Uruguay Flag - Oriental Republic of

The blue and white colors are modeled after the flag of Argentina, and the nine stripes represent the nine departments within the country.

The national flag of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay or Pabellón Nacional was initially adopted on December 16, 1828 based on a design by Joaquín Suárez. The flag consisted of a field containing seventeen equal horizontal stripes alternating white and blue. The canton is white, charged with the Sun of May, from which 16 rays extend from a festive human face with an alternating triangular and wavy design. The current design was adopted on July 11, 1830 when the number of stripes was reduced to nine.

The Sun of May has been the national symbol of Uruguay since the 19th century when it was introduced to celebrate independence from Spain. The blue and white colors are copied from the flag of Argentina, and the nine stripes represent the nine original departments within the country an idea copied from the US.