Part of the “History of National Flags” Series from Flagmakers
Flag of Dominican Republic - A Brief History
Where In The World
Trivia
The flag was designed by Concepción Bona and Maria Trinidad Sanchez.
Technical Specification
Adopted:
6th November 1863
Proportion: 2:3
Design:
Two blue and two red rectangles with a white cross and national coat of arms in the centre.
Colours:
PMS
Blue: 5255
Red: 032
Green: 355
Yellow: 109
Brief History
Under Spanish rule the Captaincy General of Santo Domingo was under the Cross of Burgundy flag. When Spain
ceded Santo Domingo to the French in 1795 the French blue-white-red vertical tricolour was adopted. The
national flag reverted back to the Burgundy Cross when the Spanish Empire took hold again in 1809.
The Flag of the Captaincy General of Santo Domingo
The Flag of Saint-Domingue
(1492 – 1795)
(1795 – 1809)
(1809 -1821)
In 1821 a small colony of Santo Dominico became the republic of Spanish Haiti and adopted a yellow-blue-red
horizontal tricolour. The republic only lasted till early 1822 when the area became the Unification of Hispaniola
under Haitian Rule. The Flag adopted was a blue-red horizontal bicolour with the coat of arms in the centre.
The Flag of Spanish Haiti
The Flag of the Unification of Hispaniola
(1821 – 1822)
(1822 – 1844)
In 1844 the Dominican Republic gained independence from Haiti and the new flag adopted was a blue-red
horizontal bicolour with a white cross in the centre. The flag was changed to two blue and two red rectangles
with a white cross and national coat of arms in the centre. The civil flag does not have the coat of arms.
The colours on the flag have specific meanings. The blue is for liberty, white for salvations and red for the heros
of the the Dominican Republic.
The First Flag of the Dominican Republic
(1844 – 1849)
The Civil Flag of the Dominican Republic
(1849 to Present Day)
The Coat of Arms of the
Dominican Republic
The Flag of the Dominican Republic
(1849 to Present Day)
The Coat of Arms of the Dominican Republic was adopted the 6th of
November 1844.
The flag has evolved over the years and the current version features a
shield made from the national flag with a cross and a bible in front of six
flag draped spears. On the left side is a bay laurel branch and a palm
frond on the right. Above is a blue ribbon stating “DIOS PATRIA
LIBERTAD” and below is a red ribbon stating “REPUBLICA DOMINICANA”.
The Presidential Standard of the
Dominican Republic at Sea
The Presidential Standard of the Dominican Republic at Sea features a
plain white field with national flag in the top left and golden anchor in
the centre right.
The Military Flags of the Dominican
Republic
The Flag of the Military of the Dominican Republic is a gold-bordered white field with the coat of arms protecting
a set of wings, anchor and crossed guns. The Flag of the Dominican Army is the national flag with the coat of
arms in the lower left portion and red-white-green-yellow horizontal stripes in the upper right portion.
The Flag of the Military of the Dominican Republic
The Flag of the Dominican Army
The Flag of the Dominican Air Force is a plain white field with red stripe and coat of arms in the centre, a civil
national flag in the top left and roundel bull’s-eye in the lower centre. The Naval Ensign of the Dominican Navy is
the national flag.
The Flag of the Dominican Air Force.
The Naval Ensign of the Dominican Navy
The Naval Jack of the Dominican Navy is a plain dark blue field with a white disc containing the Coat of Arms
surrounded by white five-pointed stars. The Flag of the Dominican National Police features a blue-white-green
horizontal tricolour with the civil flag in the top left corner.
The Naval Jack of the Dominican Navy
The Flag of the Dominican National Police
The Flag of the Dominican Civil Defénce is an orange field with a white bordered disc featuring an outline of the
country behind an orange triangle with the letters DC. Inside the border is the text “DEFENSA CIVIL REPUBLICA
DOMINICANA”. The Flag of the Judicial Power and Supreme Court features a purple-white-blue horizontal
tricolour with national flag in the top left and scales in the centre.
The Flag of the Dominican Civil Defence
The Flag of the Judicial Power and Supreme Court
The Flag of La Trinitaria
The Flag of La Trinitaria is the flag of a secret society that helped the Dominican Republic become independent
between 1838 and 1844. The blue-red horizontal bicolour flag features four white five-pointed stars left and right
and one above and below. There are three different versions of the white cross in the centre throughout the
flags use.
The Flag of La Trinitaria Version
One
The Flag of Trinitaria Version Two
The Flag of Trinitaria Version
THree
The Dependences Flag of the
Dominican Republic
The Dependencies flag of the Dominican Republic was adopted in 1953. It
represents the Territorial Islands of Saona, Beata and Catalina and
features a blue-white-blue horizontal flag with the national flag in the top
left corner.
The Flag of the Provinces of the
Dominican Republic
Each Province of the Dominican Republic have their own flag, here are some examples of the flags flown.
The Flag of Azua Province
The Flag of Bahoruco Province
The Flag of Barahona Province
The Flag of Dajabón Province
The Flag of Distrito Nacional
The Flag of Duate Province
The Flag of El Seibo Province
The Flag of Elías Piña Province
The Flag of Espaillat Province
The Flag of Hato Mayor province
The Flag of Hermanas Mirabal
Province
The Flag of Independencia
province
The Flag of La Altagracia Province
The Flag of La Romana Province
The Flag of La Vega Province
The Flag of María Trinidad Sánchez
Province
The Flag of Monseñor Nouel
Province
The Flag of Monte Cristi Province
The Flag of Monte Plata Province
The Flag of Pedernales Province
The Flag of Peravia Province
The Flag of Puerto Plata Province
The Flag of Samaná Province
The Flag of San Cristóbal province
The Flag of San José de Ocoa
Province
The Flag of the San Juan Province
The Flag of the San Pedro de
Macorís Province
The Flag of Sánchez Ramírez
Province
The Flag of Santiago Province
The Flag of Santiago Rodríguez
Province
The Flag of Santo Domingo
Province
The Flag of Valverde Province
The Flag of the Municipalities of
the Dominican Republic
Each Municipality within the Provinces of the Dominican Republic have their own flags. Here are some examples
below.
The Flag of Azua de Compostela
The Flag of Estebanía
The Flag of Guayabal
The Flag of Las Charcas
The Flag of Padre Las Casas
The Flag of Peralta
The Flag of Pueblo Viejo
The Flag of Sabana Yegua
The Flag of Tábara Arriba
The Flag of La Altagracia Province
The Flag of Galván
The Flag of Los Rios
The Flag of Neiba
The Flag of Tamayo
The Flag of Villa Jaragua
The Flag of Cabral
The Flag of El Peñón
The Flag of Enriquillo
The Flag of Fundación
The Flag of Jaquimeyes
The Flag of La Ciénaga
The Flag of Paraíso
The Flag of Polo
The Flag of Salinas
Flag of Santa Cruz de Barahona
The Flag of Vicente Noble