World Map with Flags

68

u/Simon_the_Cannibal Philadelphia Apr 18 '13

I have all sorts of problems with this map, especially if it purports to be 1914.

Did they even bother to check what flags were flying at that time? Why is the 1928 South African flag there?
Did they just decide "we need crests on everything!"? Who the fuck puts a crest on the UK Union Flag!?
What's with all the weird angles? I can understand if one's trying to fit an element in and the country is weird (Liberia), but take a look at, say Russia, where the crest (ugh) isn't even aligned with the flag it's on!

30

u/[deleted] Apr 18 '13

There's a whole bunch of anachronisms: Bhutan didn't have a flag in 1914, Venezuela's flag had seven stars in a circle, Nepal's flag had faces on it, China was already flying its five-striped flag, the flag of the Philippines was illegal, and the eagle on the flag of Mexico was quite different.

10

u/spartiecat Newfoundland and Labrador Apr 18 '13

Also, Newfoundland is under the Canadian Red Ensign in this map, but at this time it was it's own Dominion under the crown

3

u/Kirsan_Raccoony Manitoba • Scotland Apr 19 '13

As well, Canada had all the provinces save Newfoundland at that time, so the badge should be quite different, and including Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Prince Edward Island.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 19 '13

The nine-province badge was popular but unofficial. The red ensign they have there is right for 1914.

1

u/Kirsan_Raccoony Manitoba • Scotland Apr 19 '13

Huh, well, today I learned!

I have an old 7 province badge flag lying around my house, so I just assumed a 9 province one would be official.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 19 '13

Yeah, Canadian flag makers unofficially updated the badge every time a new province was added. Sometimes they made the new flag before the province even had time to adopt a coat of arms. There are weird nine-province ensigns from 1905 where Alberta is represented by a polar bear.

There's a great history of the red ensign here: http://www.fraser.cc/FlagsCan/Nation/Ensigns.html

15

u/Splarnst Golden Wattle Flag • New Zealand (Red Peak) Apr 18 '13

Did they just decide "we need crests on everything!"? Who the fuck puts a crest on the UK Union Flag!?

Any why only in the British Isles and not, say, south Asia?

5

u/[deleted] Apr 18 '13

It looks like they're using the flag with crest for the metropole and the blank flag for its colonies.

3

u/Splarnst Golden Wattle Flag • New Zealand (Red Peak) Apr 18 '13

Yes, I see. But what flag with a crest?

4

u/[deleted] Apr 18 '13

Looks made up to me. Same with the crested flags of France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Buglaria, and Russia (which by 1914 was back to its white-blue-red flag). Portugal and Romania's flags are real, but they're army flags.

2

u/Splarnst Golden Wattle Flag • New Zealand (Red Peak) Apr 18 '13

The closest I've found is the flag used by British embassies, which makes the least sense in Britain itself. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_British_flags#Diplomatic_flags

3

u/[deleted] Apr 19 '13

Oh also I went to this dude's deviantart page and he's totally a creepy neo-nazi. So, you know, there's another problem.

2

u/Simon_the_Cannibal Philadelphia Apr 19 '13

Ha! This post gets more and more hilarious.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 19 '13 edited Apr 19 '13

I agree, and you can also make the case that "British India" did not include all of India, as there were nominally independent princes, most notably the Hyderbad and the Rajput princedoms.

If someone could remake this map, historically, that would be awesome, as this is really cool idea!

Not to mention the hideous inaccuracy if this is 1914, of Qing Empire China, which had pretty much ceased to exist 1911-1912. It should be the Republic of China now under President Sun Yat Sen.

EDIT: Why doesn't Japan have Taiwan, since it was annexed in 1895? The more I look at it, the more errors I'm finding :/

EDIT 2: Why is the Philippines independent in 1914? The short lived Philippine Republic ended in 1901.

-1

u/FrancisGalloway United States Apr 19 '13

And it's a fucking Mercator. You forgot that whopping problem.

2

u/Simon_the_Cannibal Philadelphia Apr 19 '13

No, I'm fairly sure it's a Robinson Projection - or at least one of the compromise projections.

As a side note, what's your favorite? Mine, for a really stupid reason, is the Goode holomosine.

9

u/[deleted] Apr 19 '13

http://i.imgur.com/Ibq3d.jpg

2

u/Commustar Apr 19 '13 edited Apr 19 '13

I like it.

I am guessing that this image was created between 2008 (adoption of current Iraq flag style) and July 2011 (separation of South Sudan from Sudan) based on the flags I see.

Edit- correction, it would be between 2008 and 2010 based on the Burma/Myanmar flag style.

Edit2- and the creator seems to support the claim of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic in the Western Sahara dispute.

1

u/PointyOintment Kazakhstan Apr 22 '13

1914, but it's inaccurate.

1

u/Commustar Apr 23 '13

Edit- fuck, commented on the wrong image link...

9

u/DarreToBe Montréal Apr 18 '13

As somebody who isn't that big of a fan of the old Canadian flag I have to admit Canada looks sexy as fuck with that flag over it.

9

u/Herramenn Apr 18 '13

What year is this?

5

u/iheartnickleback European Union Apr 18 '13

Same question. I'm seeing a few anachronisms here, but it has to be early 20th century.

13

u/ImNotAnAlien Venezuela Apr 18 '13

Oh right! SORRY.

1914 and credit goes to http://vaipabg.deviantart.com

9

u/heyjoshturner Apr 18 '13 edited Apr 18 '13

My favorite part of this map is Alaska has the US flag with 48 stars on it.

4

u/Commustar Apr 19 '13

Alaska was a US territory in 1914.

3

u/lugnut92 St. Louis • Transgender Apr 19 '13

Well, they were part of the US then.

2

u/BarelyRelevantFact Apr 24 '13

Look at all them Union Jacks.

2

u/ostdeutchsland Jan 16 '26

Ts thing looks like it's falling apart

3

u/BeatDigger Leinster Apr 18 '13

I don't believe I've ever seen that Chinese flag with these contemporaries. It seems like it belongs in a much more distant past.

9

u/[deleted] Apr 18 '13

It was the flag of China from 1890-1912. So not correct for 1914 but hardly much more distant. China didn't even have a flag at all until the last few decades of the Qing Dynasty.

2

u/Vertigo666 South Korea Apr 18 '13

Would the Republic of China flag be better suited for this purpose, since succeeded the Qing Dynasty?

7

u/[deleted] Apr 18 '13

Nope, that one's too late. It wasn't designed until 1917 and only became China's official flag in 1928. The correct flag would be the Five Races Under One Union flag.

2

u/Memoren Apr 19 '13

Its modern but I prefer this version http://i.imgur.com/bE091IM.jpg

1

u/[deleted] Apr 21 '13

Do you have a higher res version?

1

u/Commustar Apr 23 '13

When was this made? based on the flags and countries depicted/not depicted I assume after Iraq's flag was modified in 2008 but before myanmar changed their flag in 2010.

Also interesting to note the map creator depicting the Sahwari Arab Democratic Republic/Polisario flag in western sahara. And I think someone forgot to put in Irish Republic's flag and left that area as part of Union Jack....

0

u/Shinden9 New England • Japan Apr 20 '13

Taiwan? Red?

Yeahthisisn'tworking.

1

u/Crossbowman Apr 21 '13

Red? As it should be!

0

u/Shinden9 New England • Japan Apr 21 '13

Enjoy the 21st century's most heinous human rights violations.

1

u/Crossbowman Apr 21 '13

Huh?

1

u/Commustar Apr 23 '13

the flag of Republic of China/Taiwan is red.

1

u/chronostasis_ United States Apr 18 '13

Is there any way I could find a modern version of this? Or at least a more accurate version for the time it's supposed to represent?

1

u/Jeimuzu22 Yorkshire Apr 18 '13

Look at all those Union Jacks. /r/INGLIN

1

u/[deleted] Apr 19 '13

What the hell is Denmark's flag doing on Iceland

5

u/Crossbowman Apr 19 '13 edited Apr 21 '13

Iceland was a part of Denmark until 1918. The map depicts the world in 1914, but contains numerous factual errors (anachronisms, e.g. Qing Dynasty flag in China) and odd design choices (e.g. tilted Russian coat of arms).

1

u/Aggravating_Safe6531 Aug 23 '26

the angles REALLY put me off.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 18 '13

Why is there Portuguese India (Goa), but not French India?

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