blue symbolizing Paraguay.
In 1812 Paraguay adopted a flag similar to the current, but with no coats of arms, a 1:2 ratio, and a white stripe whixh was bigger than the other two. The flag was based on the French tricolor.
Paraguay's second National Congress was held in 1813. It established a new constitution which made Paraguay a republic where the executive power was held by two consuls. Paraguay's first two consuls were José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia and Fulgencio Yegros, both leaders of Paraguay's independence.
In the third National Congress, held in 1814, the two-man consulate was abolished, being replaced by a dictatorship led by José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia . The only act of the fourth National Congress, held in 1816, was to make Rodríguez de Francia a perpetual dictator, who could call a National Congress whenever he wished. He never did. As a dictator, Rodríguez de Francia made Paraguay an isolated country. Yegros tried to overthrow him im 1820, leading to his execution in 1821.
Paraguay readopted its first flag in 1826. Rodríguez de Francia died in 1840, and was succeeded by a Provisional Junta. The consuls were re-established in 1841 (they were Mariano Roque Alonzo and Carlos Antonio López), and in 1842 Paraguay adopted a flag similar to the current, with a 2:3 ratio. That same year, Paraguay declared independence, even though it had in fact been independent since 1811 (the United States only recognized Paraguayan independence in 1852, and Argentina only did in 1856). Paraguay adopted a new constitution, which abolished consuls and replaced with a president. Carlos Antonio López became Paraguay's president, and Paraguay hasn't had consuls since.
In 1954 the ratio in Paraguay's flag was changed to 1:2, and in 1988 it was changed to 3:5. Paraguay adopted a new coat of arms in 1990. Paraguay adopted another new coat of arms in 2013, and the current ratio was adopted on the same day.
Paraguay's features the country's coat of arms on the obverse (front) side, and the seal of the treasurery on the back side. The red symbolizes justice, the white symbolizes peace, ad the blue symbolizes freedom. The words "Republica del Paraguay" mean Republic of the Paraguay. The words "Paz and Justicia" mean peace and justice. The phrygian cap is a symbol of liberty.
Paraguay's flag is notable for being the only flag of a country to have different obverse and reverse sides.
Rule 3: Not counting the colors of the coats of arms, red, white, and blue. Pretty overused colors, arranged in the most boring way. I don't like it.
Rule 4: This flag has text, which is bad. I don't think the flag has complex emblems on the obverse side, but the lion on the hoist side is complex.
Rule 5: There are many flags which are red, white and blue tricolors. I don't think this flag is distinctive.
Part 2
1811, 1826-1842

Spoiler

A simple and distinctive flag. I wish Paraguay would have kept it.
1811

Spoiler

This flag is very similar to Sierra Leone's, which is munch younger (it was adopted in 1961). I wonder what flag Sierra Leone would have if Paraguay kept this flag.
1811-1812

Spoiler

This flag is similar to Colombia's, Ecuador's, Venezuela's, and Armenia's. I don't think this flag is distinctive, but I prefer the current.
1812-1826

Spoiler

This flag can easily be confused with that of the Netherlands. It's bad and undistinctive.
Part 3
An undistinctive flag with text and overused colors. I don't like it.

 

[badposter]

Flag of Peru
State Flag

Civil Flag

Spoiler

Ratio: 2:3 (normal)
Adopted: 25 February 1825. (current civil enign adopted in 1950)
Part 1
Rule 1: A child could nort draw the complex state flag from memory, but they could draw the civil ensign, which is a simple triband.
Rule 2: There is no evidence that the Inca Empire had flags or banners. All claimed flags or banners of the empire originate much later than the conquest of the empire (like this one, which originated in a 1609 book. The Incas were conquered in 1535).
After the Incas were conquered, the Viceroyalty of Peru was founded in 1542. At the time it was founded, the viceroyalty was huge, including almost all of South America, excluding northern Venezuela and eastern Brazil (but including Panama). By the end of the 18th century, however, its territory had been reduced to what is now Peru and parts of Chile and western Brazil.
Peru's independence was gained late in the Spanish American Wars of Independence. Though there were a few uprisings in the first half of the 1810s, they weren't too big and were crushed by the Spanish, so Peru remained a Spanish stronghold through the 1810s.
In 1820 Chilean and Argentinian forces led by José de San Martín entered Peru with the intention to liberate it. Around this time William Miller, an English-born soldier, designed a flag for Peru. The flag is now lost, but it was described as being navy blue with a sun (which may have represented Inti, an Inca sun god. That same year, a flag designed by José de San Martín was decreed as Peru's flag. The flag was divided into four triangles. The triangles on the upper and lower sides were white, and the ones on the hoist and fly side were red. In the center, covering the point were the triangles met, was a coat of arms surrounded by a laurel wreath, which featured a mountain in a sea with the Sun behind it.

The symbolism of the flag's colors is uncertain, but according to Peruvian author Abraham Valdelomar, San Martín, having arrived on the coast of southern Pisco, was inspired by the colors of parihuanas, red-and-white flamingos. Historians of the early Peruvian Republic, such as Leguía y Martínez and Pareja Paz Soldán,[1] give a different explanation, suggesting that San Martín took the red from the flag of Chile and the white from the flag of Argentina, recognizing the provenance of the men of the liberation army. Historian Jorge Fernández Stoll thinks in 1820 San Martin was in favor of a constitutional monarchy, and he chose to use monarchical symbols and colors: Castile used the red and white colors for many years, the old flag of the viceroyalty the cross of Burgundy was red and white and the flag's diagonal lines mimicked the cross shape, the red color was the royal symbol of the mascaipacha of Inca kings and of the ensign of the King of Spain at that time.

In July 1821 San Martín entered Lima, and on 15 July 1821 Peru declared independence. San Martín left for Guayaquil (then part of Gran Colombia, now part of Ecuador) in 1822. Once in Guayaquil San Martín (who wanted monarchies to be established in South America met with Simón Bolívar (who preferred republics) in the Guayaquil conference. After the conference, San Martín left Peru (and South America), while Bolívar became the leader of Peruvian independence. While San Martín was in Guayaquil, the presidency was provisionally held by José Bernardo de Tagle. Due to the difficulty of making the previous flag, during his presidency Peru adopted a new flag. It was a red, white, and red horizontal triband with a sun on the white stripe. The new flag, however, was easy to confuse with the Spanish one from far away, which led to problems in battle. This led to stripes becoming vertical later that year.
Peru's independence was mostly won in the Battle of Ayacucho (1824), though some Spanish holdouts only surrendered in 1826. Peru's current state ensign was adopted by the Peruvian Constituent Congress in 1825.
In 1836 Peru and Bolivia united to form the Peru-Bolivian Confederation. In the confederation, Peru was split into north and south Peru. North Peru kept Peru's flag, but South Peru adopted a flag with two horizontal green and white stripes, and a vertical red stripe with a sun on it. Above the sun were four stars, which symbolized Arequipa, Ayacucho, Cuzco, and Puno, the republic's four regions. The confederation had a red flag featuring the coats of arms of Bolivia, North Peru, and South Peru, surrounded by a laurel wreath.
Chile and Argentina saw the Peru-Bolivian Confederation as a threat, which led to them declaring war on it. The confederation was defeated, and was dissolved in 1839. Peru was reunited and went back to using its old flag. Peru lost its southenmost part to Chile after the War of the Pacific (1879-1883). Peru got its current border in 1942, after its borders with Ecuador (previously disputed) were defined by the Rio Protocol.
In 1950 Peru's civil flag, previously identical to the state flag, was changed so that it would not have the coat of arms.
In Peru's flag, the red symbolizes the blood shed during Peru's war for independence, and the white symbolizes peace (a list of wars involving Peru and bravery.
This is the symbolism of the coat of arms:

the top left section shows the vicuña, the national animal, on a light-blue field, representing the fauna of Peru; the tree in the top right section is the cinchona tree (the source of quinine, a powerful anti-malarial drug and the key flavorant in tonic water), on a white background, representing the national flora; and the bottom cornucopia with coins spilling from it, on a red field, represents the mineral resources of the country.
The Coat of arms (Escudo de Armas) has a palm branch on its left and an laurel one on its right, tied by a red and white ribbon, as well as a Holm oak Civic Crown above it. These represent victory and glory

.
Rule 3: Not counting the colors of the coat of arms, red and white. There are flags with this color combination I dislike, but this is not one of them.
Rule 4: The state flag has a complex coat of arms, but the civil flag is a simple triband.
Rule 5: The civil flag is almost identical to the flags of Mons, Belgium, and Saint Tropez, France. I don't know which flag is older, so assuming one or both of the other flags is older, this flag is not distinctive.
Part 2
1820 (possibly)

Spoiler

The sun is a bit complex, but the flag is distinctive.
1820-1822

Spoiler

The coat of arms is pretty complex. I think this would pretty good if the coat of arms were removed.
1822

Spoiler

Like Argentina's, but red. Cool flag, but it was changed for understandable reasons.
1822-1825

Spoiler

The sun isn't too complex, and it makes the flag distinctive. I prefer it to the state flag, and despite me liking the civil flag, this flag is more distinctive than it.
Part 3
Strangely, despite me finding Austria's flag boring, I love it when it's flipped sideways. However, the civil flag has distinctiveness issue. I dislike the state ensign due to its complex coat of arms.

 

[badposter]

Flag of the Philippines

Ratio: 1:2 (normal)
Adopted: 12 June 1898 (readopted in 1920 and 1943. Current shade of blue established on 11 June 1998)
Part 1
Rule 1: A child may not be able to draw the sun from memory, but recognizability is more important than perfection.
Rule 2: The Philippines began to be colonized by Spain in 1521. In 1565 it became the main part of the new Spanish colony known as the "Spanish West Indies", part of the Viceroyalty of New Spain until 1821, when Spain lost its colonies there. (the name of the Philippines comes from King Philip II. Tagalog, the main language of about a quarter of the country's population, does not have the /f/ sound, so some Filipinos can't pronounce the name of their country.)
In 1892 the Katipunan, a secret revolutionary anti-Spanish organization, was founded. Its existence was discovered by the Spanish in 1896, which led to the Philippine Revolution. The design of the Philippines's flag was conceptualized by the revolutionary Emiliano Aguinaldo in 1897, while he was in exile in Hong Kong. It was first sewn by Marcela Marino de Agoncillo and first flown in the Battle of Alapan on 28 May 1898. The first flag of the Philippines was similar to the current flag, but the sun had a face, and words surrounded by a wreath were written in the flag: Fuerzas Expeditionarias del Norte de Luzon (Expeditionary Forces of the North of Luzon) in the obverse, and Libertad Justicia e Ygualdad (Freedom, Justice, and Equalty) on the reverse. The sun was based on that on the flags of Argentina and Uruguay, the triangle was based on the Masonic one and symbolized liberty, equality, fraternity, and the Katipunan, the colors were based on those of the United States, and the shade of blue is thought to have symbolized the flags of Cuba and Puerto Rico, Spain's last Latin American colonies (which used a lighter shade of blue at the time). The eight rays of the suns symbolized Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Pampanga, Tarlac, Laguna, Batangas, and Nueva Ecija, the eight main province where the revolution broke out. The three stars symbolized the three regions of the Philippines: Luzon, the Visayas(however, the star originally represented just the island of Panay), and Mindanao.
The Philippines declared independence on 12 June 1898, and the flag was flown again. However, neither Spain nor the United States (which at the time was in a war with Spain, and had defeated it in Manila) recognized the declaration, and after the 1898 Treaty of Paris (which ended the Spanish-American War) was signed, the Philippines were given to the United States. However, the Philippines didn't recognize the annexation, which led to the Philippine-American War. In the war, the Philippines flew its war flag, which was a version of its flag with red on top of blue. The United States had managed to defeat the Philippines by 1902, and the flag of the Philppines became the flag of the United States. The original flag of the Philippines was banned after the Sedition Act of 1907 was passed, but its use became legal again in 1919. Due to the fact that most stores only carried cloth whose blue and red had the shade they had in the United States' flag, the shade of blue in the flag of the Philippines became the same as that of the United States. The Philippine Legislature officially readopted the current fla of the Philippines. The design of the flag hadn't been specified, so there were many flags with different designs used at the time. In 1935 the Commonwealth of the Philippines was founded. It was an autonomous government, and it was planned that the Philippines would become fully independent in 1944. In 1936 president Manuel L. Quezon issued Executive Order No. 23, which specified the exact design of the flag, but not the shade of its colors.
The Japanese Empire invaded the Philippines in 1941, and began occupying it in 1942. At first, the flag of the Philippines was banned and replaced with that of Japan. However, in 1943 the Second Philippine Republic, a Japanese puppet, was established. It used the flag of the Philippines, but with the Cuban blue and red colors. At the same time, the Commonwealth established a government-in-exile, and began using the war flag of the Philippines. The Second Philippine Republic also began using the war flag in 1944.
The Japanese Empire was defeated in 1945, and the Philippines gained full independece on 4 July 1946. It kept the flag of the Commonwealth.
In 1985, during the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos (which began in 1965), the Philippines went back to using Cuban blue and red for its flag. After Marcos was overthrown in 1986, the previous colors of the flag of the Philippines were restored. In 1998, during the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of independence, the shade of blue on the flag was established as royal blue.
Rule 3: White, yellow, blue and red. I like the colors of this flag.
Rule 4: The stars are simple, and the sun isn't too complex.
Rule 5: This flag is distinctive. I don't know of any flags which can be confused with that of the Philippines.
Part 2
1899-1902

Spoiler

I think the sun is a bit creepy. Also, text on flags is bad.
1985-1986

Spoiler

I prefer the current shade of blue.
.
The flag change in 1998 was very minor, so I'm not includind the pre-1998 flag.
Part 3
A distinctive flag which in my opinion looks good. I like it.

 

[badposter]

Flag of Poland

State flag

Spoiler

Ratio: 5:8 (an unusual ratio shared by Argentina, Guatemala, Palau, and Sweden)
Adopted: 1 August 1919. Current shade of red adopted in 1980.
Part 1
Rule 1: This flag is a simple bicolor.
Rule 2: The first Polis state originates in the 9th century. It was a duchy ruled by the Piast dynasty, which was Christianised. In 1025 Duke Bolesław I was crowned King of Poland, and Poland became a kingdom.
A banner for Poland dates back to the reign of Bolesław I (1076-1079). Poland was divided into five provinces in 1138. In the Chronicles of Wincenty Kadłubek (a bishop, lived from 1161 to 1223) it is mentioned that Casimir II (duke of the Seniorate Province, wose duke was the overlord of the other Polish dukes, from 1171 to 1194) fought Ruthenians under a banner with an eagle. A seal featuring Duke Przemysł II (Duke of Greater Poland from 1279 to 1296) features him holding a banner with a crowned eagle. In 1295 Poland became a kingdom again after Przemysł II was crowned. He would only king for a year before being murdered , but during his reign he made a crowned white eagle Poland's coat of arms. The white eagle is a symbol of Poland, of unkown origin. According to legen, Lech, the legendary founder of Poland:

saw a white eagle's nest. When he looked at the bird, a ray of sunshine from the red setting sun fell on its wings, so they appeared tipped with gold, the rest of the eagle was pure white. He was delighted and decided to settle there and placed the eagle on his emblem. He also named the place Gniezdno (currently Gniezno) from the Polish word gniazdo ("nest").

During the reign of Władysław I (1320-1333) a banner for Poland, used for battles and coronations, was established. It was a red banner, with a white eagle on it.
In 1386 Jogaila, Grand Duke of Lithuania, married Queen Jadwiga of Poland, and became Władysław II, King of Poland. Jadwiga died in 1399, and the crowns of Poland and Lithuania became united. In the 1410 Battle of Grunwald, Poland and Lithuania defeated the Teutonic Knights, and the banners of both countries appeared. In 1569, Poland and Lithuania united to form the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, an elective monarchy. The banner of the Commonwealth was originally white with the coat of arms of the Commonwealth (which was divided into four parts, two with Poland's coat of arms and two with Lituania's) on it. During the 17th century, the banner began to have red and white stripes (the number of stripes wasn't defined: there were usually two, three of four stripes), due to the fact that both Poland and Lithuania's coat of arms were red and white.
The Commonwealth's existence ended after it was partitioned thrice between Prussia, Russia, and Austria in 1772, 1793 (Austria didn't participate in the Second Partition), and 1795. In 1807, during the Napoleonic Wars, a French puppet state known as the Duchy of Warsaw, which was flagless, was created. After Napoleon's defeat, it was occupied by Russian and Prussian troops, and it was formally dissolved in the 1815 Congress of Vienna. The Congress also created a Kingdom of Poland, which shared monarchs with Russia, and in practice became a Russian puppet..
During the 18th and 19th centuries, national cockades were popular in Europe, and Poland was no exception. However, it took until 1831 to there be agreement on the color of the cockade:

In the 18th and 19th centuries, European nations used cockades, or knots of colored ribbons pinned to the hat, to denote the nationality of their military. In Poland, until 1831, there was no consensus as to what the colors of the national cockade should be. Polish soldiers wore white, white-and-red, blue-and-red or blue-white-red cockades.[18]

The custom came to Poland from Saxony during the reign of Augustus II (r. 1697–1733), King of Poland and Elector of Saxony. During that time, the cockade worn by the Polish military had, like in Saxony, the form of a white silk ribbon with a knot in the middle. It was later replaced with a circular white cockade wrinkled toward the center, patterned after the cockade of the Kingdom of France. During the reign of King Stanislaus Augustus (r. 1764–1795), a white-and-red cockade came into use alongside the plain white one. In 1791, the Military Commission introduced a metal cross pattée as a more durable alternative to the cockade. However, many soldiers continued to either pin the cross to the cockade or wear the cockade without the cross. Polish military leaders and national heroes of the time, such as General Tadeusz Kościuszko and Prince Józef Poniatowski pinned plain white "national" cockades to their hats.[18]
National Cockade Act of February 7, 1831
Polish-Lithuanian coat of arms during the November Uprising of 1830–1831

The patriotic and staunchly Catholic members of the Bar Confederation of 1768–1772 adopted crimson – the symbol of Polish szlachta, or nobility – and blue – symbolizing Virgin Mary – as their colors. These, as well as white-and-red, were considered national colors during the Great Sejm of 1788–1792. White and red were first publicly used as national colors by civilians on May 3, 1792 in Warsaw, during a celebration of the first anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution of 1791. Meanwhile, the political left wore the blue-white-red cockades of the French Revolution. Polish Legions created in 1797 in French-controlled republics in Italy, used either national cockades of the particular Italian republics in which they served or the French tricolor cockade. In the latter case, the red and blue colors were replaced with crimson and navy blue respectively, hues considered to be traditionally Polish. The General Confederation of the Kingdom of Poland, which sought to revive the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth during the French invasion of Russia in 1812, adopted red-and-blue cockades, symbolizing the unity of Poland (red) and Lithuania (blue).[19] The military of the French-controlled Duchy of Warsaw (1807–1815) and the Russian-controlled Congress Kingdom of Poland (1815–1831) used the white cockade, which was also worn by the cadets who started the November Uprising against Russian rule on November 29, 1830.[18]

After the November Uprising began, the Sejm (parliament) realized the need for national insignia to be used by the Polish military. Thus cokade which was red and white, the colors of Poland's and Lithuania's coats of arms, was adopted on 7 February 1831. By the end of 1831, the uprising was put down by Russia. The cockade was worn again in the 1846 Kraków Uprising against Austria, the 1848 Greater Poland Uprising aggainst Prussia, and the 1863-1864 January Uprising against Russia. All the revolts were put down, and in 1867 the Kingdom of Poland was incorporated into Russia, and became known as Vistula Land.
In 1916, during WWI, another Kingdom of Poland. The Kingdom never had a king, and in fact it was a puppet of the German Empire, and it was occupied by Germany. During that time, the flag of Poland was flown in a demostration. In the demostration, many demostrators flew the flag upside down, but the white was meant to be on top.
The kingdom existed until the armistice which ended the WWI was signed, and the Second Polish Republic (or rather, Rzeczpospolita ("common thing"), which is also used to refer to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonweath, which wasn't a republic) was established. The new republic fought wars with Ukraine, Czechoslovakia, Lithuania, and Soviet Russia before its borders stabilized. When it was first established, it had no flag, but on 1 August 1919, the Sejm adopted Poland's flag, which was white and red, the color of the Polish cockade. It also adopted a state flag, which had the coat of arms of Poland (a white crowned eagle on a red background) on it. The flag at first had no defined shade of red, but in 1927 the shade of red was established as vermilion by presidential decree.
In 1939, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union signed the Molotov Ribbentrop Pact, was signed and Poland was partitioned between the signatories. Eastern Poland was annexed by the Soviet Union, and Western Poland was mostly annexed by Nazi Germany, though there also the General Government, an autonomus region of Nazi Germany ruled by Germans, where the extermination of Jews and Poles living in it was planned.
In 1944, the Republic of Poland (the Polish's People's Republic after 1952) was established. It was a Marxist-Leninist one-party state, with much Soviet control over internal and external affairs (though the extent varied depending on the time period). Initially, it included the parts of Poland that had been occupied by Nazi Germany, and after a rigged referendum in 1946, it also included parts of what was once eastern Germany (note that the third question in the referendum passed even without the riging). The crown was removed from the eagle in the coat of arms in 1955. The current shade of red in Poland's flag was adopted in 1980.
In 1989, talks were held between the opposition and the ruling Polish United Workers' Party, and it was agreed that one third of the seats in the Sejm, and all seats in the Senate (which had been dissolved in 1946) would be elected democratically. The Solidarity Citizens' Committee, the main opposition party, won all the seats they could (except for one seat in the Senate, won by an independent politician). Fully democratic local and presidential elections were held in 1990. That same year, the eagle in the coat of arms became crowned again, despite Poland remaining a republic. Fully democratic legislative elections were held in 1991. Poland adopted a new constitution in 1992 and 1997.
Rule 3: Red and white. This is one of this flags with those colors which I think is boring.
Rule 4: This flag has no text or emblems (though the state flag has a coat of arms).
Rule 5: This flag is similar to those of Monaco and Indonesia (on those flags, red is on top, while in Poland's, white is). The cockade is older than the flags of both, but Monaco's flag is older than Poland's. There are other non-national flags which are red and white bicolors, some of which are older than Poland's. I can distinguish Poland's flag from the others (all of which have red on top), but others may not.
Part 2
1927-1980

Spoiler

I think it's uglier than the current, but it's a bit more distinctive.
Part 3
It's a boring flag, which may not be distinctive. The state flag has a compex eagle, but it's distinctive.

 

[Magikrazy]

But how would you rate Polandball?

 

[badposter]

But how would you rate Polandball?

I like polandball is drawn upside down on purpose (I believe it was by the creator of the comic in krautchan to piss off poles). Makes from some good comics. I like most polandball comics, This is my favorite one.
By the way, a Polandball comic about Portugal.
Flag of Portugal

Ratio: 2:3
Adopted: 30 June 1911
Part 1
Rule 1: The coat of arms is complex. A child may not be able to draw it from memory.
Rule 2:

Spoiler: Pretty long. Portugal's had a lot of flags

In 1096 a County of Portugal was founded (thare was another flagless county founded in the 9th century. It was a vassal of the Kingdom of Asturias, and later the Kingdoms of Galicia and León. It was annexed by Galicia in 1071). The county was a vassal of León, and included only northern Portugal, due to the fact that most of Iberia had been under Muslim control since the Umayyad conquest of Iberia in the 8th century. It is said that Count Henry, during his battles with the Moors, used a whie shield with a blue cross, though this may have been nationalist propaganda made a long time after the count's death.
In 1139, Count Afonso defeated the Almoravids in the Battle of Ourique. After the battle, Afonso was crowned king of Portugal. León recognized Portuguese independence in the 1143 Treaty of Zamora. Some sources say that he changed to coat of arms so that the cross would have five sets of an unknown number of bezants, symbolizing his new right to issue currency.
Afonso died in 1185, being succeeded by Sancho I. Afonso had fought many battles, and since it was custom to not repair shields, the shield of Portugal had been very worn out. Only the parts of the cross held by the bezants remained. Thus, the coat of arms became five shields. Three shields were in the center, and went from top to bottom. All pointed downwards. There were two sideways shield in the middle of the left and right sides, which pointed towards the central shield. All shields had an unkown number of bezants.
This coat of arms lasted until 1248, when Afonso III (reigned 1248-1279), Sanco's grandson, became king. He was not the eldest son, which meant he couldn't use a coat of arms identical to that of his father, instead having to add a personal variation. In his case, he added a red border with an unknown number of castles around the coat of arms, perhaps representing Castile, where his mother and wife were from. (Castile's coat of arms and flag feature a castle on a red field). Also during his reign, in 1249 Algarve, the southernmost part of Portugal, the last of Portugal controlled by the Moors, was conquered, and Portugal got its current borders (excluding the Azores and Madeira). The castle on the coat of arms may also have been Moorish taken by the king. Afterwards, the Kingdom of the Algarve was founded, though in fact it had no institutions or autonomy and was part of Portugal.
In 1383 there was a succesion crisis in Portugal, which only ended after the 1385 Battle of Aljubarrota, after which John I of the House of Aviz (reigned 1385-1433), illegitimate son of Peter I, became King of Portugal. During is reign, the four points cross of the Order of Aviz were added to the coat of arms. This coat of arms was used until 1485, when King John II (reigned 1481-1495) changed so that that the cross of Avis would be removed, there would be only seven castles, the shields woulld all be pointing downwards and have smoothed edges, and the bezants would be reduced to five (which may have represented the five wounds of Jesus Christ in the cross. There is also a legendary explanation of the five shields: Duke Afonso killed five Moorish kings in Ourique, according to legend).
During the reign of Manuel I (1495-1521), Portugal adopted a banner. It was white and had a 2:3 ratio, and on top of it was the coat of arms. The previous coats of arms were square,but this one was ogival, and had eleven castles. Above the coat of arms was an open crown.
In 1578, during the reign of Sebastian (1557-1578), the flag was changed again so that the coat of arms would have seven castles again. The crown was also changed so that it would be closed and have three arches. Shortly after designing the flag, Sebastian died in the battle of Alcácer Quibir against Morocco. He was succeeded by his great-uncle Henry, who died in 1580 without a heir. This led to another succesion crisis, which ended with King Philip II of Spain becoming king of Portugal, with the condition that Portugal would remain independent. Te crowns of Portugal and Spain would remain united until 1640, when the Portuguese Restoration War began and John IV (reigned 1640-1656) of the House of Braganza became king. During his reign the coat of arms was changed slightly: it became more rounded.
In 1667, during the reign of Afonso VI (reigned 1656-1683), the crown in the flag was changed to have five arches, whic was the style at the time. In 1706 John V (reigned 1706-1750) became king of Portugal. He was an absolutist, influenced by France. The flag was changed so that there would be a beret inside the crown. At the same, the coat of arms in the flag began to have many different shapes, like the French one.
In 1807, during the Napoleonic Wars, France invaded and occupied Portugal, and the royal court of Portugal fled to Brazil. The capital of Portugal became Rio de Janeiro. After Napoleon was defeated, the royal court remained in Brazil. I 1815 the United Kindom of Portugal, Brazil, and the Algarves. Its first queen was Maria I, queen of Portugal since 1777, but due to her poor mental health the power has was held by her son John, prince regent since 1799. A yellow armillary sphere, which was blue inside was added behind the coat of arms. It symbolized Brazil.
Mary died in 1816, and John became king of the United Kingdom as John VI. The royal court remained in Brazil until 1821, after the 1820 Liberal Revolution broke out in Portugal. Brazil declared its independence as an empire ruled by Pedro I, John's son, in 1822. Brazil's independence wasn't recognized by Portugal until 1825. The armillary sphere was still kept on the flag util John VI died in 1826. After he died, he was succeded by Pedro I, who was also emperor of Brazil, who quickly abdicated and was succeded by Maria II, his 7-year-old daughter. Maria's uncle, Miguel, would become regent. Miguel, a supporter of absolute monrchy, deposed Maria in 1828, and became King Miguel I. This led to the Liberal Wars between liberal supporters of Pedro and Maria, and conservative supporters of Miguel. The liberals won the war in 1834, Maria was returned to the throne, and Miguel was overthrown and exiled. In 1830 liberals, who at the time had been exiled to Azores, designed a new flag for Portugal, in which the field, previously all white, was blue on the hoist side and white on the fly. On land, the blue and white had the same size, but at sea the blue occupied only one third of the field, the rest being white. Both in land and sea, the coat of arms was over where the blue and white met. This flag became the flag of Portugal after liberals won the war.
In 1876, the Portuguese Republican Party, which supported republicanism, was founded. In 1891, there was a failed republican insurrection in Portugal. In Porto's city hall, a red flag with a green circle in the center was flow. Red was a republican color, and green symbolized positivism (which also influenced Brazil's flag, interestingly enough). Afterwards, the Portuguese Republican Party adopted red and green.
The Portuguese monarchy was overthrown in 1910. Portugal's flag was considered a monarchical symbol (the blue was also associated with religion, being the color of Our Lady of the Conception), whic was to be changed. A government comission for a new flag was set up, which chose Portugal's current flag. This the explanation it gave to the elements:

The commission considered that red should "(...) be present as one of the main colours, because it is the battling, warm, virile colour, par excellence. It is the colour of conquest and laughter. A singing, burning, joyful colour (...) Recalls the idea of blood and urges to achieve victory". An explanation for the inclusion of the green was harder to come up with, given that it was not a traditional colour of the Portuguese flag's history. Eventually, it was justified on the grounds that, during the 1891 insurrection, this was the colour present on the revolutionary flag that "sparked the redeeming lightning" of republicanism. Finally, white (on the shield) represented "a beautiful and fraternal colour, into which all other colours merge themselves, colour of simplicity, of harmony and peace", adding that "(...) it is this same colour that, charged with enthusiasm and faith by the red cross of Christ, marks the Discoveries epic cycle".[6]

The Manueline armillary sphere, which had been present on the national flag under the reign of John VI, was revived because it consecrated the "Portuguese epic maritime history (...) the ultimate challenge, essential to our collective life.". The Portuguese shield was kept, being positioned over the armillary sphere. Its presence would immortalize the "human miracle of positive bravery, tenacity, diplomacy, and audacity, that managed to bind the first links of the Portuguese nation's social and political affirmation", since it is one of the "most vigorous symbols of the national identity and integrity".[6]

Portugal's flag was officially adopted by the Constituent Assembluy on 19 June 1911, and on 30 June its design was officially regulated. During the Estado Novo dictatorship, another meaning was given to the flag: green symboozed Portugal's hope, and the blood those who died fighting for it.

Rule 3: Not counting the colors in the coat of arms, red and green. I personally prefer blue and white, though I'm not a monarchist.
Rule 4: This flag has a complex coat of arms. I don't like it.
Rule 5: This flag is distinctive. I don't known which whic can be confused with Portugal's, even if the coat of arms is removed.
Part 2
Portugal's had a lot of flags, so I'm only gonna write about some. You can look at the others in Wikipedia.
1095-1143

Spoiler

This flag may not have existed, but I tink it looks good (it's much older than Finland's flag).
1185-1248

Spoiler

I also think this flag is good, but a child may not be able to draw the shields from memory.
1248-1385

Spoiler

Castles are pretty complex. I don't think a child coul draw them from memory.
1485-1495

Spoiler

Simpler than the last flag. Castles are still complex.
1830-1910

Spoiler

I don't like the complex coat of arms, but I prefer the colors of this flag to those of the current. However, I'm not and monarchist, and even if I were I still wouldn't like the crown, which is complex.
Part 3
A flag with a complex coat of arms and colors I don't like too much. At least it's distinctive.

 

[badposter]

Flag of Qatar

Ratio: 11:28 (an unusual ratio that makes Qatar have the only current flag of a sovereign state to be more than twice as wide as it is tall)
Adopted: 9 July 1971 (less than a year before Qatar became independent on 3 September 1971)
Part 1
Rule 1: I think child could draw this flag from memory, but I don't think they could draw the exact number of edges.
Rule 2: In the late 18th century Qatar began to be ruled by the House of Khalifa, Bahrain's ruling house. Qatar was a Bahraini dependency. In 1825 Thani bin Mohammed Al Thamir became emir of Qatar, founding the House of Thani, Qatar's ruling dynasty. Originally, the emirs were based in Fuwayrit, before relocating to Doha in 1847.
The House of Khalifa was not very popular in Qatar, which led to protests and the beginning of the 1867-68 Qatari-Bahrain War, in which Bahrain sacked Doha and Al-Wakrah, which violated the 1820 Anglo-Bahraini Treaty. This led to British intervention, and the signing of the 1868 Anglo-Bahraini Agreement, in which the Al-Thanu dynasty was recognized as semi-independent and Bahrain renounced its claims of sovereignity in Qatar.
Qatar's flag, like other flags in the Persian Gulf, was originally plain red. However, during the rule of emir Mohammed bin Thani, (1847-1876), a white stripe (symbolizing anti-piracy treaties with the British) was added, and the color of the flag was changed to purple-red (the purple dye may have originated in Qatar).
On 1871, under pressure from the Ottoman Viyalet of Baghdad, the Al-Thanis agreed to be ruled by the Ottomans. However, after the Ottomans refused to help the emir in his attempt to end Abu Dhabi's occupation of Al-Khor in 1882, and after the Ottomans began to support Mohammed bin Abdul Wahab as kaymakam (districy governor) instead of al-Thani in 1888, the emir resigned as kaymalkan and stopped paying taxes in 1892. Ottoman attempts to get the unpaid taxes led to a series of events which concluded in the 1893 Battle of Al-Wajbah, in which the Ottomans were defeated, and after which Qatar mostly became autonomous.
In 1916, during WWI and the Great Arab Revolt, the Ottomans recognized Al-Thani rule over Qatar, and gave up their rights to Qatar, which became a British protectorate and became one of the Trucial States, along with Bahrain and the seven emirates which now make up the United Arab Emirates.
In 1932, the British Navy proposed a red and white flag for Qatar. However, Qatar refused and kept using purple-red. In 1936 a nine-pointed edge (symbolizing the nine Trucial States), diamonds (on the white), and the word "Qatar" were added to the flag. In 1949, the purple-red was changed to maroon. The text and the diamonds were removed in the 1960s.
In the late 1960s, there were plans for Qatar to join the United Arab Emirates, which would be independent in the near future. However:

The nine-state union was never to recover from the October 1969 meeting where heavy-handed British intervention resulted in a walk-out by Qatar and Ras Al Khaimah.[8] Bahrain and Qatar were to drop out of talks, leaving only six emirates to agree on union on 18 July 1971.

On 2 December 1971, Dubai, together with Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Qawain and Fujairah joined in the Act of Union to form the United Arab Emirates. The seventh emirate, Ras Al Khaimah, joined the UAE on 10 February 1972 following Iran's seizure of Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunbs from Ras Al Khaimah.

On 9 July 1971 Qatar's flag was slightly changed: its ratio became 11:28, instead of the previous 11:30. That same year, on 3 September, Qatar gained full independence, separate from the United Arab Emirates.
Rule 3: Maroon and white. I really like the maroon.
Rule 4: This flag has no text or emblems.
Rule 5: This flag is similar to Bahrain's. Once I wrote that Bahrain's flag and this one could be confused with each other, but right now I think the maroo and the ratio make the flag distinctive, though others may disagree.
Part 2
1936-1949

Spoiler

This flag has text, but I don't think it looks bad on this flag. I'm neutral on the diamonds.
Part 3
A nice flag with good colors. However, some may not find it distincive.

 

[badposter]

Flag of Romania

Ratio: 2:3 (normal)
Adopted: 26 June 1848 (readopted on 24 April 1867 and 27 December 1989)
Part 1
Rule 1: It's a simple tricolor.
Rule 2: In the Middle Ages there were two principalities in what is now Romania: Wallachia and Moldavia (some of its territory what in what is now Moldova, but some of its territory is in what is now Romania). Wallachia fell under Ottoman suzerainty in 1417, and Moldavia followed in in 1514. The principalities were mostly autonomus in internal affairs.
In 1570 the Principality of Transylvania, previously part of the Eastern Hungarian Kingdom (which was itself part of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1002 to 1526), was founded. It was under Ottoman suzereainty from the start.
In 1600, Michael the Brave briefly ruled all three principalities at the same time. During his rule, royal grants, along with shields and banners, featured the colors red, yellow, and blue. Michael would become popular among future Romanian nationalists.
During the Great Turkish War (1683-1699), the Habsburgs took Transylvania, which was recognized by the Ottomans in the 1699 Treaty of Karlowitz. This led to Rákóczi's War of Independence (1703-1711, Rákóczi was te prince of Transylvania, and was Hungarian). Habsburg control was only consolidated after the Treaty of Szatmár (1711), after which Transylvania's princes were replaced by governors (even though Transylvania officially kept being a principality). Moldavia lost its eastern half to Russia after the 1812 Treaty of Bucharest was signed. Russia begain gaining influence in Wallachia and Moldavia during the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
The first flag with red, yellow, and blue colors in Romania originates in 1834. It was a military flag, proposed by prince Alexandru II Ghica as a naval ensign to be approved by Sultan Mahmud II. The flag was a red, blue, and yellow tricolor, with stars and a bird's head in the middle. The flag was later changed so that the blue and yellow would be swapped.
In 1848, there was a liberal and nationalist revolution in Wallachia against the (Russian) Regulamentul Organic. A Provisional Government was established. On 26 June it adopted a blue, yellow, and red horizontal tricolor, with the phrase DPEПTATE ФPЪЦIE (Dreptate, Frăție,which means Justice, Fraternity. Romanian was written in Cyrillic script until the 1860s) on it. However, on 25 July 1848 the flag became vertical (perhaps influenced by France) and the shades of the colors were defined ("dark blue, light yellow and carmine red"). The text was kept.
The revolution was crushed by the Ottoman and Russian Empires later that year. The old flags were restored and the tricolor was banned.
In 1859 Wallachia and Moldavia united to form the United Principalities, ruled by a domnitor. The Principalities officially remained part of the Ottoman Empire, though they were practically independent. Its flag was a red, yellow, and blue horizontal tricolor. In 1862, the principality changed its name to "Romanian United Principalities". In 1866, it adopted a new constitution, which changed its name again to "Romania". The constution defined Romania's flag as blue, yellow, and red, but did not specify. The design of the flag was defined by the Chamber of Deputies in 1867, and Romania's current flag was adopted. That same year, Transylvania was incorporated into the Kingdom of Hungary, part of the new Austro-Hungarian Empire. (Székely Land is Hungarian-majority to this day).
In 1877, during the 1877-78 Russo-Turkish War, Romania declared independence and war on the Ottoman Empire. Romanian independence was internationally recognized in the 1878 Treaty of Berlin. Romania was given Northern Dobruja in exchange for the loss of Bessarabia (a region which is mostly now Moldova, along with part of Ukraine). Romania became a kingdom in 1881.
After the Second Balkan War (1913), Romania gained southern Dobruja in the Treaty of Bucharest. Romania joined WWI in the side of the Allies in 1916, gaining Transylvania, Bessarabia and Bukovina.
In 1938 King Carol II became ruling Romania as dictator after a self-coup and the adoption of a new, authoritarian, constitution. After the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact was signed, the Soviet Union annexed Romania and Northern Bukovina. That same year, Bulgaria retook southern Dobruja, and Hungary regained Northern Transylvania (which was regained by Romania in the 1947 Paris Peace Treaties). Also that same year, Carol abdicated, and was replaced by Prime Minister Ion Antonescu (in terms of power, he was succeeded by his son Michael I as king). Under Antonescu, Romania joined WWII in the side of the Axis.
Antonescu was overthrown in a coup led by King Michael, after which Romania joined the Allies. After the war ended, Romania fell under Soviet influence. Michael was forced to abdicate in 1947, and went into exile. The Romanian People's Republic, a Marxist-Leninst one-party state under Soviet influence, was declared. In 1948, the coat of arms (changed in 1948, 1952, and 1965 while Romania was a one-party state) was added to the center of the flag. Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej, the General Secretary of the Romanian Communist Party, died in 1965, and was succeded by Nicolae Ceausescu, who was among the most repressive dictators in the Eastern Bloc.
In 1989, there was a revolution in Romania. Protestors flew a flag with a hole in the middle, where the Communist coat of arms was. Unlike the other revolutions in the Warsaw Pact in 1989, the revolution was violent, leading to the execution of Ceausescu. On 27 December 1989, the newly founded National Salvation Front removed the coat of arms.
Rule 3: blue, yellow, and red. I like the colors, but I think that too many tricolors use them.
Rule 4: This flag has no text or emblems.
Rule 5: This flag is similar to Andorra's and Moldova's, and nearly identical to Chad's. When Chad's flag was adopted (1959), Romania's flag had the coat of arms. So I don't think that the lack of distinctiveness is the fault of any country.
Part 2
United Principalities (1859-1862)

Spoiler

It's not too distincive (it's similar to Armenia's, Colombia's, Eccuador, and Venezuela's), but it's more distinctive than the current.
Romanian United Principalities (1862-1866)

Spoiler

It's similar to the flags of Andorra (1866-1939) and Spain (1931-1939), but this flag is older than both. It's more distinctive than the current.
Romanian People's Republic (1948-1952)

Spoiler

It's distinctive, but it's not popular in Romania, and it has a complex coat of arms.Bad flag. I have the same opinion of this flag as I have on the 1952-1965 and 1965-1989 flags.
Part 3
I think it looks good, but it's not distinctive.