How Did The White Flag Become The Symbol of Surrender?

A murky history of a recognizable symbol

(By Burrell, William Henry Thornhill — http://www.acmssearch.sl.nsw.gov.au/search/itemDetailPaged.cgi?itemID=1032793 (item), Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=29785220

The white flag is one of the most recognizable symbols in the modern world. A plain white flag is synonymous with truce or surrender. The term “waving the white flag” has become a colloquial term for giving up. So how did this symbol come to be? Why white? When did the white flag become connected to the idea of surrender? Despite its widespread use today, the white flag is largely a modern invention.

The current use of the white flag as a symbol of parlay was codified during the Hague Convention of 1899 (the precursor to the Geneva Convention). The Hague Convention states:

CHAPTER III — On Flags of Truce

Article 32

An individual is considered a parlementaire who is authorized by one of the belligerents to enter into communication with the other, and who carries a white flag. He has a right to inviolability, as well as the trumpeter, bugler, or drummer, the flag-bearer, and the interpreter who may accompany him.

Here, the white flag is noted as the official symbol of truce or ceasefire with the purpose of communicating. But this official code wasn’t adopted until 1899 and wasn’t officially ratified and widely accepted until 1907.