islands

Vanuatu 1

Vanuatu

The flag of Vanuatu was adopted on 18 February 1980.

In 1977 a flag of almost the same colors and symbolism as the future national flag was designed by local artist Kalontas Malon and adopted by the Vanua’aku Pati. When the party led the New Hebrides to independence as Vanuatu in 1980, the colors of the party flag (red, green, black and yellow) were chosen to be the basis for the national flag on Independence Day, 30 July 1980. A parliamentary committee chose the final design based on submissions from local artists.

United States 2

United States

The flag of the United States of America, often referred to as the American flag or the U.S. flag, is the national flag of the United States. It consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the canton (referred to specifically as the “union”) bearing fifty small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows, where rows of six stars (top and bottom) alternate with rows of five stars. The 50 stars on the flag represent the 50 states of the United States of America, and the 13 stripes represent the thirteen British colonies that declared independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain, and became the first states in the U.S. Nicknames for the flag include the Stars and Stripes, Old Glory, and the Star-Spangled Banner.

Tristan da Cunha 5

Tristan da Cunha

The flag of Tristan da Cunha was adopted on October 20, 2002, in a proclamation made by the Governor of Saint Helena under a Royal Warrant granted by Queen Elizabeth II. Prior to this, as a dependency of Saint Helena, Tristan da Cunha used the flag of Saint Helena for official purposes.

The flag is a blue ensign design, defaced with the coat of arms of Tristan da Cunha — a Tristan longboat above a Naval Crown, with a central shield decorated with four yellow-nosed albatrosses and flanked by two Tristan rock lobsters. Below this is a scroll with the territory’s motto, Our faith is our strength.

Shetland 7

Shetland

The flag of Shetland is a white or silver Nordic cross on a blue background. The flag uses the colors of the flag of Scotland, but in the form of the Nordic cross in order to symbolize Shetland’s historical and cultural ties with Scandinavia. As with all Scottish flags, its proportions and color shades are not fixed. It was created by Roy Grønneberg and Bill Adams in 1969, to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the transfer of the islands from Norway in the Kalmar Union to Scotland and the 500 years before as part of Norway.

Scotland 8

Scotland

The flag of Scotland is the national flag of Scotland, which consists of a white saltire defacing a blue field. The Saltire, rather than the Royal Standard of Scotland, is the correct flag for all private individuals and corporate bodies to fly. It is also, where possible, flown from Scottish Government buildings every day from 8:00 am until sunset, with certain exceptions.

Sark 9

Sark

The flag of Sark is white with a red St. George’s cross and a red canton containing two yellow lions (or in heraldic terms “Leopards”). It was designed by Herbert Pitt in 1938 and adopted the same year as the personal standard of the Seigneur of Sark before becoming the island’s flag in 1987. The canton is similar to the arms of nearby Normandy, of which the Channel Islands were historically a part.

The flag is flown from the Ministry of Justice in London on 6 August to mark the granting of the fief on that day in 1565. The Ministry of Justice is the British government department responsible for relations with the Crown Dependencies.

Saint Helena 10

Saint Helena

The flag of Saint Helena was adopted on October 4, 1984. It is a defaced (i.e. differentiated) Blue Ensign, i.e., a blue field with the Union Jack in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the shield from the coat of arms of Saint Helena centered on the outer half of the flag. The shield features a rocky coastline and three-masted sailing ship, with a Saint Helena plover, also known as a wirebird, atop. Prior to the adoption of the current coat of arms and flag in 1984, the flag and shield showed the ship and coastal scene taken from the colonial seal of the colony.

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