Flag of Antigua and Barbuda

Flag of Antigua and Barbuda
	; ;
Vexillological symbol :	?
Aspect ratio:	2: 3
Officially accepted:	February 27, 1967

construction

The flag of Antigua and Barbuda was adopted on February 27, 1967.

Description and meaning

Flag of Antigua and Barbuda

The sun symbolizes the dawn of a new era. The colors have different meanings: black stands for the African ancestors of the inhabitants of Antigua and Barbuda, blue for hope and red for strength.

The color sequence yellow-blue-white is also a stylization of the sun, the sea and the beaches of the two islands.

history

Until 1956, the islands were part of the British Leeward Islands colony . The flag was a typical British colonial flag: a blue cloth with the Union Jack in the canton and the coat of arms of the colony on the flying side. It had been in use since 1871 and was replaced on Antigua and Barbuda and on July 1, 1956 by its own colonial flag based on the same pattern, when the islands formed an independent colony for a short time.

Between January 3, 1958 and May 31, 1962, Antigua and Barbuda became part of the West Indian Federation . After the Federation broke up, the islands became a British colony again until they became an associated state on February 27, 1967. On this day they received their current national flag, which was initially only used on land. It has only been used as a trade flag since the state was fully independent on November 1, 1981. The flag was chosen from over 600 entries in a competition in 1966. It was designed by the art teacher Reginald Samuels, who received the prize money of 500 dollars for it.

^?Colonial flag, 1956 to 1958 and 1961 to 1967
^?Flag of the West Indian Federation

Other flags of Antigua and Barbuda

The Coast Guard flag uses the George Cross and the national flag in the canton.

The Kingdom of Redonda was proclaimed on the uninhabited island in 1865 by the Irishman Matthew Dowdy Shiell . But there was no recognition. The version of the flag listed below was introduced in 1980 and was used as the royal flag and de facto state flag until 1997.