FLAG OF GUINEA: HISTORY AND MEANING - CULTURE VOCABULARY

The flag of Guinea is the national symbol of this West African country. It is a pavilion that is made up of three vertical stripes of the same size. These are, from left to right, red, yellow and green. The Guinean flag is the only one the country has had since its independence from France in 1958.

With very little history of short-lived empires, the history of flags in what is now understood as Guinea began after French colonization in the late 19th century. Throughout this period, Guinea used the French tricolor, regardless of their colonial status.

Guinea flag. (By User: SKopp from Wikimedia Commons)

With the independence of Guinea in 1958 came the composition of the national pavilion. The country, the first independent non-Arab French colony on the continent, adopted the Pan-African colors on its flag. However, it was assigned a specific meaning corresponding to the Guinean reality.

The color red is identified with the blood shed in the colonial occupation and in the independence movement. On the other hand, yellow represents the mineral and solar wealth of the country, while green does the same, but with the national vegetation and the Islamic religion, the majority in Guinea.

History of the flag

The present Guinean territory was dominated by great empires for several centuries. A Mandingo kingdom occupied much of the territory, which was in turn dominated by the Empire of Ghana.

This situation continued until the 13th century, approximately. Later the Mali Empire was present in the territory, specifically in the north and east of the current country.

Islam and Europeans came much later through colonizers. Since the 16th century, different peoples such as the Fulani nomads adopted Islam, followed by the Manding peoples, including their leaders.

Europeans also became known on the coasts of present-day Guinea, through the trade in slaves, ivory and spices.

French colonization

France began to exert its influence through the dominance of the coasts of the entire region in the mid-19th century. The French began to expand their dominions in present-day Mali, but later took partial control of present-day Guinea.

Formally, Guinea was born as a French colony independent of the Senegalese authorities in 1891. With this, the French flag began to fly in Guinea as a symbol of the new colonial dependency.

That did not imply that the French maintained control of all current Guinean territory, since they had to face different factions.

Wassolou Empire

The French colonization did not stop the advance of the Islamic colonizing forces. In this way, the Wassolou Empire was established in 1879, led by the Islamic conqueror Samory Touré. Its territory was established between the current borders of Guinea, Mali and the Ivory Coast.

The importance of this empire in the history of the flags of Guinea is because its troops waved a flag. It consisted of a rectangle divided into three horizontal stripes of the same size.

Their colors, from top to bottom, were dark blue, light blue, and white. In the area of the flagpole, the flag featured a triangle that included a seven-pointed star in which a rhombus was added.

Flag of the Wassoulou Empire. (1879-1898). (Par An Encore Performance From The Boys In The Band, from Wikimedia Commons).

French flag

The threat of Samory Touré was extinguished when France took control of all its colonies in the early 20th century. Since before the installation of the colony of Guinea, the flag that was used was the French tricolor, composed of three vertical stripes of blue, white and red.

French West African flag. (1910-1958). (Par Deutsch: Diese Grafik wurde von SKopp erstellt.English: This graphic was drawn by SKopp.Español: This file was made by user SKopp.Suomi: Tämän grafiikan on piirtänyt SKopp.Filipino: Ginuhit ni SKopp ang grapikong ito.Portugu: Porto This graphic was unpacked using SKopp.Slovenčina: Tento obrázok bol vytvorený redaktorom SKopp.Tagalog: Ginuhit ni SKopp ang grapikong ito., Via Wikimedia Commons).

France grouped its colonies in the region into the French West Africa (AOF) political entity. Guinea remained in that status until 1958, when it managed to achieve its independence. The French flag was always the colonial symbol, and later a shield was added to identify the colony.

Seal of the general government of French West Africa. (Par Samhanin, from Wikimedia Commons).

Guinea independence

During World War II, most of the French colonies in Africa positioned themselves in favor of General Charles de Gaulle's Free France.

This support was framed in the Brazzaville Conference signed in 1944, which resulted in the liberalization of the colonies after the French constitution of 1946.

The creation of political parties and the holding of elections established Sékou Touré as the Guinean independence leader. In 1958 a referendum was held in which the colonies would enter a new political status called the French Community.

Guinea was the only territory to reject this constitutional change, for which it obtained independence immediately. This was completed on October 2, 1958.

Touré assumed the presidency and imposed a socialist military regime. The flag chosen from the first moment adopted the Pan-African colors, being the first country independent from France to do so and the third in Africa, after Ethiopia and Ghana.

The colors chosen were those used by Touré's party, called the Democratic Party of Guinea. The symbol has been around since independence.

Union of African States

Guinea was one of the few independent countries in Africa in 1958. Ghana had previously gained independence from the British Empire, and with that country the Union of African States was formed, a precursor organization of the current African Union.

The flag of this union of countries consisted of a tricolor of three horizontal stripes. The upper band was red, the middle yellow and the lower green. In the central part two black stars were added. This flag was a modification of the Ghanaian one.

Flag of the Union of African States. (1958-1961). (Thommy, via Wikimedia Commons).

The Union of African States received Mali, recently independent from France, starting in 1961. That meant adding a star, being made up of three black symbols in the yellow band. The organization was dissolved the following year.

Flag of the Union of African States. (1961-1962). (Thommy, via Wikimedia Commons).

Meaning of the flag

The Guinean national symbol is identified with the Pan-African colors, which represent the unity among the peoples of the continent. However, in the internal dynamics, a specific meaning was established for each of the colors.

Red represents the blood of the martyrs that was shed in the fight against the French occupation and for Guinean independence. It is also a symbol of sacrifice and work.

Yellow, as is customary, is the color of wealth. In the case of the flag of Guinea, it is identified with mineral wealth, such as gold, bauxite, diamond, iron and uranium. However, it is also related to the sun and justice.

Likewise, green represents the country's vegetation, composed of the savannas to the northeast and the tropical forest to the southeast. In this sense, it relates to farmers and their cooperative work, as well as solidarity. It is also linked to Islam, which is the religion most professed by Guineans.

References

Entralgo, A. (1979). Africa: Society. Editorial of Social Sciences: La Habana, Cuba.
Gouvernement Guinéen. (sf). Histoire de la Guinée. Portail Officiel Gouvernement Guinéen. Recovered from gouvernement.gov.gn.
UNDP. (sf). About the Guinée. Program des Nations Unies pour le Développement. Recovered from gn.undp.org.
Rodney, W. (1982). History of the Upper Guinea Coast: 1545–1800. NYU Press.
Smith, W. (2011). Flag of Guinea. Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. Recovered from britannica.com.

FLAG OF GUINEA: HISTORY AND MEANING - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025