The coat of arms of Jamaica is a heraldic symbol used to represent

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

. The coat of arms is a legacy design, with its earliest iteration having been granted for the colony of Jamaica in 1661 under Royal Warrant. The original design was created by

William Sancroft William Sancroft (30 January 161724 November 1693) was the 79th Archbishop of Canterbury, and was one of the Seven Bishops imprisoned in 1688 for seditious libel against King James II, over his opposition to the king's Declaration of Indulge ...

, then

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...

. The present design was adopted after Jamaican independence in 1962, with slight modification.

Official description

According to the

National Library of Jamaica The National Library of Jamaica is the national library of Jamaica. It is located at 12 East Street in Kingston, Jamaica. The library provides access to various collection of Jamaican literature, maps, films, newspapers, photographs, and more. ...

, the records of the

College of Arms The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional Officer of Arms, officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, describes the coat of arms as follows: ''For Arms, Argent on a Cross Gules five pine-apples slipped OR: and upon a representation of Our Royal Helmet mantled OR doubled Ermine, for the Crest, On a Wreath Argent and Gules, Upon a Log fesse wise a Crocodile Proper: And for the Supporters, On the dexter side a West Indian Native Woman holding in the exterior hand a Basket of Fruits and on the sinister side a West Indian Native Man supporting by the exterior hand a Bow all proper.''

Symbolism

The motto of the seal has been a matter of discussion for years since inception. The original motto, ''INDUS UTERQUE SERVIET UNI'' is the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

translation for "The Indians twain shall serve one Lord". The motto was replaced in 1962 with the English motto "Out of Many, One People", as tribute to the unity of the different cultural minorities inhabiting the nation. The United States has a similar motto, '' E Pluribus Unum'', meaning "Out of Many, One" in Latin.

Changes in the coat of arms

The Jamaican coat of arms has seen quite a number of changes, but only three are officially recorded. These changes occurred in 1906, 1957 and 1962. File:Badge of Jamaica (1875-1906).svg, Arms of Jamaica from 1875 to 1906. File:Badge of Jamaica (1906-1957).svg, Arms of Jamaica from 1906 to 8 April 1957. File:Badge of Jamaica (1957-1962).svg, Arms of Jamaica from 8 April 1957 to 13 July 1962. File:Badge of Jamaica (1962).svg, Arms of Jamaica from 13 July to 6 August 1962.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coat Of Arms Of Jamaica

Coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...