The Dutch flag is 75

RNW, 19 February 2012, by Marco Hochgemuth 

(Photo: Jackie Kever)

“The colours of the flag of the Kingdom of the Netherlands are red, white and blue.”

That was a royal proclamation signed by Queen Wilhelmina 75 years ago on 19 February 1937. It seems like a simple statement, but it conceals a turbulent history. A look at the Dutch flag in eight flags. 

Prince's Flag
(Photo: Mijnheer)

The Prince's Flag

The Netherlands already had a flag that looks rather like the current one back in the 16th century. That was the Prinsenvlag (Prince’s Flag) introduced by William of Orange, which was orange, white and blue. Less than 100 years later in 1648 the orange was replaced by red. Why exactly that happened is still a mystery. There are theories that is was the result of anti-Orange sentiment, that Dutch sailors wanted a more striking colour or even that there was too little orange dye available.

Flag of the Netherlands
(Photo: Jackie Kever)

The flag of the Netherlands

The red vs orange debate dragged on for ages and flared up again in the early 20th century. In the 1930s the NSB, the Dutch national socialist party, demanded the return of the Prince’s Flag. By 1937 Prime Minister Hendrik Colijn was so sick of the discussion that he drafted the aforementioned royal proclamation for the queen, who signed it at her holiday address in Austria.

   

Flag of New York
(Photo: D.Fletcher)

The flag of New York

New York was founded by the Dutch in 1624 as New Amsterdam. The colony’s flag was therefore based on the Prince’s flag. It was orange, white and blue with a seal showing a windmill on the white band. The flags of the Bronx and Albany also derive from the Dutch flag.

 Flag of the Netherlands Antilles
(Photo: ANP)

The flag of the Netherlands Antilles

The former Netherlands Antilles were Dutch for centuries and their flag was based on the red, white and blue. Five stars in the blue band represented the largest islands. In October 2010, the Netherlands Antilles officially ceased to exist. Curaçao and St Maarten became independent, the others are now municipalities of the Netherlands. They now fly the ‘regular’ Dutch flag.

Old South African flag
(Photo: Bug-E)

The South African flag

You can still see red, white and blue in the new South African flag, introduced after the end of apartheid, but otherwise it bears no resemblance. The flag that was flown from 1928 until 1994 was, however, clearly based on the Prince’s Flag. South Africa was a Dutch colony for a long time and many white South Africans were of Dutch extraction. On 27 April 1994 it was lowered for the last time, because of its historical and racist associations.

Luxembourg flag
(Photo: Gwenael Piaser)

The flag of Luxembourg

There are other less likely flags supposedly connected with the Netherlands. The flag of Luxembourg, for instance. This tiny country became independent from the Netherlands in 1890 and it has a similar flag, except that it uses a lighter shade of blue. Despite this connection, it is not actually derived from the Dutch flag. The colour scheme comes from the coat of arms of the duchy of Luxembourg, which dates back to the 13th century.

Russian flag
(Photo: Falcon0125)

The Russian flag

Russia's white, blue and red flag is also said to have been inspired by the Dutch flag. In the late 17th century, Tsar Peter the Great visited the Netherlands and was extremely impressed. He allegedly took the Dutch flag as a model for the flag of his own kingdom. This theory has been debunked by modern historians. The Russian navy was already using the white-blue-and-red before the tsar’s visit.

  

Indonesian flag
(Photo: Mr T in DC)

The Indonesian flag

There is an interesting story about the red and white Indonesian flag. The independent Republic of Indonesia was proclaimed shortly after World War II in what was then the Dutch East Indies. The mood in Surabaya was tense and, when some Dutchmen raised the red white and blue above the Oranje Hotel, young natives stormed the building and tore the blue band off the flag, allegedly because blue symbolised the aristocracy. This is a complete fabrication. Red and white were used for flags in Indonesia as far back as the 13th century.