The Flag of the State of Florida consists of a red saltire (diagonal cross) on a white background, with the seal of Florida superimposed on
the center. The design was approved by a popular referendum in 1900. The flag design has been in use since 1985, after the state seal was
modified and officially sanctioned for use by state officials.
From 1868 to 1900, the flag of Florida was simply the seal of Florida on a white background. In the late 1890s, Governor Francis P. Fleming
suggested that a red cross be added so that it would not appear to be a white flag of retreat hanging still on a flagpole.
As an interesting note, the State seal of 1868 itself depicts a steamboat with a white flag and a red cross or saltire, similar to Florida's
current flag or that of the Spanish Cross of Burgundy, which was for centuries the flag of Spain and the Spanish Empire, since 1506.
The current design also resembles the Cross of Burgundy flag, which was used in Florida since at least 1559, and possibly since the naming of
Florida in 1513. The Spanish Cross of Burgundy flag design is over 500 years old, predating the flag of the United States by over 200 years.
|
