Among the main state symbols of our planet, the coat of arms of Haiti is probably the most militant. The central place on it is occupied by various types weapons and items symbolizing war trophies. The artists who developed the sketch subconsciously sought to present the country as combat-ready, ready to defend its borders.

History of the coat of arms of Haiti

Appearance state symbol associated with the struggle for independence from France and gaining freedom. The main achievement of the Haitian revolution was the formation of the first republic on the planet led by blacks. In addition, Haiti is the second independent state in America, after, of course, the United States.

The country gained independence in 1804, and the coat of arms was approved in 1807. It existed for more than forty years until General Faustin seized power, and he called himself Emperor Faustin I.

In connection with this change in the political situation in the country, the coat of arms received imperial attributes, which remained until 1859, until the country returned to republican form board. Accordingly, the coat of arms of Haiti returned to its previous appearance, further changes were minor.

Basic elements

The image of the main symbol of the Republic of Haiti is a reflection historical events, modern realities and hopes. Among the many details, the following stand out: a palm tree topped with a Phrygian cap; various weapons; fighting pipes; anchors; motto written on a white ribbon.

The tropical palm depicted on the coat of arms is the euterpe (euterpe), also called the cabbage palm. It grows throughout South and Central America. In the main symbol of Haiti, it symbolizes the wealth of the country.

The Phrygian cap is a symbol of freedom in Medieval France, migrated through Atlantic Ocean and took places on the coats of arms of many states. But the situation with weapons is the opposite; various types are gathered on the Haitian symbol. There are firearms (guns, cannons), bladed weapons (axes), shells (cannonballs), and trophies (flags, anchors).

The color palette of the Haitian coat of arms is also pleasing with its variety and brightness: the green island and feathery palm leaves, the blue and red colors present in the color of the flags and cap, and a lot of yellow details. The composition is crowned with a snow-white ribbon with the inscription “The Union creates strength.”

Coat of arms of Haitiofficially adopted in 1807. The coat of arms depicts a cabbage palm surrounded by a Phrygian cap, symbolizing freedom, and trophies - guns, flags, axes, cannons, cannonballs, war pipes, anchors, etc. The motto on French"L'Union Fait La Force" in the Haitian flag means "Union creates strength."

In 1804 the island achieved independence from France and received the old Indian name - Haiti. The flag of the country became a blue and red banner. Its origin is associated with the events of the times national liberation struggle. To raise the spirit of the rebels, their leader, the Negro Jean Dessalines, tore out the white stripe of the monarchy from the hated French “tricolore” - the flag of the enslavers. This banner became a symbol of the union of blacks and mulattoes in their common struggle for freedom.

In 1843 national flag Haiti was officially approved: the upper half of its cloth was blue, the lower half was red, the coat of arms was depicted in the center - a palm tree with a “Phrygian cap”, national banners, guns with bayonets, cannons and cannonballs, a drum, anchors and the inscription: " LUnionFaillaForge "("In unity there is strength"). The trade flag did not have a coat of arms.
Although according to the Haitian constitution republic, in the country Tyranny reigns. Since 1957 The dictator of Haiti was “Papa Doc” - Francois Duvalier, who established a bloody regime of terror in the country. The dictator considered himself the embodiment of the nation and publicly declared: “I am the flag of Haiti, one and indivisible.”
In 1963 The national flag of Haiti has been changed. It is divided vertically: half of the flagpole is black, the other half is dark red; the coat of arms is depicted in the center.

adopted in 1807, current edition - 1986

At the top of a palm tree Phrygian cap, a sign of supposedly existing civil freedom on the island. This image was drawn 200 years ago from the arsenal of symbols of the French Revolution (the island of Haiti was a French possession in 1677-1804).

Haiti - the first colonial possession in Latin America which gained independence.

Palm on green hill-island.

Guns with fixed bayonets.

Cannons. Drum.Hatchets. Buglers' trumpets. Anchors.

Motto in French: L'union fait la force - Union gives strength.

The national banners consist of two horizontal stripes - blue (upper) and red (lower). The origin of these stripes is explained as follows. When the island was a French possession, the French tricolor was used here: vertical blue, white and red stripes. During the liberation uprising against the French, the Haitians tore down the French flags, tore out the white stripe from them, and attached the remaining two to the pole, but now, of course, not vertically, but horizontally. Subsequently, the stripes were sewn together and became the national flag.

During the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, it was discovered that the Haitian and Liechtenstein teams were flying the same flags. As a result, after some time the Liechtensteinians added a crown to their flag.

Haitians currently use a blue and red flag with the addition of a coat of arms in the center. Thus, on the country’s coat of arms the coat of arms itself is invisibly present at least six more times (according to the number of banners); theoretically, it repeats endlessly, decreasing each time: flags on the coat of arms, coats of arms on flags, flags on coats of arms...

Along with flag , anthem, motto (see description) and national colors (blue and red). The emblem has been known since early XIX century, in modern form- since 1986.

Description [ | ]

According to the 1987 Constitution, the emblem of Haiti is described as follows:

The Haitian emblem features six blue and red flags of the Republic of Haiti, three on each side, behind a palm tree and two cannons. In front of the guns are trophies: drum, bugle, guns, ship anchors, etc. Banners and pennants symbolize independence, anchors - hope, and weapons - the struggle for freedom and independence in the past and the determination to preserve it in the present and future. Palm tree topped Phrygian cap, symbolizing freedom. At the bottom of the emblem there is a ribbon with an inscription. After the overthrow of the Duvalier regime, a torn piece appeared just above the ribbon. gold chain as a symbol of victory over dictatorship.

It should be noted that the inscription on the coat of arms is not a national motto. According to Article 4 of the Constitution, the motto of Haiti is “ Liberté - Egalité - Fraternité " (French " Freedom, Equality, Fraternity») .

History of the emblem [ | ]

Proclamation of the Civil Commissioner of the French Republic L.-F. Sontona, abolishing slavery in northern Haiti (1793). In the upper part there is an emblematic design, partly similar to the later adopted emblem of Haiti.

Origins of the emblem [ | ]

The emblem of Haiti was formed under the strong influence of government and national symbols France that period. On official papers of the French Republic at this time, emblematic designs were often depicted, mostly or in individual elements coinciding with the later emblem of Haiti. For example, it is almost identical to the image on the letterhead of the French general Pierre Quantin, who was the immediate superior Jean-Jacques Dessalines.

Emblem of the Republic of Haiti (1807? - 1844? - 1849, 1859-1964, 1986 - present)[ | ]

The emblem of Haiti has been used since the beginning of the 19th century, however, unlike the flag, it was not mentioned in the early constitutions of the state. The emblem can be judged based on images on money and official papers of Haiti. The emblem appeared in the presidency Alexandra Petiona(1807-1818). The first year of his reign is considered to be the conditional date of the appearance of the emblem. However, there is information that it appeared under Desalins. The first official description of the emblem was given in the Constitution of 1843. It read:

It should be noted that the emblem never received a detailed description, so throughout history its individual elements could change.

Other coats of arms and emblems[ | ]

State seal of the State of Haiti, approved in 1808 (reconstruction).

Despite the fact that the current emblem is the oldest symbol of the country, there have been periods throughout the existence of Haiti when it was replaced by another emblem or coat of arms.

Seal and coat of arms States of Haiti (1806-1811) [ | ]

In the initial period of the existence of the Republic of Haiti, in the north of the island there was an independent state led by Henri Christophe. At first, the state did not have a coat of arms, but the state seal and coins had the monogram “HC” (“ Henri Christophe"), crowned with a wreath of oak branches and the inscription “ Liberas religio mores"(lat. " Freedom of religion"). In 1808, a new coat of arms was adopted - an oval, inside of which were depicted stars and a sun with a human face rising from the sea. Has also been changed state seal: now it represented an oval, inside of which the coat of arms was depicted, at the top there was the inscription “ Etat d'Haity" (French " State of Haiti"), and below were crossed branches of laurel.

Coat of arms Kingdoms of Haiti (1811-1820) [ | ]

Great coat of arms of the Kingdom of Haiti.

In 1811, A. Christophe proclaimed himself King Henri I and northern Haiti a kingdom. By decree of April 1, 1811, Henri Christophe adopted a new coat of arms: on a blue shield dotted with gold stars, a red phoenix crowned with a gold crown is depicted. Around the shield there was a motto - “ Ex cineribus nascitur"(lat. " I rise from the ashes"). This coat of arms served as the basis for the small, medium and large royal coats of arms adopted later, but was not completely abolished, and, changing in detail, appeared on coins until the end of the kingdom’s existence.

Great coat of arms of the Kingdom of Haiti: the French coat of arms depicted a phoenix rising from flames on a gold (or blue, there were two variants) field dotted with five-pointed stars, accompanied by a silver ribbon with the motto " "Je renais de mes cendres"(fr. " I am reborn from my ashes"); The shield was decorated with a crown and the Order of St. Henri (created king on 20 April 1811); under the shield there was a ribbon with the motto “ Dieu, ma cause et mon épée"(fr. "God, my cause and my sword"). The shield holders are two crowned lions. This coat of arms was probably considered the main one; in any case, it was printed on some of the issues of the official newspaper of the kingdom “Gazette royale d’Hayti” and on title page books “Code Henry” (an annual official collection of laws and regulations of the kingdom).

In 1820, A. Christophe's successor, Jean-Pierre Boyer, reunified Haiti and ended the kingdom's existence.

1844 emblem [ | ]

Great coat of arms of the Second Empire of Haiti.

In 1844, the blue and red flag was briefly replaced by the old black and red flag. It is quite possible that the emblem also changed at the same time - the flags on it could have changed accordingly from blue-red to black-red.

Coat of arms Second Empire of Haiti (1849-1859) [ | ]

When President Faustin Souluk proclaimed himself Emperor in 1849 Faustin I, he adopted a new coat of arms. The large coat of arms of the Haitian Empire had the following composition: the figured coat of arms depicts a palm tree, two cannons and a (French) imperial eagle; the shield was covered with a mantle and topped with a crown; The coat of arms was decorated with the Order of St. Faustena (created Emperor on September 21, 1849) and a ribbon with a motto that read " Dieu, ma patrie et mon épée" (French " God, my country and my sword"). Shield holders - two lions. At first the field of the coat of arms was golden, but soon, apparently after the coronation, it was changed to blue.

The Emperor was forced to leave the country in 1859, after which the old state emblem was restored.

Emblem of Haiti times F. Duvalier And J.-C. Duvalier (1964-1986) [ | ]

On June 21, 1964, President F. Duvalier, who had recently come to power, restored the black and red flag established by the 1805 Constitution. The emblem was also changed: the blue and red flags were replaced by black and red ones; the Phrygian cap was removed from the top of the palm tree. In 1986, his son Jean-Claude Duvalier was removed from power and the old emblem was immediately restored and formalized in the new constitution adopted the following year. This emblem is the official symbol of the Republic of Haiti to this day.

The reverse of the 1 gourde banknote depicts the emblem of Haiti from the time of Duvalier (1979).

See also [ | ]

Notes [ | ]

1. (undefined) .
2. Heraldic album. Sheet 21 | Publications | Around the World (Russian). www.vokrugsveta.ru. Retrieved August 15, 2018.
3. L. V. Spatkay. Emblems and flags of the countries of the world. America. - “Publishing solutions”. - P. 118. - ISBN ISBN 978-5-44-833363-7.
4. (undefined) .
5. The Haitian Coat of Arms (English) , Haiti and the Atlantic World(September 15, 2013). Retrieved August 16, 2018.
6. HAITI (undefined) . www.hubert-herald.nl. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
7. Haiti-Référence: 6120.- Les Symboles d’Haiti: Armes et Devise(French). www.haiti-reference.com. Retrieved August 14, 2018.