Flag of Haiti

The flag of Haiti is a bicolor flag, divided horizontally with blue on the upper half and red on the lower half. In the center, the coat of arms of Haiti is positioned in a white rectangle. The coat of arms features a palm tree, topped with the Phyrgian cap, a symbol of liberty, and surrounded by six Haitian flags. The tree is flanked by cannons, and between them are several objects, including a drum and bugles, and a broken chain. Across the bottom of the coat of arms is a banner that reads “L'Union Fait La Force,” which means “Unity is Strength.”

The colors of the Haitian flag reflect Haiti's status as a former French colony, using the red and blue from the French flag. The story behind this resemblance is that the revolutionary Jean-Jacques Dessalines created the flag from the French flag, removing the white center and rotating the stripes, the blue and red left to represent Haitians, symbolically removing any remnants of white influence. The blue represented the former slaves and the red represented the mulatto population, who are people of mixed black and white ancestry.

The flag first came into use in 1806, and was made official by the national constitution on February 25, 2012.

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Last Updated On : October 12, 2012