Flag of Haiti

Flag origins

Haiti’s flag has blue above red with a coat of arms inside a central white rectangle, as specified in the 1987 Constitution. The arms show a palm, liberty cap, weapons, cannons and other trophies, above the motto L’Union fait la Force — Unity Makes Strength. Its dramatic origin is associated with Jean-Jacques Dessalines removing the white band from the French tricolour on May 18, 1803, and joining blue and red for the independence movement. Catherine Flon is remembered as the person who sewed them together.

Flag story

The story of tearing the white from France’s flag emerged during the revolution against slavery in the French colony of Saint-Domingue. The joined colors represented unity among different independence forces against the French army. French forces were defeated in November 1803, and independence followed on January 1, 1804. The flag later changed repeatedly. François “Papa Doc” Duvalier replaced blue with black in 1964. Blue and red returned after his son Jean-Claude’s regime fell in 1986, and the present arrangement was established by the 1987 Constitution.

Editorial notes and references

Edited by ABELHA WORKS. The English text translates the administrator-edited Japanese description. Legends should be distinguished from documented history. General reference links do not substantiate every statement in the text.

• Haiti — general information on Wikipedia
• Japan MOFA: countries and regions (Japanese)

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