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

The Mauritanian flag is the national flag of this African Arab republic. It is a green cloth that, in its central part, has a large horizontal half moon and a star, in yellow.

In 2017, two horizontal red stripes were added at the ends, as part of President Ould Abdelaziz's ideological message. The current Mauritanian flag is the greatest symbol of representation of the country.

Mauritania flag. (Todofai).

Historically, symbols of Berber Arab dynasties had flown in the region, but with the arrival of the Europeans, the flags of the great powers began to appear in the area.

The French colonization extended in time and ended up being consolidated at the beginning of the 20th century. Consequently, the French tricolor became the flag, regardless of political status. It was not until 1959 that the Mauritanian flag was created and remained after the independence recognized in 1960.

The meaning of the flag is merely related to Islam. Green is the main color of the religion, as well as the crescent and star, both of which are more recognizable as Islamic symbols. The yellow color of these is associated with the Sahara.

History of the flag

The history of hominids in Africa is the oldest in the world, and that does not exclude the current territory of Mauritania. Some of the first known cultures were tribes of black fishermen, which expanded through this area of ​​the Sahara. However, the reality of these towns changed over time. By the Bronze Age, these tribes were Berberized.

In the 8th century, the Sanhaya formed a confederation, in what became one of the first states in the area. These Berber tribes began to receive influences from the different monotheistic religions of the area: Christianity, Islam and Judaism. Later, confederations of nomadic tribes that began to trade in slaves appeared in the area.

Almoravids

One of the great Berber states that occupied present-day Mauritania was the Almoravid. This Berber Sanhaya dynasty occupied part of the south of the Iberian Peninsula and the northwest of the African continent, in present-day Mali, Morocco and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, as well as parts of Algeria.

The Almoravid Empire was one of the most prominent nomadic tribal states since the 11th century. It was made up of Islamists with a rigorous application of the Koran and spread along the northwest coast of Africa and part of the Iberian Peninsula.

That also occupied the current Mauritania. Since 1073, that empire maintained a gray pavilion with an inscription in Arabic. Its right tip is rounded.

Flag of the Almoravid Empire. (1073). (Flad).

Almohads

For its part, the Almohad Empire was one of the successor states of the Almoravid. It was a Berber dynasty of Moroccan origin, which also spread through nomads in the desert and in the Iberian Peninsula from 1147.

Its existence corresponded to the end of the religious rigidity of the Almoravids. Their dominion extended until 1263, when the advances of other tribes and Christianity in the peninsula were diminishing the empire.

The flag of the Almohad Empire consisted of a red flag with a squared field in the central part, black and white.

Flag of the Almohad Empire. (1147). (Flad).

Sudanese empires

In addition to the influence of Arab empires, the Sudanese African empires also had preponderance. Some of those that occupied parts of present-day Mauritania were the Ghana Empire, the Mali Empire, and the Songhai Empire.

The hegemony of the Ghana Empire had to face the Almoravid Empire. However, over time, the Mali Empire spread into parts of present-day Mauritania.

One of the successor states was the Songhai Empire, which dominated part of the region until well into the 16th century. However, the Moroccan Arab dynasties also prevailed. None of these states maintained a conventional flag, as did the Arab or European kingdoms.

First European contacts

Mauritania, like this part of Africa, began to have contacts with European navigators. The first explorations were on the part of the Portuguese navigators, around the 15th century.

The region, being desert, did not appear to be attractive, but the Portuguese established a fort at Arguin in 1455. From there, they began trading in slaves that were sent to other productive Portuguese colonies in Africa.

Flag of the Portuguese Empire. (1521). (Guilherme Paula).

The Spanish and the Dutch also began to gain influence in that coastal area. The region became popular for the production of gum arabic. However, the most important arrival in the area was from the French.

First French contacts

After the Iberian navigators and conquerors, the French arrived. In 1678 they established their first permanent settlement at the mouth of the Senegal River. Indigenous groups such as the Maures began to deal with both the French and the Dutch.

French influence continued to grow from their settlements in Senegal and, at first, they supported local states like the Oualo Kingdom. Officially, the settlements located on the territory of Mauritania began to be part of the French colony of Senegal established in 1840.

That change made the French face the Maure, until they ended up colonizing the Oualo Kingdom. Finally, after years of conflict, French sovereignty north of the Senegal River was recognized.

Flag of France. (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).

Colony of Mauritania

Despite having had 250 years of French presence and the Maures having increased their power, Mauritania was still not a nominal part of the French colonial power.

One of the main reasons for this was that the French did not have absolute control of the territory. Given that, from 1901 they established a plan of "peaceful penetration" in the places controlled by the Maure.

The process lasted until 1912 and required the reorganization of various conquest strategies by the French. In 1904 the Civil Territory of Mauritania was created and, until 1912, it was when he managed to put the Adrar peoples under French orders. All this process resulted in the total conquest of the current territory of Mauritania. During that period, the French tricolor continued to be used.

Since 1895, France had grouped part of its area colonies in French West Africa. However, Mauritania was not in them. It was not until 1920 that this colony was included within the territory of French West Africa, a centralized colonial territory with its capital in Dakar.

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

The situation in Mauritania differed somewhat from the rest of the colonies, due to the existence of a significant military presence as a result of the recent pacification. Even in the territory, the Maure chiefs remained, to maintain order at the administrative level.

Second World War

During World War II, French West Africa came under the control of Vichy France, a Nazi puppet state. This was maintained for much of the war, with internal resistance.

The French West African colonies were allied in favor of Free France, led by Charles de Gaulle. In return, they agreed at the Brazzaville Conference on the bases of autonomy that later became the independence of these African territories.

Flag of Free France. (1940-1944). (by Zscout370).

Autonomy of the colony

The African colonies of France began to gain autonomy. The 1946 constitution incorporated French West Africa as an overseas territory of the French Union.

This autonomy was translated into the first election for public office and the direct representation of citizens before French institutions. However, the vote was still census and it was not until 1956 that it became universal.

Political parties also emerged, such as the Entente Mauritania, derived from the Senegalese section of the French Socialist Party. However, the political situation changed in 1956 with the application of the Loi-cadre Defferre, a law that began to transfer powers to the colonies. Those changes implied the creation of a colonial government council. The first government was established in May 1957 in the city of Nouakchott.

The possible independence of Mauritania raised serious doubts about the ethnic plurality of its inhabitants, among whom were Muslims, nomadic Berbers and black Africans.

While some African blacks proposed the union of their regions with Mali, other Berbers saw more ties with Morocco. Before that the Mauritanian Regrouping Party arose, which defended the ties with France and the unity of the territory.

Independence of Mauritania

In 1958, a new political reform took place in France. The French Union was replaced by the French Community. Faced with this change, a new constitution was drawn up, which the Mauritanians approved in September of that year. That granted them the status of an autonomous republic within the French Republic.

The political change led to the creation of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, which immediately began to draft a national constitution by a Constituent Assembly. Finally, on November 28, 1960, the country's independence was proclaimed.

First flag

Since April 1, 1959, the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, still under French rule, established its new flag. It is a green pavilion, more identified with the Arab Berber population than with the black African. Its crescent and star symbol are representative of Islam. The flag remained unchanged after the country's independence.

Mauritania flag. (1959-2017). (Unknown).

Flag change in 2017

For the year 2017, the flag of Mauritania underwent its only modification throughout its history. Following the proposal of President Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz submitted to a referendum on August 5, 2017, two horizontal stripes were added to the national flag at its upper and lower ends in red.

The reason for the addition of these stripes would be the representation of the blood shed by the martyrs of the struggle for independence against France. As part of these reforms, the Senate was also abolished and words were added to the lyrics of the national anthem.

The reform was widely rejected by the national political community. The opposition called for a boycott of the referendum, in which the 'yes' to the changes had the support of 85.6%, with a result whose legitimacy has been questioned. Since then, the use of the previous flag has been persecuted and described as a symbol of rebellion.

Meaning of the flag

Islam is the main general meaning of the national flag of Mauritania. The green color is the most representative of Islam, which makes up most of the flag.

In addition, the crescent and five-pointed star are the other main symbols of Islam, which are in the central part of the flag. Its color is yellow, associated with the color of the Sahara.

Additionally, since 2017 and after the political changes promoted by President Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz, two red stripes were added. Its existence occurs on behalf of those who fell in the struggle for independence from France.

References

1. Buresi, P. (2008). L'empire Almohad. Le Maghreb et al-Andalus (1130-1269). Recovered from persee.fr.
2. Désiré-Vuillemin, G. (1997). Histoire de la Mauritanie: des origines à l'indépendance. Recovered from africabib.org.
3. Jeune Afrique. (2017, August 17). Mauritanie: le changement de drapeau et la suppression du Sénat sont officiels. Jeune Afrique. Recovered from jeuneafrique.com.
4. Le Monde avec AFP. (December 22, 2017). In Mauritanie, brandir l'ancien drapeau is une "incitation à la rébellion." Le Monde. Recovered from lemonde.fr.
5. Smith, W. (2018). Flag of Mauritania. Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. Recovered from britannica.com.