Bolivia Flag

Illustration of a flag with a yellow, red and green stripe with an image in the middle over black text on a white background

In the early 1800’s the dictator of Bolivia, Andrés Santa Cruz created the Bandera Mayor state flag for the Peruvian Bolivian Confederation. The red stripe represents the blood shed by Bolivian soldiers, the yellow stripe for mineral deposits, and the green stripe for fertility. When Andrés Santa Cruz was overthrown the confederation was disbanded and the national flag changed. The Bolivian flag now features red on the upper stripe, yellow in the middle, and green on the bottom stripe.  The red now represents bravery and the blood of Bolivian heroes, the yellow represents Bolivia’s wealth, and the green represents fertility, natural resources, and hope.

Designed and manufactured by Whitehead & Hoag Co. advertisers like Sweet Caporal cigarettes were able to insert their own backings to this button. Sweet Caporal was a brand of cigarettes created by the Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company in 1878 and sold to the American Tobacco Company in 1911.  Sweet Caporal was a very popular brand, especially in Canada during the early part of the 20th Century.  In 1908, 50% of cigarette sales in Canada were comprised of the Sweet Caporal brand.