The

national National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

flag of the Commonwealth of

The Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...

consists of a black triangle situated at the hoist with three horizontal bands: aquamarine, gold and aquamarine. Adopted in 1973 to replace the British

Blue Ensign The Blue Ensign is a flag, one of several British ensigns, used by certain organisations or territories associated or formerly associated with the United Kingdom. It is used either plain or Defacement (flag), defaced with a Heraldic badge, ...

defaced with the emblem of the Crown Colony of the Bahama Islands, it has been the flag of The Bahamas since the country gained independence that year. The design of the present flag incorporated the elements of various submissions made in a national contest for a new flag prior to independence.

History

The Bahamas became a

crown colony A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony administered by The Crown within the British Empire. There was usually a Governor, appointed by the British monarch on the advice of the UK Government, with or without the assistance of a local Counci ...

of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

within its colonial empire in 1717. Under colonial rule, the Bahama Islands used the British

and defaced it with the emblem of the territory. This was inspired by the ousting of the pirates, and consisted of a scene depicting a British ship chasing two pirate ships out at the high seas encircled by the

motto A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. Mot ...

"''Expulsis piratis restituta commercia''" ("Pirates expelled, commerce restored"). The emblem was designed in around 1850, but did not receive official approval until 1964. The Bahama Islands were granted internal autonomy in 1964. After the 1972 elections, the territory started negotiations on independence. A search for a national flag began soon after, with a contest being held to determine the new design. Instead of choosing a single winning design, it was decided that the new flag was to be an amalgamation of the elements from various submissions. It was first hoisted at midnight on 10 July 1973, the day The Bahamas became an independent country. The new country also changed its name from the Bahama Islands to The Bahamas upon independence.

Design

The colours of the flag carry cultural, political, and regional meanings. The gold alludes the shining sun – as well as other key land-based natural resources – while the aquamarine epitomises the water surrounding the country. The black symbolises 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.

Colours

The official colours of the flag are:

Construction Sheet

Legal issues

Seabourn Pride Flag Pier 24 Tallinn 25 August 2013

The Bahamian flag is often used as a

flag of convenience Flag of convenience (FOC) is a business practice whereby a ship's owners register a merchant ship in a ship register of a country other than that of the ship's owners, and the ship flies the civil ensign of that country, called the flag state ...

by foreign-owned

merchant vessel A merchant ship, merchant vessel, trading vessel, or merchantman is a watercraft that transports cargo or carries passengers for hire. This is in contrast to pleasure craft, which are used for personal recreation, and naval ships, which are us ...

s. Under the Law on Merchant Shipping Act 1976 (amended in 1982), any domestic or foreign vessel – regardless of country of origin or place of registration – can be registered in The Bahamas "without difficulty". Furthermore, the ship's crew is not restricted by nationality and "ordinary crew members" have "virtually no requirements for qualification". This lack of regulation has led to ships flying flags of convenience – like The Bahamas' flag – having a reputation of possessing a "poor safety record". This came to light in November 2002, when the Greek oil tanker

MV Prestige MV ''Prestige'' was an oil tanker owned by a Greek company based in Athens and operating under a Bahamian flag, that on 19 November 2002 sank off the coast of Galicia, Spain. The sinking caused a major environmental disaster, polluting thous ...

flying the flag of the Bahamas split into two and sank in the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

off the north-western Spanish coast. This produced an oil slick of 60,000 tons of petroleum.

Historical flags

Maritime flags

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bahamas, Flag of the Flags introduced in 1973 National flags

Flag A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design empl ...

Society of the Bahamas