America's brand of capitalism and its confident manner have been copied by many nations. So too has the United States' very symbol of pride and power - the American flag.
The United States flag, with its design, shape and colors, is represented in several foreign nations, most notably Liberia, Malaysia and Uruguay.
Liberia, settled by ex-American slaves, has similar red and white stripes and a blue canton. While the U.S. flag has thirteen stripes symbolizing the thirteen original colonies, Liberia's flag has eleven alternating red and white stripes which represent the signatories of the Liberian Declaration of Independence. Liberia chose its colors to symbolize courage and moral excellence. The large white star on a blue background within Liberia's canton stand for freedom of its ex-slaves. The blue canton represents the African mainland. Liberia's flag was adopted in 1847.
The flag of Malaysia has fourteen alternating red and white stripes which represent the equal status of the thirteen member states and the federal government. Within the blue canton is a crescent representing Islam, the country's official religion. The fourteen points on the star symbolize unity between the thirteen states and federal government. Both the crescent and star are yellow, the royal color of the Malay rulers. The current Malaysia flag dates from 1963.
Uruguay's flag features nine alternating horizontal stripes in blue and white that represent the nine original departments of Uruguay. Instead of a star field in its canton, Uruguay's flag has a bright yellow sun, which has sixteen rays of sunshine. The sun, called the Sun of May, is a national symbol of Uruguay, representing the Inca sun god Inti. Its name refers to the May Revolution of 1810, in which Spanish American colonies began a revolt against Spain and eventually achieved independence. The sun represents the symbolic moment when the sun broke through the clouds and Uruguay became a free nation. Uruguay's flag design is attributed to Joaquin Suarez, the first Head of State of the new nation. Its flag was adopted in 1830.