The Spanish flag is quite recent. The current flag was invented in 1785. The Royal Decree of 1785 May the 28th by king Carlos III created a new flag for the Spanish Navy. So next monday it will be its 222 aniversary.

Flags in past times were military banners and its use and signification was different than it is nowadays.

Before the current flag there wasn't a unique flag.
Every royal and noble familie had its own coats of arms. There were different flags depending of the military corps, division or military order.

History of the Spanish flags by the Spanish Ministry of Defense
History of the Spanish flag from the oficial web page of the Spanish Navy
History of the Spanish flag from the oficial web page of the Spanish Presidency

muy interesante. tambien España fue unida cristiana en marzo del 1492 y en octubre del mismo año hizo un descubrimiento inolvidable.
Que bandera uso entonces?

pedmar, please, this is an English-language category. Please edit your posting into English by clicking the PEN/PAPER icon to edit. Thank you.

Saludos, MadridMan

Hi Pedmar,

The ships for the first trip to America were ships from the Castilian Navy.
They carried the Castilian flag and the "Bandera Capitana del Almirante de Castilla" (the flag of the Castilian Admiral) wich was a white flag with a green cross in the midle and with the letter F at the left side and the letter Y at the right side of it.

official web page of the Spanish Navy