Flag of the Bahamas

History

The Bahamas became a crown colony of the United Kingdom within its colonial empire in 1717. Under colonial rule, the Bahama Islands used the British Blue Ensign 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 "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. 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. 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 "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

Construction sheet

|File:Flag of the Bahamas (construction sheet).svg

Legal issues

The Bahamian flag is often used as a flag of convenience by foreign-owned merchant vessels. 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 flying the flag of The Bahamas split into two and sank in the Atlantic Ocean off the north-western Spanish coast. This produced an oil slick of 60,000 tons of petroleum.

Historical flags

Maritime flags

|[[File:Civil Ensign of the Bahamas.svg|180x100px|border]]|[[File:FIAV 000100.svg|23px]] Civil ensign. Flag Ratio: 1:2 |[[File:Civil Jack of the Bahamas.svg|180x100px]]|Civil jack. Flag Ratio: 1:2 |[[File:Naval Ensign of the Bahamas.svg|180x100px|border]]|[[File:FIAV 000001.svg|23px]] Naval ensign. Flag Ratio: 1:2 |[[File:Government Ensign of the Bahamas.svg|180x100px|border]]|Flag of the Auxiliary Fleet of the Navy. Flag Ratio: 1:2

References

References

1. (9 September 2010). "Flying the Pride". Salem Publishing Solutions.
2. (13 June 2013). "Dr Bain Joins The Fabulous Forty". The Tribune.
3. "Our national flag, a mystery of true national pride". The Freeport News.
4. "Bahamas profile". [[BBC News]].
5. Smith, Whitney. (6 October 2013). "Flag of the Bahamas".
6. "History of The Bahamas".
7. (10 July 1973). "Bahamas Ends British Rule, Raises New Flag". [[The Oklahoman.
8. Albury, E. Paul. (7 October 2013). "The Bahamas – Independence".
9. "Bahamas, The". CIA.
10. "PANTONE® 3145 C".
11. "PANTONE® 123 C".
12. Egiyan, G.S.. (March 1990). "'Flag of convenience' or 'open registration' of ships". [[Marine Policy]].
13. Kelly, Nicki. (11 May 1983). "Bahamas becomes newest ship registration center". [[The Christian Science Monitor]].
14. (2007). "Assessment of In Vivo Effects of the Prestige Fuel Oil Spill on the Mediterranean Mussel Immune System". Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology.