The flag of Jamaica was adopted on 6 August 1962 (Jamaican Independence Day), the country having gained independence from the British-protected Federation of the West Indies. The flag consists of a gold saltire, which divides the flag into four sections: two of them green (top and bottom) and two black (hoist and fly). It is currently the only national flag that does not contain the colors red, white, or blue.
The national flag of Honduras was adopted on March 7, 1866, based on the flag of the Federal Republic of Central America. In 1823 Honduras joined the United Provinces of Central America and adopted their flag. In 1866 it was amended; five cerulean stars were placed in the center to represent the five original Central American provinces. The colors and pattern are the same as the flag of the United Provinces of Central America.
The flag of Haiti is a bicolour flag featuring two horizontal bands coloured blue and red, defaced by a white panel bearing the coat of arms. The coat of arms depicts a trophy of weapons atop a green hill and a royal palm symbolizing independence. The palm is topped by the Cap of Liberty. The motto L’Union fait la Force (“Unity makes strength”) appears on a white ribbon below the arrangement. The flag of Haiti—along with those of Afghanistan, Costa Rica, Bolivia, Ecuador, and El Salvador—is one of six national flags whose designs incorporate a depiction of the flag itself.
The flag of Guyana, known as The Golden Arrowhead, has been the national flag of Guyana since May 1966 when the country became independent from the United Kingdom. It was designed by Whitney Smith, an American vexillologist (though originally without the black and white fimbriations, which were later additions suggested by the College of Arms in the United Kingdom). The proportions of the national flag are 3:5. The colours are symbolic, with red for zeal and dynamism, gold for mineral wealth, green for agriculture and forests, black for endurance, and white for rivers and water.
The national flag of Grenada was adopted upon independence from the United Kingdom, 7 February 1974. The flag was designed by Anthony C. George of Soubise in Saint Andrew Parish. The civil ensign is the same, except for a 1:2 rather than 3:5 ratio. The naval ensign is based on the British White Ensign, with this flag in the canton.
The six stars in the red border represent the country’s six parishes, with the middle star, encircled by a red disk, representing Carriacou and Petite Martinique. The symbol in the hoist represents a clove of nutmeg, one of the principal crops of Grenada. It also represents a link to Grenada’s former name, which was the “Isle of Spice”. The red colour of the flag stands for courage and vitality, gold for wisdom and warmth, and green for vegetation and agriculture.
The French tricolore is the official national flag used in the Collectivity of Saint Martin. There are said to be several unofficial flags as well.
The flag of Saint Barthélemy is the French tricolor. This is because Saint Barthélemy is a self-governing overseas collectivity of France. An unofficial flag of Saint Barthélemy consisting of the island’s coat of arms centered on a white field is also used on the island.
The coat of arms of Saint-Barthélemy is a shield divided into three horizontal stripes (parted per fess), three gold fleurs-de-lis on blue, above a white Maltese cross on red, over three gold crowns on blue, and “Ouanalao” is what the indigenous people called the island. On top of the shield is a mural crown.
The fleurs-de-lis, Maltese Cross, and gold crowns are heraldic reminders of the island’s history as a colony ruled by first the Kingdom of France, then the Knights Hospitaller and in turn the Kingdom of Sweden.
The unofficial “snake flag” (drapeau aux serpents) features a white cross on a blue field with a white snake in each quarter. These are fer-de-lance vipers (Bothrops lanceolatus, French trigonocéphale) native to Martinique. It was used by the French military on their buildings and/or uniforms. Members of the National Gendarmerie bore the coat-of-arms version of the flag. It stood next to the French flag on some public buildings of the island—such as the prefecture and the police station of Fort-de-France.
Guadeloupe has no flag with official status other than the French national flag.
A locally used unofficial flag, based on the coat of arms of Guadeloupe’s capital Basse-Terre has a black or red field with a yellow sun and a green sugar cane, and a blue stripe with yellow fleurs-de-lis on the top.
Blue and red are the traditional colours of Paris, used on the city’s coat of arms. Blue is identified with Saint Martin, red with Saint Denis]. At the storming of the Bastille in 1789, the Paris militia wore blue and red cockades on their hats. White had long featured prominently on French flags and is described as the “ancient French colour” by Lafayette. White was added to the “revolutionary” colours of the militia cockade to “nationalise” the design, thus creating the cockade of France. Although Lafayette identified the white stripe with the nation, other accounts identify it with the monarchy. Lafayette denied that the flag contains any reference to the red-and-white livery of the Duc d’Orléans. Despite this, Orléanists adopted the tricolour as their own.