Editing Country (section)

=== Flags ===
{{main|National flag}}
{{See also|List of national flags of sovereign states}}
[[File:Flickr - …trialsanderrors - Johnson's new chart of national emblems, 1868.jpg|thumb|''Johnson's new chart of national emblems'', published <abbr>c.</abbr> 1868. The large flags shown in the corners are the [[Flag of the United States#Historical progression of designs|37-star flag of the United States]] (flown 1867–1890), upper left; the [[Royal Standard of the United Kingdom]], upper, right; the [[Russian Imperial Standard]], lower left; and the [[Flag of France|French tricolore]] with inset [[French Imperial Eagle|Imperial Eagle]], lower right. Various other flags flown by ships are shown. The [[Flag of Cuba]] is labelled "Cuban [[Ten Years' War|(so called)]]". The [[Chinese dragon]] on the [[Flag of the Qing Dynasty|Flag of China]] was drawn mistakenly as a [[Welsh Dragon|western dragon]].]]
Originally, flags representing a country would generally be the personal flag of its rulers; however, over time, the practice of using personal banners as flags of places was abandoned in favor of flags that had some significance to the nation, often its patron saint. Early examples of these were the [[maritime republics]] such as [[Republic of Genoa|Genoa]] which could be said to have a national flag as early as the 12th century.{{sfn|Barraclough|1971|pp=7–8}} However, these were still mostly used in the context of marine identification.<ref name="Devereux 1994 p. ">{{cite book | last=Devereux | first=E. | title=Flags: The New Compact Study Guide and Identifier | publisher=Chartwell Books | series=Eyewitness books | year=1994 | isbn=978-0-7858-0049-1| page=18}}</ref>

Although some flags date back earlier, widespread use of flags outside of military or naval context begins only with the rise of the idea of the [[nation state]] at the end of the 18th century and particularly are a product of the [[Age of Revolution]]. Revolutions such as those in [[French Revolution|France]] and [[American Revolution|America]] called for people to begin thinking of themselves as [[citizens]] as opposed to [[Commoner|subjects]] under a king, and thus necessitated flags that represented the collective citizenry, not just the power and right of a ruling family.{{sfn|Nadler|2016}}{{sfn|Inglefield|Mould|1979|p=48}} With [[nationalism]] becoming common across Europe in the 19th century, national flags came to represent most of the states of Europe.{{sfn|Nadler|2016}} Flags also began fostering a sense of unity between different peoples, such as the [[Union Jack]] representing a union between [[England]] and [[Scotland]], or began to represent unity between nations in a perceived shared struggle, for example, the [[Pan-Slavic colors]] or later [[Pan-Arab colors]].{{sfn|Bartlett|2011|p=31}}

As Europeans [[colonized]] significant portions of the world, they exported ideas of nationhood and national symbols, including flags, with the adoption of a flag becoming seen as integral to the [[nation-building]] process.{{sfn|Virmani|1999|p=169}} Political change, social reform, and revolutions combined with a growing sense of nationhood among ordinary people in the 19th and 20th centuries led to the birth of new nations and flags around the globe.{{sfn|Inglefield|Mould|1979|p=50}} With so many flags being created, interest in these designs began to develop and the study of flags, [[vexillology]], at both professional and amateur levels, emerged. After World War II, Western vexillology went through a phase of rapid development, with many research facilities and publications being established.{{sfn|Xing|2013|p=2}}