Purple is one of the least used colors in vexillology and heraldry. Currently, the color appears in only three national flags: that of Dominica, El Salvador, and Nicaragua, and one co-official national flag, the Wiphala (co-official national flag of Bolivia). However, it is also present in the flags of several administrative subdivisions around the world, as well as flags of political and ethnic groups and sexual minorities.

Background In the past, purple dye was very expensive to produce, with the first compound used as one, Tyrian purple, being made from the mucus of a family of sea snail found only in the eastern Mediterranean and off Mogador Island near Morocco. To produce small amounts of it, it was required to obtain the mucus of thousands of snails, which was extremely labor-intensive. As such, it remained extremely expensive to use the dye, which resulted in it having almost no presence in flags and gaining the reputation as the color of nobility and royalty, as they were the only groups able to readily afford it. In Asia, the main dye used was Han purple, although it more closely resembles indigo.

During the Medieval Ages, in Europe, the color was used in the standard of the Kingdom of León, during the reign of Alfonso VII,Menéndez-Pidal de Navascués, Faustino (2004): El Escudo de España [The coat of arms of Spain], Real Academia Matritense de Heráldica y Genealogía, Madrid. pp. 64-78. ISBN 84-88833-02-4. and in the royal standard of the Kingdom of Castile. Both states united in 1230, forming the Crown of Castile, which continued to use the combination of their flags until 1715. In South America, during the Pre-Columbian era, the Wiphala, a flag used by the subdivisions of the Inca Empire, contained the color purple.

In the modern era, synthetic purple dyes became easier to obtain, and flags with the color purple began being used more commonly. In 1931, the Second Spanish Republic established a tricolor flag consisting of red, yellow and purple stripes as its national flag, seeing use in Spain until 1939 and by the Spanish Republican government in exile until 1977. The flag is still sometimes used by supporters of republicanism in Spain.

Currently, the color appears in only four national flags: those of Dominica, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Spain, as well as one co-official national flag, the Wiphala (co-official national flag of Bolivia). However, it is present in the flags of several administrative subdivisions around the world.

National flags

Current + Image Country Date of adoption Notes Bolivia 7 February 2009 Used as the co-official national flag; see Wiphala Dominica 3 November 1978 As purple sisserou parrot, a national symbol (see flag of Dominica) El Salvador 27 May 1912 As part of the rainbow in the coat of arms (see flag of El Salvador) Nicaragua 27 August 1971 As part of the rainbow in the coat of arms (see flag of Nicaragua) Spain 5 October 1981 As purpure lion in the coat of arms (see flag of Spain)

Historical + Image Country Years of usage Notes Sasanian Empire See Derafsh Kaviani Kingdom of León 11th century Used during the reign of Alfonso VII (1105-1157) (see heraldry of León)Dungapur State1177–15271713–1818 Crown of Castile 14th century see heraldry of Castile 15th century ca.1500–1715 Saint-Domingue 1791–1794 Flag of Saint-Domingue under the rebel control during the Haitian Revolution United Provinces of Central America 1823–1824 As part of the rainbow in the coat of arms Federal Republic of Central America 1824–1838 As part of the rainbow in the coat of arms Nicaragua 1896–1908 As part of the rainbow in the coat of arms (see flag of Nicaragua) 1908–1971 Second Spanish Republic 1931–1939 see flag of the Second Spanish Republic 1931–1939 civil ensign; see flag of the Second Spanish Republic Dominica 1978–1981 As purple sisserou parrot, a national symbol (see flag of Dominica) 1978–1981 1988–1990

Subdivisional flags

Current

+ Image Administrative division Country Date of adoption NotesAberdeenshireUnited Kingdom22 April 2023 see flag of Aberdeenshire Adjuntas Puerto Rico, United States see flag of AdjuntasAmbrolauri MunicipalityGeorgia26 November 2010 Amoroto Spain 12 July 1988 Amnat Charoen Thailand Balearic Islands Spain 1983 see flag of the Balearic Islands Barão Brazil Rio Grande do Sul Bomi County Liberia 1965 Bueng Kan Thailand 23 March 2011 Buriram Thailand 1942 Burón Spain Castile and León Canóvanas Puerto Rico, United States Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma United States Castile and León Spain 1983 see flag of Castile and León Ciales Puerto Rico, United States 1970 Department of Cuzco Peru 4 June 2021 see flag of Cusco Castile and León Spain flag variant; see flag of Castile and León ConnecticutUnited States1897see Flag of ConnecticutGu AchiTohono Oʼodham Nationsee Gunma Prefecture Japan 25 October 1968 Higuera de Calatrava Andalusia 2002 Jewish Autonomous Oblast Russia 27 October 1996 As part of the rainbow (see flag of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast) Kyoto Prefecture Japan 2 November 1976 Mamoré Province Bolivia Mesas de Ibor Spain Extremadura 1996Ninotsminda MunicipalityGeorgia20 April 2010North Chungcheong ProvinceSouth Korea2023 Okayama Prefecture Japan 1967 Peñuelas Puerto Rico, United States Quindío Department Colombia Sagarejo MunicipalityGeorgia27 May 2011 San Germán Puerto Rico, United States San Pedro de Ceque Castile and León 2005 Toužetín Czechia Val Mara SwitzerlandVirginiaUnited States28 March 1912see Flag of Virginia Yabucoa Puerto Rico, United States Yamanashi Prefecture Japan 1 December 1966

Historical + Image Administrative division Country Years of usage Notes Antisuyu Inca Empire 15th–16th century Chinchay Suyu Qullasuyu Baudh StateBritish India Department of Cuzco Peru 1978–2021 see flag of CuscoGovernorate of EstoniaRussian Empire1721–1917Dungapur StateMughal Empire1527–1713East India Company1818–1857British Raj1857–1947Jaisalmer StateEast India Company Jewish Autonomous Oblast Russia 1996 As part of the rainbow (see flag of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast)Kutlehar StateEast India Company750s–1810British Raj1810–1957Rajpipla StateEast India Company1340–1948 Ropaži MunicipalityLatvia 2000–2009 2012–2021 Borova RaionUkraineUntil 2020 Ichnia Raion Mashivka RaionNorth Chungcheong Province South Korea 1969-1998

Other flags + Image Flag Country Date of adoption Notes Flag of Mallorca Spain Flag of the island of Mallorca Flag of Pourlet France Flag of Pourlet, one of traditional regions of Brittany Wiphala Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru Flag used as the symbol of various native peoples around the area of Andes in South America. Historically associated with the Inca Empire

City flags

Current + Image City Country Administrative division Date of adoption NotesAmbrolauriGeorgiaRacha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo SvanetiSeptember 2015 Amoroto Spain Basque Country 12 July 1988 Avratyn UkraineKhmelnytskyi Oblast Bobures Venezuela Zulia 2024 Córdoba Spain Córdoba As part of the emblem Cusco Peru Department of Cuzco 4 June 2021 see flag of Cusco De Hoeve Netherlands Friesland Hermann United States Missouri Ichikawa Japan Chiba Prefecture Iznatoraf Spain Andalusia 2004 Kakogawa Japan Hyōgo Prefecture Málaga Spain Andalusia 14 March 1509 Mancha Real Spain Andalusia 2000 Markushi Ukraine Khmelnytskyi OblastMontrealCanadaQuebec13 September 2017 (most recent version)see Flag of Montreal Pegalajar Spain Province of Jaén, Andalusia São VicenteBrazilSão Paulo22 March 1976SaskatoonCanadaSaskatchewan 1952see flag of Saskatoon Siversk Ukraine Donetsk Oblast Schönau Germany Baden-Württemberg Tokyo Japan Tokyo 1 October 1964 see symbols of Tokyo Torredelcampo Spain Andalusia 2011VagharshapatArmeniaArmavir Province Valdepeñas de Jaén Spain Andalusia 2000 Villanueva del Arzobispo Spain Andalusia

Historical + Image City Country Administrative division Years of usage Notes Cusco Peru Department of Cuzco 1978–2021 see flag of Cusco MontrealCanadaQuebec 1935–1939 see flag of Montreal 1939–2017link to the image Pocatello United States Idaho 2001–2017 unofficial flag; see flag of Pocatello, Idaho

Naval flags

Current +ImageFlagCountryDate of adoptionNotesNaval Ensign of the Bolivian NavyBolivia2013also known in Spanish as the "Bandera de Reintegración Marítima".

Historical + Image Flag Country Years of usage Notes Flag of the Ministry of the Navy Second Spanish Republic 1931–1939 Flag of the captain general of the Spanish Republican Navy Second Spanish Republic 1931–1939 Flag of the admiral of the Spanish Republican Navy Second Spanish Republic 1931–1939 Flag of the viceadmiral of the Spanish Republican Navy Second Spanish Republic 1931–1939 Flag of the viceadmiral (subordinate) of the Spanish Republican Navy Second Spanish Republic 1931–1939 Flag of the rear admiral of the Spanish Republican Navy Second Spanish Republic 1931–1939 Flag of the rear admiral (subordinate) of the Spanish Republican Navy Second Spanish Republic 1931–1939

Sexual minority flags

+ Image Flag Year of adoption Notes LGBT pride flag 1978 Bisexual flag 1998 Labrys lesbian flag 1999 Asexual pride flag 2010 Demisexual pride flag 2010 Gray asexual pride flag Intersex flag 2013 Non-binary flag 2014 Philadelphia Pride Flag 2017 Progress Pride 2018

Political flags

+ Image Flag Year of adoption Notes Anarcha-feminism 2004 see anarchist symbolism Castilian nationalism Castilian nationalism, Castilian Left Communist Party of Spain (Reconstituted), First of October Anti-Fascist Resistance Groups International Brigades Marxist–Leninist Party (Communist Reconstruction) Independent Party 1982 1988 Flag used in during the 1988 Costa Rican electionsWomen's Social and Political Union

Ethnic flags Image Flag Year of adoption Notes Choctaw 1970s Kuban Cossacks Unofficial Hispanidad 1932 Winning entry in a contest organized by Juana de Ibarbourou Iroquois 1980s see also Flag of the Iroquois Confederacy Tohono Oʼodham 2008

Religious flags Image Flag Year of adoption Notes Armenian Apostolic Church Orange Ordersee Flag of the Orange Ordersometimes used in Orange Order marching bands; see Flag of the Orange Order

Organizational flags Image Flag Year of adoption Notes Supreme Court of the Dominican Republic

See also List of flags by color

References