On this day, July 12 1975, São Tomé and Príncipe acquired its independence and adopted its current flag. There were other proposals though. Here are some of them.

CouchPotato, 10 months ago

This is high quality content, thanks for sharing OP.

megane_kun, 11 months ago

I didn’t see the yellow when I was looking at it via a mobile app. That’s how narrow it is.

megane_kun, 11 months ago

Proposal 8 looks the best imo, but I think it would be better if the stars are yellow to contrast with the red band it is on. It would also be more balanced that way.

akhenaten0, 11 months ago

I would like 8 better if the yellow were either absent or stronger (as in Tanzania) As it is, it’s too narrow.

Also, maybe they decided against it because Tanzania’s flag was decided ten years earlier.

megane_kun, 11 months ago

I would like 8 better if the yellow were either absent or stronger (as in Tanzania) As it is, it’s too narrow.

I didn’t see the yellow when I was looking at it via a mobile app. That’s how narrow it is.

Zehzin, 11 months ago

Proposal 1 looks like it was made specifically to spite French Guyana

similideano, 11 months ago

I love how many african nations share a distinctive style in their flags. You often see the flag of a country you’re not familiar with and you can tell it’s from Africa. I wonder why that is, on the one hand it’s natural that nearby countries would share a lot of symbology, but this effect doesn’t strike me as so pronounced in other regions of the world, except the nordics, and maybe parts of the caribbean. Probably my biases showing though.

MurderousMuffin, 10 months ago

You might find the following video will answer some of your questions: youtu.be/8J-LFoj7xC8

The similarities, particularly in the colors used, are very much intentional.

similideano, 10 months ago

That was a great video, thank you!

akhenaten0, 11 months ago

All of these are absolute fire. The vote must have been wild.

For me, what they chose is great. 1 and 4 are also fantastic, but for even greater distinctiveness and panache, I wish they’d picked 6!