Flag of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

The flag of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is a Canadian pale triband consisting of blue, gold, and green bands charged with three green diamonds at the centre. Adopted in 1985 to replace a similar design used from the time of independence, it has been the flag of Saint Vincent since that year. The design of the present flag entailed substituting the country's coat of arms on a breadfruit leaf with the diamonds. They are a reference to both the letter "V", which is the first letter of the country's name, and its nickname as the "Gems of the Antilles" and "Jewels of the Caribbean". Accordingly, the flag itself has been given the moniker of "The Gems".

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
UseNational flag and ensign
Proportion2:3
AdoptedOctober 12, 1985
DesignA Canadian pale triband of blue, gold, and green, with three green diamonds in the centre arranged to form the letter "V".

History

Sovereignty over Saint Vincent switched hands between the French and the British throughout the 18th century. This continued until 1783, when the Peace of Paris saw France permanently relinquish the island to the United Kingdom, and Saint Vincent eventually became a crown colony within the latter's colonial empire.[1] It joined the West Indies Federation in 1958 and remained part of this political union until 1962.[2] On 27 October 1969, seven years after the federation was dissolved, Saint Vincent became an Associated State.[1] During this period, it utilised a British Blue Ensign defaced with the territory's coat of arms as its flag.[3]

When Saint Vincent became an independent country on 27 October 1979, a flag designed by native Saint Vincentian Elaine Liverpool was chosen to be the national flag.[3][4] This consisted of a triband of blue, gold, and green separated by two thin white fimbriations, and the centre band charged with the country's coat of arms on a breadfruit leaf, which had been introduced to the island by William Bligh. However, this design soon proved to be convoluted and costly to manufacture, with the breadfruit leaf hard to recognise from afar.[3] After the New Democratic Party emerged victorious in the 1984 elections, new prime minister James Fitz-Allen Mitchell sought to have the flag redesigned.[3] A nationwide contest was held, but it resulted in an impasse after no entry was deemed suitable.[4] Consequently, Julien van der Wal – a graphic artist from Switzerland who also designed the flag of the Canton of Geneva[5] and pictograms for the Olympic Games[6] – was tasked with modifying the flag.[3] He was instructed to "modernize the original flag, keeping the same colours and respecting the symbolism".[7]

Van der Wal's design saw the arms and breadfruit leaf substituted for three diamonds grouped together in a "V" shape, as well as the white fimbriations removed. Notwithstanding these changes, the meaning behind the colours remained the same.[3] The new flag was formally adopted by the government on October 12, 1985.[4][8] There is some discrepancy over when it was first hoisted officially. The islands' national newspaper, The Vincentian, maintains this took place during a ceremony at the War Memorial in the capital Kingstown on October 21.[5] On the other hand, Whitney Smith in the Encyclopædia Britannica states that it was first raised one day later (October 22).[3] The flag – which has been occasionally dubbed "The Gems"[5][8] – is utilised "for all purposes", with no distinction made between civil, state, and naval ensigns.[5]

Design
The Saint Vincentian flag flying outside the Taiwanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Taipei.

Symbolism

The colours and symbols of the flag carry cultural, political, and regional meanings. The blue epitomises the sky and the sea, while the gold represents the colour of the islands' sand,[3][9] the sunshine,[4] and the "bright spirit" of the islanders.[8] The green symbolizes the country's plentiful vegetation,[4][9] as well as the vitality of Vincentians.[3] The three diamonds evoke the nicknames of Saint Vincent as the "Gems of the Antilles"[4][9] and the "Jewels of the Caribbean".[3] Their arrangement in the shape of the letter V is a subtle allusion to the first letter in "Vincent",[3] while its placement on the marginally lower part of the centre band indicates the geographical positioning of the islands within the Antilles.[9]

The Saint Vincentian flag is utilised as a flag of convenience by foreign merchant vessels. The government permits this in order to increase revenue for the country,[10] and it offers many advantages for these ships, such as less expensive fees and lax rules regarding crew, safety, and the environment.[11] However, the lack of regulation on such vessels has led to concerns over illegal and suspicious activity like money laundering.[10] Two ships flying the flag of Saint Vincent were found by the European Commission (EC) to have been on the blacklist of the Regional Fisheries Management Organisations.[12][13]

As a result, this practice has attracted criticism from opposition parties as well as international organisations,[10] most notably the EC.[13] The EC identified Saint Vincent and the Grenadines as a non-cooperating country in fighting illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU) on May 23, 2020, having warned them earlier through pre-identification in December 2014.[12] By listing the country as non-cooperating, it meant that all fisheries products from Saint Vincent could no longer be legally imported into the European Union.[14][15] This has negligible impact on the country, because Saint Vincent does not export fisheries products to EU member states.[13]

Historical flags
Historical flags of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines[16][17]
Historical flag Duration Description
1877–1907 A Blue Ensign defaced with the shield of British Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
1907–1979 A Blue Ensign defaced with the shield of British Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
1979–1985 A vertical tricolour of blue, gold, and green bands separated by two thin white fimbriations, and the middle band charged with the country's coat of arms on a breadfruit leaf.
1985 (March to October) A vertical tricolour of blue, gold, and green bands, and the middle band charged with country's coat of arms on a breadfruit leaf.
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See also

References
  1. Fraser, Adrian; Tolson, Richard (21 October 2019). "Saint Vincent and the Grenadines – History". Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  2. "St Vincent and the Grenadines country profile". BBC News. BBC. 31 May 2018. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  3. Smith, Whitney (5 August 2011). "Flag of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines". Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  4. Kindersley Ltd., Dorling (2009). Complete Flags of the World. Penguin. p. 37. ISBN 9780756654863.
  5. "The flags of SVG". The Vincentian. Archived from the original on 26 June 2020. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  6. Wenn, Stephen R.; Barney, Robert (30 January 2020). The Gold in the Rings: The People and Events That Transformed the Olympic Games. University of Illinois Press. p. 195. ISBN 9780252051531.
  7. Smith, Whitney, ed. (1986). "Flag Bulletin". 25. Winchester, Massachusetts: Flag Research Center: 207. ISSN 0015-3370. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  8. "The National Flag". Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Trade, and Regional Integration. Government of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Archived from the original on 26 June 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  9. "Saint Vincent and the Grenadines". The World Factbook. CIA. 9 June 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  10. Ferguson, James. "St. Vincent and the Grenadines". Worldmark Encyclopedia of National Economies. Gale. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  11. "Province's newest ferry flagged for Saint Vincent and the Grenadines". CBC News. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 1 October 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  12. "Fight against illegal fishing: Commission lists Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and the Comoros as non-cooperating, and issues warning for Liberia". European Commission. 23 May 2017. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  13. "Question and Answers on the EU's fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing". European Commission. 23 May 2017. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  14. Brivio, Enrico; Stoycheva, Daniela (8 January 2019). "Questions and Answers – Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing in general and in Thailand". European Commission. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  15. "Illegal fishing – Overview of existing procedures (third countries)" (PDF). European Commission. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  16. "History of the Flag". House of Assembly. Government of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Archived from the original on 17 July 2020. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  17. Smith, Whitney, ed. (1980). "Flag Bulletin". 19. Winchester, Massachusetts: Flag Research Center: 6. ISSN 0015-3370. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
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