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- Herausgeber: Librorium Editions
- Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
- Sprache: Englisch
There is an instinct in the human race which delights in the flying of flags—a sentiment which appears to be inborn, causing men to become enthusiastic about a significant emblem raised in the air, whether as the insignia of descent, or as a symbol of race, or of nationality; something which, being held aloft before the sight of other men, declares, at a glance, the side to which the bearer belongs, and serves as a rallying point for those who think with him.
The child chortles at a piece of riband waved before him; a boy marches with head erect and martial stride as bearer of the banner at the head of his mimic battalion; the man, at duty's call, rallies to his national standard, and leaving home and all, stakes his life for it in his country's cause; and when the battle of life is closing and steps are homeward bound, the gray-beard, lifting his heart-filled eyes, blesses the day that brings him back within sight of his native flag.
At all ages and in all times has it been the same. The deeper we go into the records of the past the more evidence do we find that man, however varied his race or primitive his condition, however cultured his surroundings or rude his methods, has universally displayed this innate characteristic instinct of delighting and glorifying in some personal or national emblem.
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HISTORY OF THE UNION JACK AND FLAGS OF THE EMPIRE
Their Origin, Proportions and Meanings as tracing the Constitutional Development of the British Realm, and with References to other National Ensigns
BY BARLOW CUMBERLAND, M.A.
1909
© 2023 Librorium Editions
ISBN : 9782385740559
PLATE I.
1 English Jack—St. George's Crosse
2 Scotch Jack—St. Andrew's Crosse
3 Irish Jack—St. Patrick's Crosse
PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION.
This history of the Union Jack grew out of a paper principally intended to inform my boys of how the Union Jack of our Empire grew into its present form, and how the colours and groupings of its parts are connected with our government and history, so that through this knowledge the flag itself might speak to them in a way it had not done before.
A search for further information, extended over many varied fields, gathered together facts that had previously been separated, and grouped them into consecutive order; thus the story grew, and having developed into a lecture, was afterwards, at the suggestion of others, launched upon its public way.
The chapters on the history of the Jacks in the Thirteen American Colonies and in the United States are also new ground and may be of novel interest to not a few. The added information on the proper proportions of our Union Jack, and the directions and reasons for the proper making of its parts, may serve to correct some of the unhappy errors which now exist and may interest all in the observation and study of flags.
An Index has been added, and a record of the "Diamond Anthem" is also appended.
I would acknowledge the criticisms and kindly assistance of many, particularly of Mr. James Bain, Public Librarian of Toronto, who opened out to me the valuable collection in his library; of Mr. J. G. Colmer, C.M.G., Secretary to the Canadian High Commissioner, London, who assisted in obtaining material in England; and of Mr. W. Laird Clowes, Sir James Le Moine, Sir J. G. Bourinot and Dr. J. G. Hodgins, Historiographer of Ontario, who have made many valuable and effective suggestions.
Barlow Cumberland.
Toronto, October 1, 1900.
PREFACE TO THIRD EDITION.
The celebration of EMPIRE DAY and of other National and Historic Anniversaries, accompanied by appropriate addresses, has greatly developed at home and abroad. The instructing value of Flags as the visible evidences of the progressive periods of National history, and the concentration of patriotic remembrance, having become more appreciated, have led, no doubt, to the request for a re-issue of this book, which had been for some time out of print.
For such purposes, and as an assistance to Readers and Teachers, the material has been practically recast and new matter incorporated, so that with the collations in the Index the phases of the various portions of the Flags, both of the British and other nationalities, may be more conveniently traced and connected.
Much additional information, particularly in the designing and creation of the Flags, has been sought out and, with additional illustrations, recorded with a view that the intentions expressed in their forms may be more clearly evidenced, their meanings realized, and their connection with Constitutional movements developed.
The suggestions and assistance of many correspondents, to this end, has been much availed of and is thankfully acknowledged.
During the interval since the last issue the Liberties and Methods of the British Constitution have still further expanded. Additional Daughter-Parliaments in the Dominions over-seas have been empowered, and their Union Flags created. To these, as also added information on other Ensigns, is due the addition to the Title.
The references in stating the progress of our National Flag are, of necessity, much condensed, but the writer trusts that with the instructing aid and narrations of its exponents, the information here put together may be found of help in causing the study of Flags, and the stories which they voice, to be of increasing interest, and their Union Jack and Ensigns more intimately known to our youth as the living emblems of our British History and Union.
Port Hope, September, 1909.
CONTENTS.
Chapter
Page
A Poem—The Union Jack
11
Notes on Flags
12
I.
Emblems and Flags
13
II.
The Origins of National Flags
21
III.
The Origin of the Jacks
32
IV.
The English Jack
41
V.
The Supremacy of the English Jack
53
VI.
The Scottish Jack
64
VII.
The "Additional" Union Jack of James I.
71
VIII.
The English Jack Restored
81
IX.
The Evolution of the Red Ensign
92
X.
The Sovereignty of the Seas—The Fight for the Flag
102
XI.
The Sovereignty of the Seas—The Fight for the Trade
111
XII.
The Union Jack of Queen Anne, 1707
118
XIII.
The Two-Crossed Jack in Canada
132
XIV.
The Irish Jack
140
XV.
The Jacks in the Thirteen Colonies of North America
153
XVI.
The Union Flags of the United States
170
XVII.
The Jack and Parliamentary Union in Britain
182
XVIII.
The Jack and Parliamentary Union in Canada
189
XIX.
The Union Jack of George III., 1801
199
XX.
The Lessons of the Crosses
215
XXI.
The Proportions of the Crosses
222
XXII.
Under the Three Crosses in Canada
235
XXIII.
The Flag of Freedom
243
XXIV.
The Flag of Liberty
253
XXV.
The Union Jack as a Single Flag
264
XXVI.
The Jacks in Red, White and Blue Ensigns
272
XXVII.
The Union Ensigns of the British Empire
280
Appendix A.
The Maple Leaf Emblem
295
Appendix B.
Letters from the Private Secretary of His Majesty King Edward VII.
298
Appendix C.
Canadian War Medals
299
Appendix D.
A Record of the "Diamond Anthem"
300
Index
313
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
No.
Page
1.
Assyrian Emblems
15
2.
Eagle Emblems
16
3.
Tortoise Totem
18
4.
Wolf Totem
18
5.
The Hawaiian Ensig
30
6.
A Red Cross Knight
35
7.
Colours of 10th Royal Grenadiers, Canada
39
8.
St. George's Jack
41
9.
The Borough Seal of Lyme Regis, 1284
46
10.
Brass in Elsing Church, 1347
49
11.
The Henri Grace à Dieu, 1515
60
12.
St. Andrew's Jack
64
13.
Scotch "Talle Shippe," 16th Century
67
14.
Royal Arms of England, Henry V., 1413, to Elizabeth
71
15.
Royal Arms of James I., 1603
72
16.
Jack of James I., 1606
74
17.
The Sovereign of the Seas, 1637
85
18.
Commonwealth Twenty-Shilling Piece
87
19.
Commonwealth Boat Flag
88
20.
The Naseby. Charles II.
95
21.
Medal of Charles II., 1665
98
22.
Whip-lash Pennant, British Navy
108
23.
Union Jack of Anne, 1707
118
24.
Draft "C," Union Jack, 1707
121
25.
The Red Ensign in "The Margent," 1707
125
26.
Fort Niagara, 1759
128
27.
The Assault at Wolfe's Cove, Quebec, 1759
130
28.
St. Patrick's Jack
141
29.
Labarum of Constantine
142
30.
Harp of Hibernia
143
31.
Seal of Carrickfergus, 1605
148
32.
Royal Arms of Queen Victoria
148
33.
Medal of Queen's First Visit to Ireland
149
34.
The Throne of Queen Victoria in the House of Lords, 1900
150
35.
Arms of the Fitzgeralds
151
36.
Medal of Louis XIV., "Kebeca Liberata," 1690
165
37.
New England Ensign
166
38.
The Louisbourg Medal, 1758
168
39.
The First Union Flag, 1776
174
40.
The Pennsylvania Flag, 1776
176
41.
Arms of the Washington Family
177
42.
Washington's Book-Plate
178
43.
Washington's Seals
179
44.
Fort George and the Port of New York in 1770
187
45.
Royal Arms of George II.
190
46.
The Great Seal of Upper Canada, 1792
195
47.
Upper Canada Penny
198
48.
Draft "C" of Union Jack, 1800
200
49.
Royal Arms of George III., 1801
202
50.
Union Jack of George III., 1801
203
51.
Outline Jack—The Proper Proportions of the Crosses
209
52.
The Union Jack and Shackleton at Farthest South
213
53.
Square Union Jack
219
54.
Oblong Union Jack
220
55.
Flag of a French Caravel, 16th Century
223
56.
The Colonial Jack, 1701
226
57.
Jack of England, 1711
227
58.
Jack in Carolina, 1739
228
59.
The Combat between La Surveillante and the Quebec, 1779
229
60.
Ensign of 7th Royal Fusiliers, 1775
230
61.
"King's Colour," 1781
231
62.
The War Medal, 1793-1814
236
63.
The Service Medal, Canada, 1866-1870
237
64.
The North-West Canada Medal, 1885
240
65.
Flag of the Governor-General of Canada
259
66.
Flag of the Lieutenant-Governor of Quebec
260
67.
Australian Emblems
283
68.
Australian Federation Badge
287
69.
Suggested Canadian Union Ensign
297
COLOURED PLATES.
Page
Plate I.
Frontispiece
1. English Jack—St. George's Crosse.
2. Scottish Jack—St. Andrew's Crosse.
3. Irish Jack—St. Patrick's Crosse.
Plate II.
22
1. Germany.
2. Italy.
3. Greece.
4. Hawaii.
Plate III.
76
1. The Percys' Ensign, 1560.
2. Union Jack of James I., 1606.
3. Colonial Union Jack, 1701.
Plate IV.
92
1. Commonwealth Ensign, 1648.
2. Cromwell's "Great Union," 1658.
3. Ensign Red—Charles II., 1660.
Plate V.
118
1. Union Jack of Anne, 1707.
2. Red Ensign of Anne, 1707.
3. Union Jack of George III., 1801.
Plate VI.
174
1. Grand Union, 1776.
2. United States, 1777.
3. United States, 1909.
Plate VII.
218
1. Present Union Jack upside down.
2. Jack wrongly made.
2. Jack wrongly made.
Plate VIII.
272
1. Red Ensign.
2. White Ensign.
3. Blue Ensign.
Plate IX.
280
1. Canadian Union Ensign.
2. Australian Union Ensign.
3. New Zealand Union Ensign.
St. George.
THE UNION JACK.
"It's only a small bit of bunting,
It's only an old coloured rag,
Yet thousands have died for its honour
And shed their best blood for the flag.
"It's charged with the cross of St. Andrew,
Which, of old, Scotland's heroes has led;
It carries the cross of St. Patrick,
For which Ireland's bravest have bled.
"Joined with these is our old English ensign,
St. George's red cross on white field,
Round which, from King Richard to Wolseley,
Britons conquer or die, but ne'er yield.
"It flutters triumphant o'er ocean,
As free as the winds and the waves;
And bondsmen from shackles unloosened
'Neath its shadows no longer are slaves.
"It floats over Cypress and Malta,
O'er Canada, the Indies, Hong Kong;
And Britons, where'er their flag's flying,
Claim the rights which to Britons belong.
"We hoist it to show our devotion
To our Queen, to our country, and laws;
It's the outward and visible emblem
Of advancement and Liberty's cause.
"You may say it's an old bit of bunting,
You may call it an old coloured rag;
But Freedom has made it majestic,
And time has ennobled the flag."
—"St. George."
NOTES ON FLAGS.
NAMES OF PARTS.
Particular names are given to the several parts of a flag.
The part next the flagstaff, or width, Is called the "hoist."
The outer part, or length, is termed the "fly," and also the "field."
These parts are further divided into "quarters," or "cantons": two "next the staff," two "in the fly."
These descriptive terms should be noted, as they will be in constant use in the pages which follow.
USAGE.
A flag at half-mast is a sign of mourning.
A flag reversed is a signal of distress.
The lowering of a flag is a signal of surrender.
The raising of the victors' flag in its place is a signal of capture.
The nationality of a country is shown by its flag.
The nationality of a vessel is made known by the flag she flies at the stern.
To hoist the flag of one nation under that of another nation, on the same flag-staff, is to show it disrespect.
History of the Union JackAnd Flags of the Empire.
CHAPTER I.
EMBLEMS AND FLAGS.
There is an instinct in the human race which delights in the flying of flags—a sentiment which appears to be inborn, causing men to become enthusiastic about a significant emblem raised in the air, whether as the insignia of descent, or as a symbol of race, or of nationality; something which, being held aloft before the sight of other men, declares, at a glance, the side to which the bearer belongs, and serves as a rallying point for those who think with him.
The child chortles at a piece of riband waved before him; a boy marches with head erect and martial stride as bearer of the banner at the head of his mimic battalion; the man, at duty's call, rallies to his national standard, and leaving home and all, stakes his life for it in his country's cause; and when the battle of life is closing and steps are homeward bound, the gray-beard, lifting his heart-filled eyes, blesses the day that brings him back within sight of his native flag.
At all ages and in all times has it been the same. The deeper we go into the records of the past the more evidence do we find that man, however varied his race or primitive his condition, however cultured his surroundings or rude his methods, has universally displayed this innate characteristic instinct of delighting and glorifying in some personal or national emblem.
To search for and discover the emblems which they bore thus discloses to us the eras of a people's history, and, therefore, it is that the study of a nation's flag is something more than a mere passing interest, and becomes one of real educational value, meriting our closest investigation, for the study of Flags is really the tracing of History by sight.
In ancient Africa, explorations among the sculptured antiquities on the Nile have brought to light a series of national and religious emblem-standards, which had meaning and use among the Egyptians long before history had a written record. The fans and hieroglyphic standards of the Pharaohs are the index to their dynasties.
The Israelites, at the time of the Exodus, had their distinctive emblems, and in the Book of Numbers (ch. ii. 2), it is related how Moses directed that in their journeyings, "Every man of the children of Israel shall pitch by his own standard, with the ensign of their father's house."
So it came that to every Jewish child, in all the subsequent centuries, the emblem on the standard of his tribe recalled the history and the trials of his ancestors and fortified his faith in the God of their Deliverance.
From the lost cities of Nineveh have been unearthed the ensign of the great Assyrian race, the "Twin Bull" (1), sign of their imperial might, and the records of their warriors are thus identified.
1. Assyrian Emblems.
In Europe in later times there were few parts of the continent which did not become acquainted with the metal ensigns of the great Roman Empire. The formidable Legions of their armies, issuing from the centre of the realm, carried the Imperial Eagle at their head, and setting it in triumph over many a subjugated state, established its supremacy among the peoples as a sign of the all-conquering power of their mighty Empire. To this eagle of the Roman legions may be traced back the crop of eagle emblems (2), which are borne by so many of the nationalities of Europe at the present day. The golden eagle of the French battalions, the black eagle of Prussia, the white eagle of Poland, and the double-headed eagles of Austria and Russia, whose two heads typify claim to sovereignty over both the ancient Eastern and Western sections of the Roman Empire, are all descendants from the Imperial Eagle of ancient Rome.
2. Eagle Emblems.
Austrian.
Roman.
Russian.
Prussian.
French.
As these nationalities of modern Europe have successively arisen and developed into their separate existence, the emblem of their ancient subjugation has been raised by them as the emblem of their power, just as the Cross, which was once the emblem of the degradation and death of the Christ, has been accepted as the signal and glory of the nations which have come under the Christian sway.
As on the Eastern, so also on the Western hemisphere. On all continents the rainbow in the heavens is a perpetual memorial of the covenant made between God and man—the sign that behind the wonders of nature dwells the still more wonderful First Cause and Author of them all. The Peruvians, far back in the centuries of existence on the continent of South America, had preserved a tradition of a great event which, although it had taken place on another hemisphere, yet had been, by some means, transmitted to theirs, and, tracing from it the story of their national origin, they carried this emblem as sign of the lineage which they claimed as being, as they called themselves, "The Children of the Skies." Thus it was that under the standard of a "Rainbow" the armies of the Incas of Peru valiantly resisted the invasions of Pizzaro when, in the sixteenth century, the South American Continent came under the domination of Spain.
3. Tortoise Totem.
National emblems were borne farther north on the Northern continent by another nation, even yet more ancient than the Peruvians. Embedded in the ruins of buried cities of the Aztecs, in Mexico, are found the memorials of a constructive and artistic people, whose emblem of the "Eagle with outstretched wings," repeated with patriotic iteration in the stone carvings of their buildings, has thus come down to us the mute declarant of their national aspirations. The nation itself as a power has long since passed away, but the outlines of their emblem still preserve the ideals of the vanished race.
A living instance of much interest also evidences the adherence to national emblems among the earlier inhabitants of North America. Long before the invading Europeans first landed on the shores of the North Atlantic coasts, the nomad Red Indian, as he travelled from place to place through the fastnesses of the forests, along the shores of the great lakes, over the plains of vast central prairies, or amid the mountains that crown the Pacific slope, everywhere attested the story of his descent by the "Totem" of his family. This sign of the Tortoise (3), the Wolf (4), the Bear, or the Fish, painted or embroidered on his trappings or carved upon his weapons, was displayed as evidence of his origin, and whether he came as a friend or advanced as a foe, its presence nerved him to maintain the reputation of his family and the honour of his tribe.
4. Wolf Totem.
To-day the Red Man slowly yields to the ever-advancing march of the dominant and civilizing white; his means of sustenance by the chase, or of livelihood by his skill as a trapper, have been destroyed. The Indian tribes are, under the Indian treaties, required to remain within large blocks of territory called "Reserves," so that now in his poverty he is maintained upon these "reservations" solely by the dole of the peoples by whom his native country has been absorbed; yet, though so changed in their circumstances, his descendants still cling with resolute fortitude and pathetic eagerness to these ancient insignia of their native worth. These rudely-formed emblems, in outline and shape mainly taken from the animals and birds of the plain and forest, are the memorials in his decadence of the long past days when his forefathers were the undisputed monarchs of all the wilds and possessors of its widest domains. They are the Indian patents of nobility, and thus are clung to with all the pride of ancient race.
This Instinct in man to attach a national meaning to some vital emblem, and to display it as evidence of his patriotic fervour, is thus found to be all-pervading. The accuracy of its form may not be exact—it may, indeed, be well-nigh indistinguishable in its outlines—but whenever it be raised aloft, the halo of patriotic meaning, with which memory has illumined it, is answered by the flutterings of the bearer's heart; self is lost in inspiring recollection; clanship, absorbing the individual, enfolds him as one of a mighty whole, and the race-blood that is deep within him springs quick into action, obedient to the stirring call.
The fervour of this manifestation was eloquently expressed by Lord Dufferin in narrating some incidents which had occurred during one of his official tours through Canada, when Governor-General of the country, the greatest daughter-nation among the children of the Union Jack:
"Wherever I have gone, in crowded cities, in the remote hamlets, the affection of the people for their Sovereign has been blazoned forth against the summer sky by every device which art could fashion or ingenuity invent. Even in the wilds and deserts of the land, the most secluded and untutored settler would hoist some cloth or rag above his shanty, and startle the solitude of the forest with a shot from his rusty firelock and a lusty cheer from himself and his children in glad allegiance to his country's Queen. Even the Indian in his forest and on his reserve would marshal forth his picturesque symbols of fidelity in grateful recognition of a Government that never broke a treaty or falsified its plighted word to the Red Man, or failed to evince for the ancient children of the soil a wise and conscientious solicitude."[1]
Of all emblems, a Flag is the one which is universally accepted among men as the incarnation of their intensest sentiment, and when uplifted above them, concentrates in itself the annals of a nation and all the traditions of an empire.
A country's flag becomes, therefore, of additional value to its people in proportion as its symbolism is better understood and its story is more fully known. Its combinations should be studied, its story unfolded—for in itself a flag is nothing, but in its meaning it is everything.
"What is a riband worth?
Its glory is priceless!"[2]
So long, then, as pride of race and nation exists among men, so long will a waving flag command all that is strongest within them, and stir their national instincts to their utmost heights.
CHAPTER II.
THE ORIGINS OF NATIONAL FLAGS.
With such natural emotions stirring within the breasts of its people, one can appreciate the fervid interest taken by each nation in its own national flag, and understand how it comes that the associations which cluster about its folds are so ardently treasured up.
Flags would at first sight appear to be but gaudy things, displaying contrasts of colour or variations of shape or design, according to the mood or the fancy of some enterprising flagmaker. This, no doubt, is the case with many signalling or mercantile flags. On the other hand, there is, in not a few of the flags known as "national flags," some particular combination of form or of colourings which, if they were but known, indicates the reason for their origin, or which marks some historic memory. There has been, perhaps, some notable occasion on which they were first displayed, or they may have been formed by the joining together of separate designs united at some eventful epoch, to signalize a victorious cause, or to perpetuate the memory of a great event. These great stories of the past are thus brought to mind and told anew by the coloured folds each time they are spread open by the breeze; for of most national flags it can be said, as was said by an American orator[3] of his own, "It is a piece of bunting lifted in the air, but it speaks sublimity, and every part has a voice." It is to see these colours and hear these voices in the British national flags that is our present undertaking.
Before tracing the history of our British Union Jack, some instances may be briefly mentioned in which associations connected with the history of some other nations are displayed in the designs of their national flags.
The colours of the German national banner are black, white and red (Pl. II., fig. 1). Since 1870, when, at the conclusion of the French war, the united German Empire was formed, this has been the general Standard for all the states and principalities that were then brought into imperial union; although each of these lesser states continues to have, in addition, its own particular flag. This banner of United Germany introduced once more the old German colours, which had been displayed from 1184 until the time when, in 1806, the empire was broken up by Napoleon I. Tradition is extant that these colours had their origin as a national emblem at the time of the crowning of Frederic I. (Barbarossa) in 1152, as ruler of the countries which are now largely included in Germany. On this occasion the pathway to the cathedral at Aix-la-Chapelle was laid with a carpeting of black, gold and red, and the story goes that after the ceremony this carpet was cut by the people into strips which they then displayed as flags. Thus by the repetition of these historic colours in their ensign the present union of the German Empire is connected with the early history of more than seven centuries before.
PLATE II.
1 GERMANY
2 ITALY
3 GREECE
4 HAWAIIAN
5 CHAMPLAIN 1608
6 FRENCH from 1794
The national ensign of United Italy (Pl. II., fig. 2) is a flag having three parallel vertical stripes, green, white and red, the green being next the flagstaff. Upon the central white stripe there is shown a red shield, having upon it a white cross. This national flag was adopted in 1870, after the Italian peoples had risen against their separate rulers, and the previously separated principalities and kingdoms had, under the leadership of Garibaldi, been consolidated into one united kingdom under Victor Emmanuel, the then reigning king of Sardinia. The red shield here displayed on the centre of the Italian flag designates the arms of the House of Savoy, to which the Royal House of Sardinia belonged, and which had been gained by the following ancient and honourable event:
The island of Rhodes, an Italian colony in the Eastern Mediterranean, had, in 1311, been in deadly peril from the attacks of the Turks. In their extremity the then Duke of Savoy came to the aid of the Knights Hospitallers of St. John, who were defending the island, and with his help they were able to make a successful resistance. In record and acknowledgment of this great service the Knights of St. John granted to the House of Savoy the privilege of wearing upon their royal arms the white cross on a red shield, which was the badge of their order of St. John.
So it happened when, nearly six centuries afterwards, the Sardinians again came to the aid of their southern brethren, and the King of Sardinia was crowned as ruler over the new united Italian kingdom, the old emblem won in defence of ancient liberties was further perpetuated on the banner of the new kingdom of liberated and united Italy.
The colours of the Greek flag preserve the memory of a dynasty. In 1828, the Greeks, after rising in successful rebellion, had freed their land from Mohammedan domination and the power of the Sultan of Turkey. The several States formed themselves into one united kingdom, and seeking a king from among the royal houses of Europe, obtained, in 1832, Otho I., a scion of the ruling house of Bavaria. The dynasty at that time set upon the throne of Greece has since been changed, the Bavarian having parted company with the kingdom in 1861. The throne was then offered to Prince Alfred of England, but declined by him. The present king, chosen in 1863, after the withdrawal of his predecessor, is a member of the Royal House of Denmark; yet, notwithstanding this change in the reigning family, the white Greek Cross upon a light blue ground in the upper quarter, and the four alternate stripes of white on a light blue ground in the field, which form the national flag of Greece (Pl. II., fig. 3), still preserve the blue and white colours of Bavaria, from whence the Greeks had obtained their first king.
The Tri-colour as displayed by the present Republic in France (Pl. II. II., fig. 6) has been credited with widely differing explanations of its origin, as its plain colours of blue, white and red admit of many different interpretations.
One story of its origin is, that its colours represent those of the three flags which had been carried in succession in the early centuries of the nation. The early kings of France carried the plain blue banner of St. Martin. To this succeeded, in A.D. 1124, the flaming red flag, or Oriflamme, of St. Denis, to be afterwards superseded, in the fifteenth century, by the white "Cornette Blanche," the personal banner of the heroic Joan of Arc.
It was under this royal white flag (Pl. II., fig. 5), bearing upon it the lilies of ancient France, that Cartier, in 1534, had sailed up the St. Lawrence, and Champlain, in 1608, had founded Quebec. Under this flag Canada was colonized; to it belonged the glories of the Jesuit Fathers and Dollard; with it La Salle and Marquette explored the far West, planting three fleur-de-lis as the sign of their discoveries. Under it Frontenac, Montcalm and Levis[4] achieved their renown, and all the annals of early Canada are contained under its régime until, in 1759, after the assault by Wolfe, it was exchanged, at the cession of Quebec, for the British Union Flag.
The tri-colour of Republican France was never carried by the forefathers of the French Canadians of the Province of Quebec, nor has it any connection with the French history of Canada. In fact, it did not make its appearance as an emblem until the time of the revolution in France in 1789, or thirty years after the original French régime in Canada had closed its eventful period.
More detailed evidence of the origin of this flag states that the creation of the tri-colour arose from the incident that, when the revolutionary militia were first assembled in the city of Paris, at the revolution of 1789, they had adopted blue and red, which were the ancient colours of the city of Paris, for the colours of their cockade; between these they placed the white of the soldiery of the Bourbon régime, who afterwards joined their forces, and thus they had combined the blue, white and red in the "tri-colour" as their revolutionary signal.[5]
Whether or not its colours record those of the three ancient monarchical periods, or those of the revolution, the tri-colour as a French ensign for use by the people of France, as their national flag both on land and sea, was not regularly established until a still later period, in 1794. Then it was that the Republican Convention passed the first decree[6] authorizing an ensign and directing that the French national flag (Pl. II., fig. 6) shall be formed of the three colours placed vertically in equal bands—that next the staff being blue, the centre white, and the fly red.
