The flag of Jamaica was adopted on 6 August 1962, the day Jamaica became independent from the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

. The flag consists of a gold

saltire A saltire, also called Saint Andrew's Cross or the crux decussata, is a Heraldry, heraldic symbol in the form of a diagonal cross. The word comes from the Middle French , Medieval Latin ("stirrup"). From its use as field sign, the saltire cam ...

, which divides the flag into four sections: two of them green (top and bottom) and two black (hoist and fly). It is currently the only national flag that does not contain a shade of the colours red, white, or blue. Jamaica's national flag is also sometimes referred to as "The Cross" or as the "Black, Green, and Gold" due to its form and colours.

Design and symbolism

Prior to Jamaica's independence, the Jamaican government ran a flag design competition for Jamaica's new flag. Over 360 designs were submitted, and several of these original submissions are housed in the National Library of Jamaica. However, the competition failed to yield a winner, and a bipartisan committee of the Jamaican House of Representatives eventually came up with the modern design. It was originally designed with horizontal stripes, but this was considered too similar to the flag of Tanganyika (as it was in 1962), and so the saltire was substituted. John McGhie claims the saltire design was directly inspired by the

Flag of Scotland The flag of Scotland (; , also known as St Andrew's Cross or the Saltire) is the national flag of Scotland, which consists of a white saltire Defacement (flag), defacing a blue field. The Saltire, rather than the Royal Standard of Scotland, i ...

. An earlier interpretation of the colours was, "hardships there are but the land is green and the sun shineth" as stated in the government Ministry Paper 28 – National Flag dated 22 May 1962. Gold recalls the shining sun, black reflects hardships, and green represents the land. It was changed in 1996 to black representing the strength and creativity of the people which has allowed them to overcome difficulties, gold for the wealth of the country and the golden sunshine, and green for the lush vegetation of the island, as well as hope. The change was made on the recommendation of the committee to Examine National Symbols and National Observances appointed by the then Prime Minister P. J. Patterson and chaired by

Rex Nettleford Ralston Milton "Rex" Nettleford OM FIJ OCC (3 February 1933 – 2 February 2010) was a Jamaican scholar, social critic, choreographer, and Vice-Chancellor Emeritus of the University of the West Indies (UWI), the leading research university in ...

. The flag is

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...

ed: ''Per saltire vert and sable, a saltire Or.''

Construction details, sizes and colours

The flag has a length-to-width ratio of 1:2, which means that the length is twice as long as the breadth. The normal proportions are . The colours of the flag are officially set through the

Pantone Matching System Pantone LLC (stylized as PANTONE) is an American limited liability company headquartered in Carlstadt, New Jersey, and best known for its Pantone Matching System (PMS), a proprietary color order system used in a variety of industries, notably gr ...

as Pantone 109 C for fabric and Pantone 109 U for matte paper for a shade of gold, Pantone 355 C for fabric and Pantone 355 U for matte paper for a shade of green. Black is not defined by the exact Pantone colour, it is defined as 100 percent black.

Etiquette

Standard etiquette applies in

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

to use of the national flag, primarily ensuring it is always the primary flag flown and is in good condition. The National Flag Code (a set of rules that owners of a flag should follow) was instituted by the government. Jamaica's state ensign is a

Blue Ensign The Blue Ensign is a British ensign that may be used on vessels by certain authorised yacht clubs, Royal Research Ships and British merchant vessels whose master holds a commission in the Royal Naval Reserve or has otherwise been issued a wa ...

with the Jamaican national flag in the canton; it is normally only used by the Jamaican Government. Jamaica's naval ensign follows the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

system and is a

White Ensign The White Ensign, at one time called the St George's Ensign because of the simultaneous existence of a crossless version of the flag, is an ensign worn on British Royal Navy ships and shore establishments. It consists of a red St George's Cr ...

with a

Saint George's Cross In heraldry, Saint George's Cross (or the Cross of Saint George) is a red cross on a white background, which from the Late Middle Ages became associated with Saint George, the military saint, often depicted as a crusader. Associated with ...

and the Jamaican national flag in the canton, although due to the island's lack of a navy, it is normally only used by the Jamaican Coast Guard.

Historical flags

File:Flag of Jamaica (1875–1906).svg, 1875–1906 File:Flag of Jamaica (1906-1957).svg, 1906–1957 File:Flag of Jamaica (1957-1962).svg, 1957–1962 File:Flag of Jamaica (1962).svg, 1962 File:Jamaica Flag Proposal 5 (1962).svg, Proposal #5 (1962)

References

External links

Jamaican Flag
on Jamaican government site * {{nationalflags