Fun Flags From the Past Trivia Quiz

Answer: South Africa

Bantustans, or Bantu homelands, were territories set aside during the apartheid years for black inhabitants of South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia, which was administered by South Africa at the time). There were ten such territories in each, and four of those in South Africa (Ciskei, Transkei, Bophuthatswana and Venda) were declared independent, although that status was recognized only within South Africa.
The name Ciskei means "on this side of the Kei River". By contrast, the neighboring Bantustan state of Transkei, had its territory on the other side of the Great Kei River.
The capital of Ciskei was the city of Bhisho (the local word for buffalo), which is now the capital of South Africa's Eastern Cape Province.
The bird on the flag of Ciskei is a blue crane.

Answer: Democratic Republic of the Congo

The State of Katanga lasted from 1960 until 1963. Élisabethville/Lubumbashi was/is at the heart of the mining industry in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly the Belgian Congo), and Katanga's independence was primarily financed and supported by Belgian mining interests.

However, not even Belgium officially recognized the new state, despite providing it with military assistance. Located in the extreme southeast of the country, near the Zambian border, Lubumbashi is now a thriving city with population estimates of around 1.5 million.

The flag of Katanga Province still includes the three croisettes, which are based on the area's traditional currency, the Katanga Cross.

Answer: The Philippines

The Republic of Biak-na-Bato was established during the Philippine Revolution (called the Tagalog War by the Spanish) of 1896-97. Declared on November 1, 1897, the republic was established with the Philippines' first constitution. A peace treaty signed with the Spanish on December 15 that included the exile of the republic's President to Hong Kong.
A stylized version of the 8-ray Sun from the Biak-na-Bato flag appears in yellow on the Philippine flag of today. Each of the original eight rays represented one of the eight provinces that the Spanish had placed under martial law.

Answer: Java

The port city of Banten on the northwest coast of Java was once one of southeast Asia's major trading centers, particularly of pepper. Over time, its importance became overshadowed by the city of Batavia (now Jakarta) and the sultanate was eventually swallowed up by the Dutch East Indies.
The territory encompassed by the Banten Sultanate has now become Banten Province in Indonesia with its capital at Serang. The Grand Mosque of Banten, located in what is now called "The Old City" is an important destination for tourists and pilgrims.

Answer: Mughal Empire

Started thirty years earlier, the strongest period for the Mughal Empire began in 1556 with the ascension of Akbar the Great. The reign of Shah Jahan, the fifth emperor who reigned from 1628 until 1658, was the golden age of Mughal architecture. Several large monuments were built during this period, most notably the Taj Mahal at Agra, completed in 1653. His successor, Aurangzeb, who reigned for almost fifty years, saw the empire expand to encompass almost a quarter of the world's population at the time (about 150 million).

Answer: Empire of the Great Qing (China)

It was known as the Empire of the Great Qing, the Qing Dynasty or the Manchu Dynasty. Seizing power from the Ming dynasty in 1644 by capturing their capital city, Beijing, it was not until 1683, under Kangxi, the fourth emperor, that the rest of China was conquered.

A series of rebellions, revolts and unsuccessful wars against foreign powers eventually led to the demise of the empire and the last emperor abdicated in 1912.

Answer: Corsica

There is more than one variation on this flag depicting a Moor's head. In the traditional emblem, the bandanna covers the eyes, but it was moved to above the eyes in 1755 to symbolize the liberation of the Corsican people. In 1769 (co-incidentally also the year that Napoleon was born on the island), the French forced the Genoans to well the island to settle their debts. During the following twenty years of French rule, the citizens used the blindfolded version of the flag in protest. This flag was re-adopted in 1980 as the Corsican regional banner.

A similar Moor's head (but facing to the right) is also used on the flag of Sardinia, with the image in each quarter of the flag of Saint George.

Answer: Easter Island

Exactly when humans first arrived on Easter Island is a matter for conjecture, but the latest archaeological opinion is that it was around 1200. That the Polynesians could have made the 1,600-mile trip across open ocean in little more than canoes is, in itself, a remarkable story. The Dutch, Spanish and British all visited the island in the 18th Century, but it was Peruvian slavers who arrives in 1862 who virtually decimated the population. Not only did they take away about half of the population, they left behind diseases which killed many more.
Chile annexed Easter Island in 1888 and it remains today a 'special territory' of that nation.
The Easter Island flag (or the flag of Rapa Nui), features a red 'reimiro', a wooden pectoral ornament once worn by the women of Rapa Nui. In 2006, Easter Island adopted a revised version of their old republican flag, without the black figures in the corners.

Answer: Moldova

Sandwiched between Romania to the west and Ukraine on its other three sides, the Republic of Moldova became independent in March 1991. A few months later, though, and this relatively small country (a little bigger than Belgium) virtually fractured into three states, Gagauzia, Transnistria and what was left of Moldova. Following elections in 1994, the new government was able to reunite the country with the two breakaway states being given a large degree of autonomy.

Answer: Dubrovnik (Croatia)

The Republic of Ragusa was a maritime state centered in the Adriatic-coast city of Dubrovnik in modern-day Croatia. The name Ragusa comes from the Latin word for 'community' (Ragusina). At its height, the republic controlled an area of around 600 square miles (about two-thirds the size of Luxembourg) in what is now the southern part of Croatia's Dalmatia province.