the Caribbean’s are a beautiful part if the world made up of hundreds of islands.
Among these islands are a number of sovereign states and in the next two videos we are going
to look at their flags.
In this first part we are going to check out the flags of: Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados
the Bahamas, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic and Grenada.
The national flag of Antigua and Barbuda was adopted on 27 February, 1967 to mark the achievement
of self-government.
A competition to design the flag was held in which more than 600 local people entered.
The design is a red field with an inverted isosceles triangle based on the top edge of
the field pointed toward the bottom edge of the field bearing the horizontal tricolour
of black, light blue (half width) and white with the rising sun centred on top of the
black band.
The rising sun symbolises the dawning of a new era.
The colours have different meanings, the black is for the African ancestry of the people,
the blue for hope, the red for the energy or dynamism of the people.
The successive colouring of yellow, blue, and white also stands for the sun, sea, and
sand.
the V-shape is the symbol of victory.
The state ensign, which is used only by the national coast guard, consists of a white
field, a red cross, and the state flag in the canton.
The national flag of the Bahamas consists of a black triangle situated at the hoist
with three horizontal aquamarine, yellow and aquamarine bands.
Adopted in 1973 to replace the British Blue Ensign.
The design of the present flag incorporated the elements of various submissions made in
a national contest for a new flag prior to independence.
The colours of the flag carry cultural, political, and regional meanings.
The gold alludes to the golden sand and the shining sun– as well as other key land-based
natural resources – while the aquamarine represents the water surrounding the country.
The black symbolizes the "strength","vigour, and force" of the Bahamian people, while the
directed triangle evokes their "enterprising and determined" nature to cultivate the abundant
natural resources on the land and in the sea.
The national flag of Barbados was officially adopted on 30 November 1966, the island's
first Independence Day.
It consists of a triband of two bands of ultramarine, which are said to stand for the ocean surrounding
the country and the sky, separated by a golden middle band, which represents the sand.
A black trident head, commonly called the broken trident, is centred in the golden band,
and the fact that the staff is missing is significant.
The trident symbol was taken from Barbados' colonial badge, where the trident of Poseidon
is shown with Britannia holding it.
The broken lower part symbolises a symbolic break from its status as a colony.
The three points of the trident represent the three principles of democracy:
1) government of the people, 2) government for the people
3) government by the people.
The design of the flag was chosen from an open competition arranged by the Barbados
government.
The national flag of Cuba consists of five alternating stripes - three blue and two white
- and a red equilateral triangle, within which is a white five-pointed star, at the hoist.
It was adopted in 1849.
The three blue stripes represent the three departments in which Cuba was divided at that
time, the white purity of ideals The red triangle stood for strength and constancy,
The white star in the triangle stood for independence Both the flag and the coat of arms were designed
by Miguel Teurbe Tolón.
The design of both specifications were established in 1906, and have remained unchanged since
then.
The flag of Dominica was adopted on 3 November 1978, with some small changes having been
made in 1981, 1988, and 1990.
The original flag was designed in early 1978 as the country prepared for independence.
The flag, adopted in 1978, features the national bird emblem, the sisserou parrot, which also
appears on the coat of arms granted on 21 July 1961.
This parrot, found in Dominica, is an endangered species with a population of only 250–350
individuals.
The green field represents the lush vegetation of the island.
The cross represents the Trinity and Christianity, with its three colours symbolising the natives,
the fertile soil, and the pure water.
The 10 green five-pointed stars stand for the country's 10 parishes: while the red disc
stands for social justice.
The parrot is sometimes coloured either blue or purple (the parrot's actual colour).
The use of purple makes the flag of Dominica one of only two flags of sovereign states
alongside the flag of Nicaragua to contain the colour.
The flag of the Dominican Republic features a centred white cross that extends to the
edges and divides the flag into four rectangles; the top ones are blue (hoist side) and red,
and the bottom ones are red (hoist side) and blue.
The national coat of arms, featuring a shield with the flag design and supported by a bay
laurel branch (left) and a palm frond (right), is at the centre of the cross.
Above the shield, a blue ribbon displays the national motto Dios, Patria, Libertad (English:
God, Fatherland, Liberty).
Below the shield, the words República Dominicana appear on a red ribbon.
In the centre of the shield, flanked by three spears on each side, is a Bible with a small
cross above it and said to be opened to the Gospel of John, chapter 8, verse 32, which
reads And the truth shall make you free.
The blue on the flag stands for liberty, the white for salvation, and the red for the blood
of heroes.
The civil ensign follows the same design, but without the charge in the centre.
The national flag of Grenada was adopted upon independence from the United Kingdom, 7 February
1974.
The flag was designed by Anthony C. George.
A large rectangle with the large red border around it with six Gold five-pointed stars
with three centred on the top border and three centred on the bottom border divided into
four triangles of Gold (top and bottom) and green (hoist-side and fly-side) with the red
disk superimposed at the centre bearing the Gold five-pointed star and the nutmeg pod
on the hoist-side of the triangle.
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.