The flag of

Menorca Menorca or Minorca (from la, Insula Minor, , smaller island, later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Majorca. Its capi ...

was adopted on 14 November 1983. The flag depicts nine alternating horizontal bands of yellow and red emblazoned with the coat of arms of the ''Universitat General'' offset towards the hoist in the centre.

History

On 8 August 1983 the regional council of Menorca established a commission to research symbols related to the island for usage on a flag. The commission concluded that there had never been an official flag of Menorca but that that island heavily relied on symbols of the Kingdom of Aragon for identification. The earliest use of the Aragonese flag, the

Senyera The Senyera (; meaning "pennon", "standard", "banner", "ensign", or, more generically, "flag" in Catalan) is a vexillological symbol based on the coat of arms of the Crown of Aragon, which consists of four red stripes on a yellow field. This ...

, was dated back to 1232. The colours were officially adopted by the island following the defeat of the

Moors The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a distinct or ...

by Alfonso III in 1287. The Coat of Arms was chosen to reference the ''Universitat General,'' the municipal administrative body of Minorca between the 15th and 19th centuries. The coat of arms depicts a tower topped by a staff surmounted by a

cross potent A cross potent (plural: crosses potent), also known as a crutch cross, is a form of heraldic cross with crossbars at the four ends. In French, it is known as '' croix potencée'', in German as a ''Kruckenkreuz'', all translating to "crutch cross ...

and a vane pointing to the right. The tower surmounts a building and is surrounded by a pentagonal wall with a gate in the front and four angle towers leaning towards the central tower. On the left and right are placed to crowned shields of

Crown of Aragon The Crown of Aragon ( , ) an, Corona d'Aragón ; ca, Corona d'Aragó, , , ; es, Corona de Aragón ; la, Corona Aragonum . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of ...

; the whole design is inscribed in an octagon with curvilinear sides. The council decided that both emblems were sufficient enough and they were combined to create the flag om 14 November 1983. During the period of

British rule The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was hims ...

between 1708 and 1802, the Union flag of Great Britain was used throughout the island.

References

Flag

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