The
flagA flag is a piece of fabric, often flown from a pole or mast, generally used symbolically for signaling or identification. It is most commonly used to symbolize a country...
of the Dominican RepublicThe Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are occupied by two countries...
, as described by Article 96 of the Dominican Constitution, features a centered
white White is a color, the perception which is evoked by light that stimulates all three types of color sensitive cone cells in the human eye in nearly equal amounts and with high brightness compared to the surroundings. A white visual stimulation will be void of hue and grayness.White light can be...
cross that extends to the edges and divides the flag into four
rectangleIn Euclidean geometry, the term rectangle normally refers to a quadrilateral with four right angles. This is a simple rectangle. A simple rectangle with vertices ABCD would be denoted as ....
s —the top ones are
blueBlue is a colour, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 440–490 nm. It is considered one of the additive primary colours. On the HSV Colour Wheel, the complement of blue is yellow; that is, a colour corresponding to an equal...
(hoist side) and
redRed is any of a number of similar colors evoked by light consisting predominantly of the longest wavelengths of light discernible by the human eye, in the wavelength range of roughly 630–740 nm. Longer wavelengths than this are called infrared , and cannot be seen by the naked human eye...
, and the bottom ones are red (hoist side) and blue. A small
coat of armsThe coat of arms of the Dominican Republic a shield in similarly quartered colors as the flag, supported a bay laurel branch and a palm frond ; above the shield, a blue ribbon displays the national motto: Dios, Patria, Libertad...
featuring a shield supported by a
bay laurelThe Bay Laurel , also known as True Laurel, Sweet Bay, Laurel Tree, Grecian Laurel, Laurel, or Bay Tree, is an aromatic evergreen tree or large shrub reaching 10–18 m tall, native to the Mediterranean region.-Growth:The leaves are 6–12 cm long and 2–4 cm broad, with a characteristic...
branch (left) and a palm frond (right) is at the center of the cross; above the shield, a blue ribbon displays the national
mottoA motto is a phrase meant to formally describe the general motivation or intention of a social group or organization. A motto may be in any language, but Latin is the most used...
:
Dios, Patria, Libertad (God, Fatherland, Liberty).
The
flagA flag is a piece of fabric, often flown from a pole or mast, generally used symbolically for signaling or identification. It is most commonly used to symbolize a country...
of the Dominican RepublicThe Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are occupied by two countries...
, as described by Article 96 of the Dominican Constitution, features a centered
white White is a color, the perception which is evoked by light that stimulates all three types of color sensitive cone cells in the human eye in nearly equal amounts and with high brightness compared to the surroundings. A white visual stimulation will be void of hue and grayness.White light can be...
cross that extends to the edges and divides the flag into four
rectangleIn Euclidean geometry, the term rectangle normally refers to a quadrilateral with four right angles. This is a simple rectangle. A simple rectangle with vertices ABCD would be denoted as ....
s —the top ones are
blueBlue is a colour, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 440–490 nm. It is considered one of the additive primary colours. On the HSV Colour Wheel, the complement of blue is yellow; that is, a colour corresponding to an equal...
(hoist side) and
redRed is any of a number of similar colors evoked by light consisting predominantly of the longest wavelengths of light discernible by the human eye, in the wavelength range of roughly 630–740 nm. Longer wavelengths than this are called infrared , and cannot be seen by the naked human eye...
, and the bottom ones are red (hoist side) and blue. A small
coat of armsThe coat of arms of the Dominican Republic a shield in similarly quartered colors as the flag, supported a bay laurel branch and a palm frond ; above the shield, a blue ribbon displays the national motto: Dios, Patria, Libertad...
featuring a shield supported by a
bay laurelThe Bay Laurel , also known as True Laurel, Sweet Bay, Laurel Tree, Grecian Laurel, Laurel, or Bay Tree, is an aromatic evergreen tree or large shrub reaching 10–18 m tall, native to the Mediterranean region.-Growth:The leaves are 6–12 cm long and 2–4 cm broad, with a characteristic...
branch (left) and a palm frond (right) is at the center of the cross; above the shield, a blue ribbon displays the national
mottoA motto is a phrase meant to formally describe the general motivation or intention of a social group or organization. A motto may be in any language, but Latin is the most used...
:
Dios, Patria, Libertad (God, Fatherland, Liberty). Below the shield, the words
República Dominicana appear on a red ribbon (this red ribbon is depicted in more recent versions as having its tips pointing upward -see image below-). In the center of the shield, flanked by three spears (two of them holding Dominican banners) on each side, is a
BibleThe Bible contains the central religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. Modern Judaism generally recognizes a single set of canonical books known as the Tanakh, or Hebrew Bible, as it is written almost entirely in the Hebrew language, with some small portions in Aramaic...
with a small cross above it, which is opened (according to popular belief) to the
Gospel of JohnThe Gospel of John , is the last of the four canonical gospels. This non synoptic gospel is an account of the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth...
, 8:32, which reads
Y la verdad nos hará libre (And the truth shall make you free).
The
blueBlue is a colour, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 440–490 nm. It is considered one of the additive primary colours. On the HSV Colour Wheel, the complement of blue is yellow; that is, a colour corresponding to an equal...
on the flag stands for liberty.
The
white White is a color, the perception which is evoked by light that stimulates all three types of color sensitive cone cells in the human eye in nearly equal amounts and with high brightness compared to the surroundings. A white visual stimulation will be void of hue and grayness.White light can be...
on the flag stands for salvation.
The
redRed is any of a number of similar colors evoked by light consisting predominantly of the longest wavelengths of light discernible by the human eye, in the wavelength range of roughly 630–740 nm. Longer wavelengths than this are called infrared , and cannot be seen by the naked human eye...
on the flag stands for the blood of heroes.
The
civil ensignThe civil ensign is the national flag flown by civil ships to denote nationality....
follows the same design, but without the
chargeIn heraldry, a charge is any emblem or device occupying the field of an escutcheon . This may be a geometric design or a symbolic representation of a person, animal, plant, object or other device...
in the center.
The flag was designed by the leader of the Trinitarians. He altered the layout of the blue and red of the Haitian flag, placing a large white cross over it to symbolize faith. To create distinct flags for state and civil use, the coat of arms, adopted in 1844, was placed on the state flag. The civil flag, on both land and sea, does not carry the coat of arms.
The arms depicts a Bible open at the first chapter of St. John's Gospel. This is placed on a trophy of national flags, on a shield of the same design. The password of the Tritarian movement- Dios, Patria, Libertad ("God, Country, Freedom")is on the upper blue scroll. The lower red scroll contains the state title Republica Dominicana ("Dominican Republic").