1879 - World Flag Chart

Middle East and Africa
◀︎ ▶︎

Turkey

Tunis

Egypt

red, yellow crescent, 8-pointed yellow star

Jebel Shammar

Nejd

Tripoli ^{1¹ The most commonly reported flag from the period. Flags with green, white and red stripes also seem to have been used. Probably flown exclusively on ships. The Turkish flag was the official national flag.}

Morocco ^{2² Flown over the palace in Rabat and on ships. Military flags on land were often dectorated with a yellow or green octagram.}

Muscat and Oman · Zanzibar · Bahrain ^{3³ Arab monarchies, especially those in and around the Gulf, flew plain red flags from their ships. These weren't quite "national flags" in the modern sense, but European powers tended to view them that way.}

Ras al-Khaimah · Sharjah ^{4⁴ Officially all of the Trucial States were supposed to fly a square red flag with a thick white border. In practice this flag became exclusively associated with the Al Qasimi dynasty. The other states mostly flew plain red flags.}

Madagascar

Persia

Mount Lebanon

Futa Jallon

Sokoto Caliphate

green flag of Islam ^{5⁵ Flown by exclusively by the sultan as a symbol of religious authority. Not really a "national flag" as we'd understand it in modern terms. The sultan also gave white flags to his vassal emirs within the Caliphate.}

Orange Free State

11 red-white stripes, blue canton, white star

Liberia

Western Europe
◀︎ ▶︎

France

Italy

national flag ^{6⁶ Flown by private citizens and merchant ships. The "Italian Social Republic", the Nazi puppet regime in the north, flew the plain tricolour as a national flag and had a war flag with an eagle gripping a fasces. The anti-fascist Italian partisans flew either plain tricolours or tricolours with a white or red star on the middle stripe.}

Italy

state flag ^{7⁷ Flown by the government and navy.}

Belgium

Austria

Imperial colours ^{8⁸ The dynastic colours of the Hapsburg monarchy, often used as a flag on land.}

Austria

naval flag ^{9⁹ Flown by navy ships. Direct predecessor of the modern Austrian flag.}

Netherlands

Luxembourg

Germany

Spain

Andorra

Switzerland

army flag ^{10¹⁰ Flag of the federal army, treated as an unofficial national flag.}

Denmark

national flag ^{11¹¹ Allowed to be flown by anyone.}

red, white nordic cross, swallowtail cut

Denmark

sovereign flag ^{12¹² Flown by the royal house, the government, and the armed forces. Also granted to a select list of private institutions and companies.}

Norway

merchant flag ^{13¹³ Allowed to be flown by anyone. The union mark in the top-left corner of the flag was flown on its own as a joint diplomatic flag for Sweden and Norway.}

Norway

state flag ^{14¹⁴ Flown only on state-owned buildings and naval ships.}

Sweden

merchant flag ^{15¹⁵ Allowed to be flown by anyone. The union mark in the top-left corner of the flag was flown on its own as a joint diplomatic flag for Sweden and Norway.}

Sweden

war flag ^{16¹⁶ Flown on government buildings and by the military.}

Greece

land flag ^{17¹⁷ Flown on land within Greece. The military flag had a crown in the centre of the cross.}

9 blue-white stripes, blue canton containing a white cross

Greece

sea flag ^{18¹⁸ Flown at sea and abroad. The naval ensign had a crown in the centre of the cross.}

Samos

blue, red-white pinwheel saltire outlined in white, red cross outlined in white

United Kingdom

England

Scotland

Jersey

San Marino

Liechtenstein

princely flag ^{19¹⁹ Flown by the prince, and unofficially as a national flag.}

Portugal

Malta

traditional flag ^{20²⁰ Flown unofficially, mostly by civilian ships. There was also a blue colonial ensign with the Maltese coat of arms on it.}

Monaco

Catalonia

Cornwall

Corsica

Wales

Iceland

Ireland

Flanders

Heligoland

Eastern Europe
◀︎ ▶︎

Russia

Imperial standard ^{21²¹ The flag of the Emperor, often regarded as the Russian national flag during the period.}

Russia

armorial flag ^{22²² Flown on government buildings, especially military buildings, and as patriotic decoration.}

Russia

trade flag ^{23²³ Flown by merchant ships.}

Carniola

national colours ^{24²⁴ Designated as the official colours of the Austrian crown land of Carniola. Regarded as the unofficial national flag of Slovenia.}

Slovakia ^{25²⁵ Flown by advocates of Slovakian independence. The "Upper Hungary" region did not have an official flag.}

Croatia and Slavonia

Serbia

national flag ^{26²⁶ Allowed to be flown by anyone.}

Serbia

state flag ^{27²⁷ Flown the government and armed forces.}

Hungary

Bulgaria

Romania

Ukraine ^{28²⁸ Flown by Ukrainian nationalists. The order of colours wasn't fixed.}

Bohemia

state colours ^{29²⁹ Designated as the official colours of the Austrian crown land of Bohemia. Not an official flag, but informally regarded as a Czech national symbol. A white flag with the Bohemian coat of arms was also sometimes used.}

Bosnia and Herzegovina

red, white two-headed eagle, yellow lion

Montenegro

batallion flag ^{30³⁰ Flown by the prince and the military.}

Montenegro

merchant flag ^{31³¹ Unofficial flag of the merchant fleet.}

Montenegro

batallion flag ^{32³² Flown by the prince and the military.}

Poland

banner ^{33³³ The former royal banner of Poland, no longer official but still used as an informal national symbol.}

Albania ^{34³⁴ A typical flag flown by Albanian nationalists. The exact design of the eagle was not fixed.}

South Asia and the Indian Ocean
◀︎ ▶︎

orange, two sets of green-white-green-green-white stripes, coat of arms, Urdu inscriptions

Hyderabad

Jammu and Kashmir ^{35³⁵ The maharaja's flag had yellow stripes at the top and bottom.}

red double-tailed pennant outlined in green, white moon, white sun

Nepal

red swallowtail with white feet in the top left

Jhabua ^{36³⁶ The raja's flag was rectangular}

Dewas

Kota

princely flag ^{37³⁷ Flown by the Maharao and also used as a state flag. The flag was sometimes much longer.}

Maldive Islands

Sailana ^{38³⁸ The previous plain red flag was sometimes flown as an alternate state flag.}

two purple triangular pennants, white Hanuman, yellow sun

Ajaigarh ^{39³⁹ The reverse side of the flag showed a moon and a flower.}

purple triangular pennant, yellow sun moon and building

Mewar ^{40⁴⁰ Mewar had a number of reported princely banners which were also sometimes used as state flags. The most common one had a large yellow sun and a blue katar dagger.}

orange triangular pennant, thick purple border

Porbandar

Kolhapur ^{41⁴¹ Kolhapur flew the Maratha saffron banner as a state flag. The maharaja had a diagonally-divided red and orange flag.}

orange-yellow striped swallowtail pennant

Dhar

Jaora

Jaipur

Alwar

Idar

Sirohi

Jodhpur

orange, yellow sun between two white snakes

Gwalior

princely flag ^{42⁴² Flag of the maharaja, also used as a state flag. Plain saffron flags were also sometimes flown.}

Jaisalmer

Nabha

Bikaner

Wankaner

Banswara

Dholpur

Chhatarpur

Cambay

Rajpipla

princely flag ^{43⁴³ Flown by the maharaja and often used as a state flag.}

Rajpipla

national flag ^{44⁴⁴ Allowed to be flown by civilians.}

Indore ^{45⁴⁵ Inland river boats flew a triangular pennant in the same colours.}

Bhavnagar ^{46⁴⁶ There was also a red British colonial ensign with the coat of arms on it.}

Tonk ^{47⁴⁷ The nawab's flag, which was sometimes used as an alternate state flag, was white with a green hand.}

Garhwal ^{48⁴⁸ The maharaja's flag had a gold eagle on it. The armed forces used a flag with white and purple stripes.}

Suket ^{49⁴⁹ The raja's flag had a gold tiger head in the middle. The war flag was a red flag with the state coat of arms on it.}

green-red striped pennant, white crescent and star, white swords

Kalat

Baroda

princely flag ^{50⁵⁰ Flown by the maharaja and often used as a state flag. The swallowtailed saffron Maratha banner was also sometimes flown.}

Travancore

Manipur

red, white image of Hanuman between two gold weapons

Rajgarh

Pratapgarh ^{51⁵¹ The maharawat's flag had the same design but in yellow instead of white.}

Barwani

Sitamau ^{52⁵² The Raja's flag had a red sun}

Faridkot

Bundi

Alirajpur

Khairpur

Baoni

Mandi ^{53⁵³ The flag flown at the palace had the state coat of arms on it.}

Kishangarh

Bhopal ^{54⁵⁴ The begum's standard had a crown and inscription on it.}

Bilaspur

white, yellow wheel surrounded by colourful decorations, ornate border

Sikkim

East and Southeast Asia
◀︎ ▶︎

Japan

yellow pennant, blue dragon chasing a red orb

China ^{55⁵⁵ Flown by naval ships. The merchant flag was red with a yellow circle.}

Cambodia

Siam

Luang Prabang

Champassak

Burma

Kelantan · Terengganu ^{56⁵⁶ Malay monarchs often flew plain white flags. These standards eventually evolved into individual state flags as more colours and symbols were added.}

Jambi

sultan's flag ^{57⁵⁷ Flown by the sultan and by naval ships.}

Jambi

nobles' flag ^{58⁵⁸ Flown by nobles at sea.}

Jambi

merchant flag ^{59⁵⁹ Flown by commoner merchants at sea.}

Pahang

sultan's flag ^{60⁶⁰ Flown by the sultan.}

Perak

Brunei

sultan's flag ^{61⁶¹ Flown by the sultan and also used as an unofficial state flag.}

yellow, vertically divided black-red cross, yellow crown

Sarawak

yellow-red quarters, yellow crescent and star

Selangor

Perlis

black, red canton, white crescent and star

Johor

state flag ^{62⁶² Flown by the sultan and on naval ships.}

blue, red canton, white crescent and star

Johor

merchant flag ^{63⁶³ Flown by merchant ships and sometimes used by civilians as an alternate national flag.}

purple, ornate white gate, two thin blue-white stripes

Sulu ^{64⁶⁴ Reported flag from this era. It's exact use isn't known.}

Kedah

Oceania
◀︎ ▶︎

Samoa

Tonga

ʻUvea

Rimatara

red-white-red, French flag outlined in white

Tahiti

Rarotonga

white-blue-white, white star, four blue stars

Mangareva

Rurutu

Huahine

Raʻiatea

Bora Bora

Tahuata

white-red-blue-white-red-blue-white-red, union jack

Hawaiʻi

white British ensign, blue cross with 5 white 8-pointed stars

Australia

blue British ensign, red southern cross outlined in white

New Zealand

blue ensign ^{65⁶⁵ Officially only flown on government ships, but often used as a national flag.}

white, red cross, blue canton, white-outlined red cross, four white eight-pointed stars

New Zealand

unofficial flag ^{66⁶⁶ The former flag of the United Tribes of New Zealand, which remained in use as an unofficial symbol of the country.}

North America
◀︎ ▶︎

13 red-white stripes, blue canton, 38 white stars

United States

Canada ^{67⁶⁷ An unofficial but widespread national flag.}

white-red, thick blue stripe, white star

Texas

Newfoundland ^{68⁶⁸ An unofficial local flag. The British colony of Newfoundland had no distinctive local symbols.}

Métis

Latin America
◀︎ ▶︎

Brazil

Mexico

Peru

national ensign ^{69⁶⁹ Flown by the government, the navy, the national police, and national sports teams. Raised at major ceremonies. The army uses a similar flag with a different coat of arms.}

Peru

national flag ^{70⁷⁰ Allowed to be flown by anyone.}

Guatemala

Argentina

Honduras

Nicaragua

Paraguay

front side

Paraguay

back side

Costa Rica

national flag ^{71⁷¹ The most common Costa Rican flag. Officially designated for private citizens, but in practice often used on government buildings and schools too.}

Costa Rica

national ensign ^{72⁷² Flown by the government and by diplomatic missions, although also used sometimes by private citizens.}

5 blue-white stripes, red triangle, white star

Cuba ^{73⁷³ Flown by Cuban nationalists and revolutionaries who sought independence from Spain.}

9 blue-white stripes, red canton, 14 white stars

Salvador

9 white-blue stripes, white canton, yellow sun

Uruguay

blue-red, white square containing a coat of arms

Haiti

blue-red quarters, white cross, coat of arms

Dominican Republic

Puerto Rico ^{74⁷⁴ Flown by Puerto Rican nationalists and revolutionaries who sought independence from Spain.}

Chile

Bolivia

state flag ^{75⁷⁵ Flown by the government and armed forces.}

Bolivia

national flag ^{76⁷⁶ Allowed to be flown by anyone.}

yellow-blue-red, cluster of 7 white stars, coat of arms

Venezuela

national ensign ^{77⁷⁷ Flown by the government and armed forces, and unofficially used by many private citizens.}

yellow-blue-red, cluster of 7 white stars

Venezuela

national flag ^{78⁷⁸ Allowed to be flown by anyone.}

Colombia

Ecuador

Other International and Cultural Flags
◀︎ ▶︎

Red Cross

Red Crescent

Events of 1879
◀︎ ▶︎

PERAK • A tricolour state flag was adopted on January 31. The three stripes represented the Sultan, the Crown Prince, and the Deputy Crown Prince.

SAMOA • On December 15, under the terms of a new constitution signed on the deck of a German warship, Malietoa Talavou was confirmed as King of Samoa with his nephew Malietoa Laupepa serving as Regent. The kingdom agreed to abandon its American-inspired flag in an agreement with Germany on December 23. It was replaced by a new flag with a large white cross which was to "show the unity" of the politically-divided country.

Notes

¹ The most commonly reported flag from the period. Flags with green, white and red stripes also seem to have been used. Probably flown exclusively on ships. The Turkish flag was the official national flag. ↩

² Flown over the palace in Rabat and on ships. Military flags on land were often dectorated with a yellow or green octagram. ↩

³ Arab monarchies, especially those in and around the Gulf, flew plain red flags from their ships. These weren't quite "national flags" in the modern sense, but European powers tended to view them that way. ↩

⁴ Officially all of the Trucial States were supposed to fly a square red flag with a thick white border. In practice this flag became exclusively associated with the Al Qasimi dynasty. The other states mostly flew plain red flags. ↩

⁵ Flown by exclusively by the sultan as a symbol of religious authority. Not really a "national flag" as we'd understand it in modern terms. The sultan also gave white flags to his vassal emirs within the Caliphate. ↩

⁶ Flown by private citizens and merchant ships. The "Italian Social Republic", the Nazi puppet regime in the north, flew the plain tricolour as a national flag and had a war flag with an eagle gripping a fasces. The anti-fascist Italian partisans flew either plain tricolours or tricolours with a white or red star on the middle stripe. ↩

⁷ Flown by the government and navy. ↩

⁸ The dynastic colours of the Hapsburg monarchy, often used as a flag on land. ↩

⁹ Flown by navy ships. Direct predecessor of the modern Austrian flag. ↩

¹⁰ Flag of the federal army, treated as an unofficial national flag. ↩

¹¹ Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩

¹² Flown by the royal house, the government, and the armed forces. Also granted to a select list of private institutions and companies. ↩

¹³ Allowed to be flown by anyone. The union mark in the top-left corner of the flag was flown on its own as a joint diplomatic flag for Sweden and Norway. ↩

¹⁴ Flown only on state-owned buildings and naval ships. ↩

¹⁵ Allowed to be flown by anyone. The union mark in the top-left corner of the flag was flown on its own as a joint diplomatic flag for Sweden and Norway. ↩

¹⁶ Flown on government buildings and by the military. ↩

¹⁷ Flown on land within Greece. The military flag had a crown in the centre of the cross. ↩

¹⁸ Flown at sea and abroad. The naval ensign had a crown in the centre of the cross. ↩

¹⁹ Flown by the prince, and unofficially as a national flag. ↩

²⁰ Flown unofficially, mostly by civilian ships. There was also a blue colonial ensign with the Maltese coat of arms on it. ↩

²¹ The flag of the Emperor, often regarded as the Russian national flag during the period. ↩

²² Flown on government buildings, especially military buildings, and as patriotic decoration. ↩

²³ Flown by merchant ships. ↩

²⁴ Designated as the official colours of the Austrian crown land of Carniola. Regarded as the unofficial national flag of Slovenia. ↩

²⁵ Flown by advocates of Slovakian independence. The "Upper Hungary" region did not have an official flag. ↩

²⁶ Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩

²⁷ Flown the government and armed forces. ↩

²⁸ Flown by Ukrainian nationalists. The order of colours wasn't fixed. ↩

²⁹ Designated as the official colours of the Austrian crown land of Bohemia. Not an official flag, but informally regarded as a Czech national symbol. A white flag with the Bohemian coat of arms was also sometimes used. ↩

³⁰ Flown by the prince and the military. ↩

³¹ Unofficial flag of the merchant fleet. ↩

³² Flown by the prince and the military. ↩

³³ The former royal banner of Poland, no longer official but still used as an informal national symbol. ↩

³⁴ A typical flag flown by Albanian nationalists. The exact design of the eagle was not fixed. ↩

³⁵ The maharaja's flag had yellow stripes at the top and bottom. ↩

³⁶ The raja's flag was rectangular ↩

³⁷ Flown by the Maharao and also used as a state flag. The flag was sometimes much longer. ↩

³⁸ The previous plain red flag was sometimes flown as an alternate state flag. ↩

³⁹ The reverse side of the flag showed a moon and a flower. ↩

⁴⁰ Mewar had a number of reported princely banners which were also sometimes used as state flags. The most common one had a large yellow sun and a blue katar dagger. ↩

⁴¹ Kolhapur flew the Maratha saffron banner as a state flag. The maharaja had a diagonally-divided red and orange flag. ↩

⁴² Flag of the maharaja, also used as a state flag. Plain saffron flags were also sometimes flown. ↩

⁴³ Flown by the maharaja and often used as a state flag. ↩

⁴⁴ Allowed to be flown by civilians. ↩

⁴⁵ Inland river boats flew a triangular pennant in the same colours. ↩

⁴⁶ There was also a red British colonial ensign with the coat of arms on it. ↩

⁴⁷ The nawab's flag, which was sometimes used as an alternate state flag, was white with a green hand. ↩

⁴⁸ The maharaja's flag had a gold eagle on it. The armed forces used a flag with white and purple stripes. ↩

⁴⁹ The raja's flag had a gold tiger head in the middle. The war flag was a red flag with the state coat of arms on it. ↩

⁵⁰ Flown by the maharaja and often used as a state flag. The swallowtailed saffron Maratha banner was also sometimes flown. ↩

⁵¹ The maharawat's flag had the same design but in yellow instead of white. ↩

⁵² The Raja's flag had a red sun ↩

⁵³ The flag flown at the palace had the state coat of arms on it. ↩

⁵⁴ The begum's standard had a crown and inscription on it. ↩

⁵⁵ Flown by naval ships. The merchant flag was red with a yellow circle. ↩

⁵⁶ Malay monarchs often flew plain white flags. These standards eventually evolved into individual state flags as more colours and symbols were added. ↩

⁵⁷ Flown by the sultan and by naval ships. ↩

⁵⁸ Flown by nobles at sea. ↩

⁵⁹ Flown by commoner merchants at sea. ↩

⁶⁰ Flown by the sultan. ↩

⁶¹ Flown by the sultan and also used as an unofficial state flag. ↩

⁶² Flown by the sultan and on naval ships. ↩

⁶³ Flown by merchant ships and sometimes used by civilians as an alternate national flag. ↩

⁶⁴ Reported flag from this era. It's exact use isn't known. ↩

⁶⁵ Officially only flown on government ships, but often used as a national flag. ↩

⁶⁶ The former flag of the United Tribes of New Zealand, which remained in use as an unofficial symbol of the country. ↩

⁶⁷ An unofficial but widespread national flag. ↩

⁶⁸ An unofficial local flag. The British colony of Newfoundland had no distinctive local symbols. ↩

⁶⁹ Flown by the government, the navy, the national police, and national sports teams. Raised at major ceremonies. The army uses a similar flag with a different coat of arms. ↩

⁷⁰ Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩

⁷¹ The most common Costa Rican flag. Officially designated for private citizens, but in practice often used on government buildings and schools too. ↩

⁷² Flown by the government and by diplomatic missions, although also used sometimes by private citizens. ↩

⁷³ Flown by Cuban nationalists and revolutionaries who sought independence from Spain. ↩

⁷⁴ Flown by Puerto Rican nationalists and revolutionaries who sought independence from Spain. ↩

⁷⁵ Flown by the government and armed forces. ↩

⁷⁶ Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩

⁷⁷ Flown by the government and armed forces, and unofficially used by many private citizens. ↩

⁷⁸ Allowed to be flown by anyone. ↩

The World Flag Chart

◀︎ Flags of 1879 ▶︎

Middle East and Africa
◀︎ ▶︎

Western Europe
◀︎ ▶︎

Eastern Europe
◀︎ ▶︎

South Asia and the Indian Ocean
◀︎ ▶︎

East and Southeast Asia
◀︎ ▶︎

Oceania
◀︎ ▶︎

North America
◀︎ ▶︎

Latin America
◀︎ ▶︎

Other International and Cultural Flags
◀︎ ▶︎

Events of 1879
◀︎ ▶︎

Notes

Events of 1879◀︎ ▶︎

Notes

Events of 1879
◀︎ ▶︎