Ten More National Flags Went Into a Bar (Part II) Quiz

Answer:

The flag of Portugal was officially adopted in 1911 after the monarchy had been deposed by a revolution in 1910. It has a vertical green stripe on its left side and a wider red stripe on its right and, possibly coincidentally, these were the colours of the Republican Party. On this background is the Portuguese coat of arms, which consists of an armillary sphere, an instrument used by sailors, surrounding several shields of different sizes placed on top of each other.

Although its design was based on that of a 1970 flag, the national flag of Bangladesh was only officially adopted in 1972 after a war in 1971 had gained the country independence. More than one meaning has been given to the background's green colour and the circle's red colour but it is agreed that the circle represents the sun. The Japanese flag's official name translates into English as the 'flag of the sun', which links with the country's nickname of 'Land of the Rising Sun'. The sun has both been linked with the Japanese Imperial family and depicted on the country's flags in different ways for many centuries. However, the current plain red circle on a white background was only adopted as Japan's national flag in 1870.

There are similarities between the flags of Argentina and Uruguay as both have horizontal blue and white stripes and a golden yellow sun with a face and with straight and wavy rays emanating from its centre. This sun is the Sun of May, which symbolises the 1810 May Revolution that took place in both countries. Although slightly modified in 2010, the Argentinian flag is still essentially the one that became the national flag in 1818, and has a white horizontal stripe in between two blue ones. Its sun is in the middle of the flag and has sixteen straight rays alternating with sixteen wavy ones. The current design of the Uruguayan flag was officially adopted in 1830 and has five white and four blue horizontal stripes with a larger Sun of May shown against a white background on its upper left corner, although this sun has only eight straight and eight wavy rays.

Another flag with stripes is the Canadian flag, which has, from left to right, vertical stripes of red, white and red and a large red maple leaf in its middle. The maple was first used as a symbol by two provinces in 1868 but only formed part of the national flag when this current design was officially adopted in 1965. The flag of Lebanon also has a white stripe in between two red ones but these stripes are horizontal and in the flag's centre is a cedar tree, which represents the Cedar of Lebanon, a tree which has grown in Lebanon for a great many centuries. This flag was adopted in 1943 as Lebanon became independent, although its design was influenced by that of a previous flag.

The design of the flag of Saudi Arabia, which was officially adopted in 1973, includes a plain green background with the words 'There is no god but the Allah; Muhammad is the Messenger of the Allah' written on it in white Arabic script. Underneath the writing is a white sword or sabre, and this evolved from the curved-bladed scimitars shown on earlier flags. The flag of Barbados also has a potential weapon of a black trident in its centre. The flag consists of three vertical stripes with a dark-blue stripe at each side and a golden one in the middle, the colours believed to represent the sea, sand and sky. This flag was adopted in 1966 when Barbados became independent and, as its predecessor included a complete trident, the Barbadian one is broken to show the country's break from its past.

When Cyprus became an independent state in 1960 it adopted a national flag with a white background upon which is a copper-coloured silhouette of the island. Underneath the silhouette are two green olive branches, which were intended to symbolise peace between the island's Greek and Turkish inhabitants. In 2006, the proportions of parts of the flag were changed but the design remained the same.