Lauren1

Lauren1


 * Peruvian Flag**

The first Peruvian flag was made in 1820. It was made when Jose de San Martin arrived in Peru. The Peruvian flag has the colors red and white on it (Smith). It’s said that those colors were chosen because Jose de San Martin saw a flock of flamingos when he first arrived (Smith). On March 15, 1822 the flag was changed to have 3 horizontal stripes (red-white-red) with a red sun in the middle. The sun represented the Inca Empire (Smith). But 16 days later the horizontal stripes were changed to vertical stripes but the sun remained in the middle. The white stripe represents the purity of Peru, and the red is said to symbolize the patriots’ blood (Smith). On February 25, 1825 the symbol in the middle was changed. Instead of the sun, it had a shield divided into 3 sections on it. The first section has a vicuña, which is like a llama. It stands for national pride, freedom and heroism. The second section cinchona tree and the third has a cornucopia which represents the countries mineral wealth (Smith). There are 3 versions of the flag used today (Wikipedia/flag). The first form is the one used for civilians. It simply has 3 vertical stripes; 2 red and one white. The next is the state flag, which is used by state institutions and during ceremonies. Finally there is the war flag. It is only flown by the Peruvian military or police. The war flag usually has details on it such as which service name and number (Wikipedia/flag).