The flag of Jamaica is represented by two diagonal yellow lines and four triangles. The top and bottom triangles are green and the side triangles are black.
This flag was adopted on the day August 6, 1962, when Jamaica became independent of British rule.
Official flag of Jamaica.
This flag must be made in a 1:2 ratio, that is, 1 meter wide to two meters long.
A curiosity about this flag is that it is the the only one in the world that does not have the colors white, red or blue. All other countries use one of these three colors in their flag.
Meaning of Jamaican Flag Colors
The symbolism of the Jamaican flag is summarized in the following sentence: "difficulties exist, but the earth is green and the sun shines" (hardships there are, but the land is green and the sun shineth).
Colors meaning:
- Green: hope and richness of flora.
- Yellow: sunshine and natural wealth.
- Black: strength and creativity of the inhabitants to overcome difficulties.
Jamaica Flag History
In 1958 the West Indies Federation, which brought together several British Caribbean colonies, including Jamaica. The objective of this Federation was the creation of an independent State, supported by the metropolis. This project, however, was unsuccessful and in 1962 the Federation was dissolved.
In anticipation of this dissolution, a committee of representatives from Jamaica proposed a competition to create the flag. The intention was that at the time of the officialization of independence from British rule, the country would already have its official flag.
The winning model of the competition had the same colors (which were previously defined by the committee), but was formed by only three horizontal stripes of the same size, the green on the top, the yellow in the middle and the black on the part bottom.
See also the meaning of England's flag.
First proposal for the Jamaican flag.
This model, however, was very similar to the flag of Tanganyika, a country that existed between 1961 and 1964, where Tanzania is located today.
Thus, we opted for the model that is used until today, with yellow diagonal lines and green and black triangles.
Jamaica Naval Flag
Jamaica also has a naval flag, used by ships or the coast guard.
This flag bears the Cross of Saint George (also present on the flags of England and the United Kingdom) and in the upper left corner is the official flag of Jamaica.
Also know the Brazil's flag, United states's flag and Canada flag.
