Why the Dutch Flag Doesn't Have Orange - The History of the Dutch Flag

Why is the Dutch flag not orange? The colours of the Dutch flag are red, white, blue. The history of the flag of the Netherlands is an interesting one and goes back to the County of Holland. When the Dutch provinces led by Holland were revolting against Spain in the so-called Dutch Revolt. In the Dutch history this revolt is also know as the Eighty Years' War (Tachtigjarige Oorlog) and took place in the Low Countries. William of Orange (Willem van Oranje) started the uprising in 1568 and was assisted by the Sea Beggars (Watergeuzen) to fight off the Spanish. These men fought under the Prince's Flag (Prinsenvlag) which was coloured: orange, white and blue (also called: oranje-blanje-bleu). The conflict ended in 1648. After this the Dutch Republic adopted the States Flag (Statenvlag). The Dutch East India Company (VOC – Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie) and the Dutch West India Company (WIC – West-Indische Compagnie) made both use of the States Flag with their logo in the middle white part.

In 1795 the Batavian Revolution (in the aftermath of the French Revolution) took place and the downfall of the Dutch Republic was a fact. Now the Batavian Republic was created: a French client state. This republic was succeeded by the Kingdom of Holland, the French Empire and the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. From that point on the red, white, darkblue flag was in use.

It was made official in the 1930s by Queen Wilhelmina who signed a royal degree outlawing the Prince's Flag. By this time the Prince's Flag was used by the Dutch fascist organisation NSB (Nationaal-Socialistische Beweging). During the Second World War in the Netherlands the swastika flag was used. After the Liberation of the Netherlands in WW II the old flag came back. The Dutch flag inspired many other flags. The flag of Luxembourg and the Netherlands look very similar but have actually no relation with each other. The old flag of South Africa as well as the flag of New York do have ties with the Dutch flag. Also the flags of the Dutch Caribbean (Dutch Antilles) have similarities with the flag of the Netherlands. In this video you will learn why the Dutch flag is not orange.
History Hustle presents: Why the Dutch Flag Does't Have Orange - The History of the Dutcg Flag.


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IMAGES
Images from commons.wikimedia.org; goodfreephotos.com; pixabay.com; picryl.com; flickr.com.

MUSIC
"Division" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b...

"Mesmerize" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
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"Devastation and Revenge" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
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SOUNDS
Freesound.org


Thanks to Lennart for borrowing his props!

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