boring flags

Why are some countries’ flags so boring? Just two or three stripes. In fact, some of them, like Monaco and Indonesia, even use the same pattern.

This question particularly applies to the newer countries, who couldn’t have had too ancient a tradition as to what their flag should be.

A very encyclopedic reference on vexillology (the study of flags) can be found here:

http://fotw.vexillum.com/flags/index.html

You may look up the individual countries you are curious about, and, in many cases, find articles concerning what the flag represents and how it was adopted.

I think a quick answer might be that most newly formed countries have some kind of tradition they are drawing on - “we used to be a nation 600 years ago before those bastards over there conquered us, and now we are again”. Often, the flag is meant to be evocative of that tradition, or a resurrection of a banner used at some earlier point in history - “600 years ago our colors were green and yellow, so now that we’re independent again, we’ll have a green and yellow striped flag”.

Monaco / Indonesia does seem to be a duplicate pattern, but the proportion is different. If someone asks you “what are the only two countries who share an identical flag?” answer “Chad and Romania”.

If you think Monaco is boring, what about Libya?

I think also that because flags have been meant to be easily recognized in battle, or at sea, simplicity of design became a desideratum. The importance of quick recognition has faded, but the tradition remains.

The importance of the French tricolor also should be emphasized: after the Revolution, nation after nation adopted their own stripey flags, following the French example.

Is it true about the flag for Haiti? That it was formed from a revolutionary leader tearing apart the French flag (as Haiti was under French rule), removing the white and sewing the red and blue together?