What does the flag of Monaco look like and how does it differ from the Indonesian

Logically, the national flag of the country must be unique. It is necessary to immediately determine by the cloth the edge, the symbol of which it is. However, in practice everything is far from being so. Flowers, especially heraldic, are not so many, but there are about two hundred states in the modern world. So it turns out that the banners of many countries are very similar. But the flag of Monaco and Indonesia is a unique case. They are almost identical. In addition, they resemble the banner of Poland, with the only difference being that there the colors go in the reverse order. Why did it happen that two states have the same flag? Let's study this question.

History of the Principality of Monaco

Needless to say, in such a fertile land with a Mediterranean climate, people settled back in times of extreme antiquity. But the history of Monaco as an independent principality began in the second half of the 13th century. At this time in Italy, the fierce struggle of the Guelphs (adherents of the Pope) and the Ghibellines (adherents of the emperor) was conducted. In Genoa, the latter won. The Guelphs were expelled from the city, and among them was a certain Francesco Grimaldi. He gathered a large force of armed accomplices and hid them in the thickets that surrounded the walls of the medieval city of Monaco. Himself Grimaldi changed into the robe of a Franciscan monk. January night in 1297, he knocked at the gates of the city. The guard regretted the "man of God." So that he did not die of winter cold, he opened the gate. And at that very moment he was killed by an insidious Guelph. His accomplices killed the other guards and took power in the city. It's from this "hero" and the story of the family Grimaldi. And the flag of Monaco reflects the heraldic colors of this Genoese family. Despite the fact that the city passed then Genoa, the Spaniards, French and Austrian descendants Grimaldi eventually managed to maintain its sovereignty. And now this princedom - albeit a dwarfish, but independent power.

What does the national flag of Monaco look like?

In the XIV century Grimaldi's standard standard was a cloth on which alternating white and red diamonds. Later it was replaced by white oriflamme with the prince's coat of arms in the center. And it is still the so-called government flag. It is noteworthy that the coat of arms of the country does not reflect a very beautiful history with the capture of the city of Monaco. A shield with red and white rhombuses is held by monks armed to the teeth, and under it passes a ribbon with the inscription "With God's help." The national flag of Monaco took the heraldic colors of rhombuses. In European symbolism, red means strength, courage, and white means innocence and purity of thoughts. In 1881, when the principality ruled Charles III, the banner received its present coloring. Now it is a cloth of two equal horizontal strips. The upper half of the flag is red, and the bottom half is white.

State flag of Indonesia

In 1945, this country of Southeast Asia threw off the yoke of colonial dependence on the Netherlands. The first president of the Republic of Indonesia, Sukarno, approved by his decree state symbols: the emblem, the anthem and the banner. Only here the banner was exactly like the flag of Monaco. The prince of the European dwarf state reacted immediately and sent a note of protest. But the government of Indonesia in diplomatic form advised him to get acquainted with the ancient history of the kingdom of Majapahit, which existed since the XIV century, the flag of which was a cloth with alternating white and red stripes. After the return of independence, the people of the country only regained their old heraldic colors.

Getting out of an awkward position

Since neither side of the conflict wanted to change the national banner, neither the colors nor the position of the bands relative to each other, they decided to compromise. The flag of Monaco differs from the Indonesian only in proportions. The latter is narrower. The cloth of the monk's banner is almost square. Its proportions are four to five. And the length and width of the state banner of Indonesia is three to five. The difference is not very noticeable, but still it is. And that's enough.