Country and Flag Origins - Part Z

Well, you made it, welcome to the final blog in this series. The end is nigh my friends. I spent way too much time trying to find a pic for the thumbnail. Can anyone identify the car manufacturer from the picture. The model is called a Coupe Z, well, it was in the United Kingdom when it was on sale in the early 1970's. Actually it was just called a _____ Z, most people just added the "coupe" bit, maybe to make it sound a little sportier than the 600cc engine would allow.

Anyway, this blog contains the final two countries in the series, both obviously beginning with the letter Z, and coincidentally, both countries are in Africa, and they are neighbours. Both are former British colonies, both are landlocked, and both have the Zambezi River as part of their border. No doubt there are more coincidences, but with double the amount of countries as the last blog, I haven't the time to check them out. Must get on....

The former state of Northern Rhodesia changed it's name to Zambia upon it's independence from Britain in 1960. The flag was adopted at the same time. The green background represents the natural resources and lush vegetation of the country. The red stripe stands for the struggle for freedom, the black stripe is for Zambia's people and the people of the rest of Africa. The orange coloured stripe symbolises the wealth of minerals, especially copper, in the country. The bird is the African Fish Eagle, and symbolises the people's ability to rise above any of the country's problems.

Zambia takes it's name from the Zambezi River. Zambezi could have been named after the people that lived near to it's source. It is also theorised that the name Zambezi means "Grand River".

ZAMBIA = NAMED AFTER ZAMBEZI RIVER

Like Zambia, Zimbabwe was a former colony of the British Empire, known as Southern Rhodesia until Zambia's independence when it became just Rhodesia. Both of the Rhodesia's were named after Cecil Rhodes, an English-South African mining entrepreneur. The green colour of the flag represents agriculture and the rural areas of Zimbabwe. The yellow stands for the mineral wealth of the country, mainly gold. The red symbolises the blood shed in the struggle for independence, obviously. The black stripe represents the ethnicity, race and heritage of the people. The white triangle is a symbol of peace, and the red star represents the nation's aspirations, thought to refer to socialism as promoted by the ZANU-PF (Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front). The bird is the Great Zimbabwe Bird which is a symbol of the country, it is most likely a representation of a African fish eagle. It is thought to represent the strong bond that ancestral peoples had with animals and spirituality.

There are two theories as to the origin of the name of Zimbabwe. Many believe it derives from the Shona language words, dzimba-dza-mabwe that translate to "houses of stones". Another theory by Zimbabwean archaeologist, Peter Garlake, states that the name derives from dzimba-hwe in a dialect of Shona, and means "venerated houses" usually referring to the chiefs house or to graves. Both theories involve houses, so at least they agree on something.

ZIMBABWE = HOUSES OF STONE or GRAVES (Let's go with the houses version, I don't want to end on a sad note)

That's it! That's the last one. The series is over. So what can we take from these blogs? Well, there is one thing that comes to mind straight away. Whenever a flag has a red colour, it almost certainly represents the blood shed during the fight, or struggle, for independence from a colonial power. Whether it was Britain, France, Spain or some other empirical nation, it was always a "struggle". And there was always bloodshed. No-one, apparently gained independence peacefully. Another one just occurred to me, a white colour almost always symbolises peace, and green usually stands for agriculture or vegetation or Islam. Green does have a few meanings.

Here are a few facts about flags from Flagmakers.co.uk....

1. The largest flag ever made was a flag of Romania that measured 349 x 227 metres (1,145 x 744.5ft) that's about three times the size of a football field. It weighed five tonnes and contained 44 miles of thread.

2. In 2009, a surviving flag of the United Kingdom from the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 sold at auction for £384,000.

3. There is always a flag flying over Buckingham Palace. When the king is in residence it is the Royal Standard, otherwise the Union Flag is flown.

4. The flag of Brazil holds a record for the most changes, currently on it's twentieth incarnation.

5. We get the word “flag” from the Saxon word fflaken, which means to fly or float in the air, or to flap in the wind.

So, what happens now? Well, I'm going to take a short break. Don't worry, I'll still be here to answer any comments, and to take the daily quiz. I will be doing a little research for my next blogs, whatever they may be, and possibly a few quizzes as I mentioned in the last blog. You can't get rid of me that easily. I have yet to come up with an idea for a series of blogs, let me rephrase that, I haven't come up with a good idea for a series of blogs. I've had a few ideas but nothing that worked out. Still, never mind, it's not like I have a deadline or anything.

Anyways, that's enough from me, enjoy the last blog, and I'll see y'all soon no doubt. Stay safe and keep smiling, it takes less muscles to smile than to frown. Bye for now!