The

flag A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design empl ...

São Tomé and Príncipe São Tomé and Príncipe (; pt, São Tomé e Príncipe (); English: " Saint Thomas and Prince"), officially the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe ( pt, República Democrática de São Tomé e Príncipe), is a Portuguese-speaking ...

( Portuguese: ''bandeira de São Tomé e Príncipe'') consists of a red triangle situated at the hoist, with three horizontal green, yellow and green bands charged with two five-pointed black stars of Africa at the centre. Adopted in 1975 to replace the

flag of Portugal The national flag of Portugal ( pt, Bandeira de Portugal) is a rectangular bicolour with a field divided into green on the hoist, and red on the fly. The lesser version of the national coat of arms of Portugal ( armillary sphere and Portuguese ...

from the colonial period, it has been the flag of the Democratic Republic of

since the country gained independence in that same year. The design of the present flag was inspired by and is almost identical to the flag of the

Movement for the Liberation of São Tomé and Príncipe Movement may refer to: Common uses * Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece * Motion, commonly referred to as movement Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * "Movement" (short story), a short story by Nancy Fu ...

History

The Portuguese colonised the islands of

São Tomé São Tomé is the capital and largest city of the Central African island country of São Tomé and Príncipe. Its name is Portuguese for " Saint Thomas". Founded in the 15th century, it is one of Africa's oldest colonial cities. History Álvar ...

and

Príncipe Príncipe is the smaller, northern major island of the country of São Tomé and Príncipe lying off the west coast of Africa in the Gulf of Guinea. It has an area of (including offshore islets) and a population of 7,324 at the 2012 Census;

during the 16th century and incorporated them into their colonial empire. Four centuries later, the

Batepá massacre Batepá is a village on São Tomé Island in São Tomé and Príncipe. Its population is 775 (2012 census). This was led by the

(MLSTP), which were established seven years later. The Portuguese, however, refused to grant this and continued to fight on until the

Carnation Revolution The Carnation Revolution ( pt, Revolução dos Cravos), also known as the 25 April ( pt, 25 de Abril, links=no), was a military coup by left-leaning military officers that overthrew the authoritarian Estado Novo regime on 25 April 1974 in Lisbo ...

occurred in 1974. The new government decided to withdraw from their remaining colonies, and negotiated on a roadmap for independence with the MLSTP, whom they had recognized as the "sole representative" of the islands. Several submissions for a new flag were made, all of which utilized the colours of the

Pan-Africanist Pan-Africanism is a worldwide movement that aims to encourage and strengthen bonds of solidarity between all Indigenous and diaspora peoples of African ancestry. Based on a common goal dating back to the Atlantic slave trade, the movement exte ...

movement. These were all turned down, and a new flag – reportedly designed by MLSTP leader and future

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Manuel Pinto da Costa Manuel Pinto da Costa (born 5 August 1937) is a Santomean economist and politician who served as the first president of São Tomé and Príncipe from 1975 to 1991. He again served as president from 2011 to 2016. Life and career Educated in Ea ...

– was approved of. It was adopted either on 12 July 1975 – the day the country became independent – or on 5 November of that same year. The flag is almost identical to the flag of the MLSTP, and although they lost their " monopoly of power" in

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicis ...

, the flag remained unchanged.

1974 proposals

File:1974 São Tomé and Príncipe Proposal 1.svg, Proposal 1 File:1974 São Tomé and Príncipe Proposal 2.svg, Proposal 2 File:1974 São Tomé and Príncipe Proposal 3.svg, Proposal 3 File:1974 São Tomé and Príncipe Proposal 4.svg, Proposal 4 File:1974 São Tomé and Príncipe Proposal 5.svg, Proposal 5 File:1974 São Tomé and Príncipe Proposal 6.svg, Proposal 6 File:1974 São Tomé and Príncipe Proposal 7.svg, Proposal 7 File:1974 São Tomé and Príncipe Proposal 8.svg, Proposal 8

Design

Symbolism

The colours and symbols of the flag carry cultural, political, and regional meanings. The green alludes to the plentiful vegetation of the country, while the yellow stands for the tropical sun and

cocoa Cocoa may refer to: Chocolate * Chocolate * ''Theobroma cacao'', the cocoa tree * Cocoa bean, seed of ''Theobroma cacao'' * Chocolate liquor, or cocoa liquor, pure, liquid chocolate extracted from the cocoa bean, including both cocoa butter an ...

, a key agricultural crop for the nation. The red evokes the "struggle for independence", as well as equality. The two black stars on the yellow band represent the two islands that make up the country. Nationally, the flag was inspired by the MLSTP flag; it is almost identical to it except that the widths of the horizontal bands on the national flag are at a ratio of 2:3:2. On the other hand, the three bands on the flag of the political party are of equal width. On a continental level, the yellow, green and red represented the

movement. These colours are the same as the ones utilized in the

flag of Ethiopia The flag of Ethiopia ( am, የኢትዮጵያ ሰንደቅ ዐላማ, Ye-Ītyōṗṗyā sändäq ʿälama) is the national flag of Ethiopia. It consists of a green, yellow, and red tricolour with the National Emblem, a golden pentagram on a b ...

Similarities

The national flag is similar to the flags of the

Arab Revolt The Arab Revolt ( ar, الثورة العربية, ) or the Great Arab Revolt ( ar, الثورة العربية الكبرى, ) was a military uprising of Arab forces against the Ottoman Empire in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I. On ...

The Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the a ...

Comoros The Comoros,, ' officially the Union of the Comoros,; ar, الاتحاد القمري ' is an independent country made up of three islands in southeastern Africa, located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean. It ...

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and Tog ...

and

Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...

, in its incorporation of the colour red, along with its symbolism of the fight for independence.

Historical Flags

File:PortugueseFlag1385.svg, Flag of Portuguese São Tomé (1470–1485) File:PortugueseFlag1485.svg, Flag of Portuguese São Tomé (1485–1495) File:Flag of Portugal (1495).svg, Flag of Portuguese São Tomé (1495–1521) File:Flag of Portugal (1521).svg, Flag of Portuguese São Tomé (1521–1578) File:Flag of Portugal (1578).svg, Flag of Portuguese São Tomé (1578–1640) File:Flag of Portugal (1640).svg, Flag of Portuguese São Tomé (1640–1667) File:Flag of Portugal (1667).svg, Flag of Portuguese São Tomé (1667–1706) File:Flag of Portugal (1707).svg, Flag of Portuguese São Tomé (1706–1750) File:Flag of Portugal (1750).svg, Flag of Portuguese São Tomé (1750–1816) File:Flag of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil, and Algarves.svg, Flag of Portuguese São Tomé (1816–1826) File:Flag of Portugal (1707).svg, Flag of Portuguese São Tomé (1826–1834) File:Flag of Portugal (1830).svg, Flag of Portuguese São Tomé (1834–1910) File:Flag of Portugal.svg, Flag of Portuguese São Tomé (1911–1975) File:Flag of São Tomé and Príncipe.svg, Flag of São Tomé and Príncipe (1975-present) File:Flag of Portuguese Sao Tome and Principe (proposal).svg, Proposed flag of Portuguese Provincial São Tomé (not adopted)

Legal issues

The Santomean flag is often used as a flag of convenience by foreign

merchant vessel A merchant ship, merchant vessel, trading vessel, or merchantman is a watercraft that transports cargo or carries passengers for hire. This is in contrast to pleasure craft, which are used for personal recreation, and naval ships, which are ...

s. The country's government permits this in order to increase revenue for the country, which does not earn enough from exports or tourism. In 2002, there were 39 sizeable ships using the flag, despite the fact that São Tomé and Príncipe does not have any deep-water ports. The lack of regulation has led to "irregularities", and has resulted in the flag being placed on the

blacklist Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist (or black list) of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list. If someone is on a blacklist, ...

for poor port State control. It was removed from the list in 2004, but only because of a lack of investigations being conducted on ships featuring the country's flag.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sao Tome And Principe, Flag of

Sao Tome And Principe SAO or Sao may refer to: Places * Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD * Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso * Saco Transportation Center (station code SAO), a train station in Saco, Maine, U. ...

Flag A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design empl ...

Flags of Africa National flags