Patriote flag

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The Patriote flag.

The Patriote flag was used by the Patriote movement in Lower Canada (present-day Quebec) between 1832 and 1838. It is highly similar to the civil flag of the German bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Some theories about its origins pretend that the colour green was adopted to represent the Irish of Lower Canada, the colour white for the "French Canadians" (now called French Quebecers) and red the English of the territory. Some also say that the tricolour style was inspired by the French tricolour, symbol of the French Revolution that inspired the Patriotes. It became the national flag of the Republic of Lower Canada at the Declaration of Independence of Lower Canada in 1838.

Nowadays, it is used by contemporary Quebec independence supporters as a symbol of their movement and ideal. As such, it serves a purpose similar to the Estelada flags, symbols of the Catalan independence movement. It is often seen in crowds at Quebec National Day concerts and gatherings and was featured at the voting day assembly of YES supporters of the 1995 Quebec referendum on independence. Alternative contemporary versions include some with a yellow star on the upper left and/or with Henri Julien's illustration of a Lower Canada rebel, Le Vieux de '37, in the middle.

[edit] References

Fraser, Alistair B. "Chapter XV: Quebec", in The Flags of Canada, January 30, 1998
(French) Gouvernement du Québec. "Le fleurdelisé : reflet de notre histoire en Amérique", in the site Drapeau et symboles nationaux of the Government of Québec, updated on January 14, 2008
(French) Cliche, Philippe. "Les drapeaux des Patriotes", in the site Les Patriotes de 1837@1838, online since May 20, 2000
(French) Bouvier, Luc. "Histoire des drapeaux québécois: du tricolore canadien au fleurdelisé québécois", in HeraldicAmerica (first published in l'Héraldique au Canada in 1994 and L'Action nationale in 1996)