The Venezuela flag was first designed over 200 years ago. The flag consists of a traditional tricolor design complete with a set of stars in the middle and the Venezuela coat of arms in the upper left.
The flag was originally designed by a man named Francisco de Miranda, a Venezuelan revolutionary. Miranda is most well known for his attempts to liberate Spanish America, and although he was not successful in his efforts he is widely regarded as the forerunner of Simon Bolivar, another well known revolutionary. It is widely noted that Francisco de Miranda created the current design for the Venezuela flag in the year 1806, after a failed attempt to liberate the Venezuelan people. Interestingly enough, de Miranda is said to have inspired the flags of Colombia and Ecuador as well.
The Venezuela flag is primarily a tricolor design of red, blue and yellow. In the flag, the color blue represents courage. The red represents independence from Spain, while the yellow band represents the wealth of the land. There was a collection of 7 stars in the center of the flag; however another star was added by Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez in 2006. The seven stars were originally intended to represent the seven provinces in Venezuela (Barcelona, Barinas, Caracas, Cumana, Margarita, Merida and Trujillo). These provinces originally united against Spain in the Venezuelan War for Independence, which lasted from 1811 until 1823.
The Venezuelan flag has experienced a number of changes during its history. In the early 19th century, the collection of seven stars was added to the blue band of the flag. In the year 1954, the Venezuelan Coat of Arms was added to the flag; however the coat of arms was not added to any civil or maritime flags. Finally, in the year 2006, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez ordered that an eighth star be placed upon the Venezuelan flag – a decision that has been met with heavy opposition.
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