Dominican Republic Flag: Meaning, Cross, Coat of Arms & History

A broad white cross reaches all four edges and divides the flag into four quarters. The upper hoist and lower fly quarters are ultramarine blue, while the upper fly and lower hoist quarters are vermilion red. The national coat of arms appears at the center.

Juan Pablo Duarte conceived the original flag design within the Trinitarian independence movement. The first flag was made by women including María Trinidad Sánchez, María de Jesús Pina, Isabel Sosa and Concepción Bona and was raised on February 27, 1844.

The first Constitution, promulgated on November 6, 1844, formally adopted the flag and established the alternating arrangement of the red and blue quarters used today.

The emblem includes an open Bible at John 8:32 with a cross above it, four national flags, three spears, a laurel branch, a palm branch and ribbons carrying the motto Dios, Patria, Libertad and the words República Dominicana.

The emblem evolved through numerous nineteenth-century versions before the current heraldic form was standardized in 1913.

The Dominican merchant flag uses the same red, white and blue layout but omits the national coat of arms. The coat of arms is therefore the clearest visual difference between the two official variants.