How the Tricolor Conquered the World

The French flag of 1794 stacked revolution blue and red around royal white in vertical bands, and the idea spread with the armies and ideals of the revolution.

Italy took a tricolor in 1797, and vertical and horizontal three band flags became the default grammar of national flags in Europe and Latin America.

Today three band designs are the most common family among sovereign flags, a legacy of one decade of upheaval in Paris.