Republic of Seychelles
The colors on the flag represent diversity and unity, but what colors! And what a cool design! This is the only flag that I know of where the bars of color radiate out from the corner rather than simply being horizontal or vertical stripes. This small island nation off of the eastern coast of Africa really set itself apart with one of my all-time favorite flags after its independence from the United Kingdom.
Central African Republic
Again, the colors! Interestingly, this flag has nearly the same shades as the flag of Seychelles. Maybe that's why I like it so much. It is still easy enough to draw (one of the hallmarks of a good flag), but is strikingly different from the flags of other sovereign nations.
One of the main problem that a lot of flags have is that they are either identical (Chad/Romania, Indonesia/Monaco, Luxembourg/Netherlands, etc., etc. Actually, there are an upsetting number of identical national flags in the world) or too simple (tricolor, etc.). This flag is just beautiful; four brightly colored horizontal stripes, one bold vertical bar, and a bright star. The blue and white represent the nation's colonial past (France, of course), and green and yellow represent the African people. The red bar represents the mutual respect that both peoples should have for one another, and the yellow star stands for independence.
Kingdom of Eswatini (Swaziland)
The flag is based on the military flag given by King Sobhuza II to the Swazi Pioneer Corps in 1941 and was adopted by the tiny kingdom then known as Swaziland in 1968 upon its independence from the United Kingdom. The flag features a traditional Nguni shield and two spears, which stands for strength and the defense of the country and its culture. I just think it's super cool!
Republic of South Africa
The flag of South Africa is thus far the only flag I've featured of a country that I have actually been to. On one of the very first nights after I arrived in Stellenbosch, a group of our South African hosts from the university held a welcoming ceremony for us. During that time, they sang the national anthem, and I was amazed at how moved I felt by the song. The anthem is a mashup of two different songs; the previous anthem of South Africa as well as a famous African Methodist hymn. Four parts of the anthem are sung in five of the country's official languages: Xhosa, Zulu, Sesotho, Afrikaans, and English. It's a symbol of unity and reconciliation.
Like the anthem, the flag has similar symbology. It replaced the frankly hideous flag of Apartheid-era South Africa in 1994 (seriously, what self-respecting flag has three other flags inside of it?) and was very deliberately designed. The colors of black, green, and yellow were chosen in reference to the African National Congress. Red, white, and blue were chosen in reference to the flags of both the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. The specific shade of red, chili red, was picked for the flag specifically as a compromise between the true red which was favored by South Africans of English descent and the orange, which was favored by the Afrikaners.
The African Union
The EU is by far the best-known supernational regional entity, but there is an African Union as well! It was established in 2001, with the current flag adopted in 2010. The flag is green, a common color in African flags. The color represents the hope of Africa, and the golden stars represent the member states. I think it's a beautiful flag, and I feel very hopeful about the future of the African Union.
Tomorrow is when things start to get really interesting. We will be moving on to Asia, a region known for its unique, and colorful vexillology!
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