Here Is Why You Almost Never See Purple on National Flags

There are 196 countries in the world. Today none of the countries have purple on their national flag. Throughout history, purple was never used to represent a kingdom or Empire. So what is the problem with purple?

Purple is such a popular color today. why would no country use it in their flag? The answer is really  simple, purple was just far too expensive. No countries have purple on their flag because up until the 1800s purple was worth more than gold. The color purple has been associated with royalty power and wealth for centuries. The members of the royal family to wear it. Purple's elite status stems from the rarity and cost of the dye originally used to produce it the dye initially used to make purple came from the Phoenician trading city of Tyre which is now in modern-day Lebanon fabric traders obtained the dye from a small sea snail that was only found in the tyre region of the Mediterranean.

 


For producing the dye as more than 10,000 snails were needed to create just one gram of tyree and purple since only wealthy rulers could afford to buy and wear the color it became associated with the Imperial classes of Rome Egypt and Persia purple also came to represent.
Spirituality and holiness because the ancient Emperor's kings and queens that wore the color were often thought of as gods or descendants of the gods. The dye was too expensive even for royalty third century. Roman Emperor aurelion famously wouldn't allow his wife to buy a shawl made from tyree and purple silk because it cost three times its weight in gold. A single pound of dye cost three pounds of gold which is the equivalent of fifty six thousand dollars today. Since the sheer price of purple was so high. when the richest nations could afford to have purple on their flag the hue became more accessible. To lower-class is about a century and a half ago, in 1856, an 18-year old English chemist William Henry Perkin accidentally created a synthetic purple compound while attempting to synthesize quinine an anti-malaria drug. He noticed that the compound could be used to dye fabrics so he patented the dye. He manufactured it and got rich. Purple dye was then mass-produced just about everybody could afford it. The elite stopped valuing purple and the status symbol faded away but the country flags remain the same since 1900. A handful of new national flags have been designed and a few of them have opted to use purple in their flag.