guyanatimesgy.com
May 10, 2015
Times Sunday Magazine 7
Times Heritage
Flag identifying the British Guiana colony (From 1875 - 1906). The Blue Ensign was introduced in 1800 and has also been used by British government departments and, since 1922, yacht clubs
Flag of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (Used from Feb 27, 1781 - Feb 1782; Apr 22, 1796 - Mar 27, 1802; Sep 20, 1803 - 1875)
Flag identifying the colony of British Guiana (From 1906 Dec 8, 1954). The ensign is an official flag associated with a British military or civilian ship that also became associated with British overseas territories during the colonial era
Flag identifying the British Guiana colony (From Dec 8, 1954 - May 26, 1966). At the time, the Union Jack was usually displayed on the canton, while symbols specific to the country were displayed on the fly (this is called defacing the fly)
M
ost of us are aware of the country having been ruled by several different European powers over the course of our history, before the territory became independent Guyana. As such, the flag of our state - a symbol of a territory - has also seen changes during our history. One of the first flags to be flown identifying what was
then the new territory was, according to worldstatemen. org, the red, white and blue flag of the Netherlands. The flag was flown from 1616, when the Dutch first settled in Essequibo, until Feb 27, 1781 when the British occupied the three regions of Demerara, Berbice and Essequibo and replaced it with the British flag, also known as the “Union Jack”.
But when the territory was restored to the Dutch in 1784 after French occupation of Berbice from 1782-1784, the red, white and blue flag once again became the colony’s national flag. There is little evidence or information of a French flag during its twoyear occupation. However, from Apr 22, 1796 - Mar 27, 1802 the British once again occupied
Government House circa 1950-1959
Market boats at Georgetown stelling (n.d.)
the colony and again replaced the flag with its Union Jack. Then the territory changed hands again on Mar 27, 1802 when the colony was once again restored to what was then The Batvian Republic (Netherlands). The Dutch flag once again replaced the British flag, until Sep 1803 when the territory was once again occupied by Britain. The colony was eventually ceded to Britain by the Netherlands in 1814. A new flag was instituted in 1875. The new flag was a British Blue Ensign. It depicted a deep blue background
Independent Guyana flag (1966 - present). After the collapse of the British Empire, and the independence of its many colonies, the newly independent states created their own symbols of nationhood
Flag of the Netherlands (Used from 1616 - Feb 27, 1781; 1784 - Apr 22, 1796; Mar 27, 1802 - Sep 20, 1803)
upon which the Union Jack at the upper left hand corner (upper hoist quadrant or canton) and a circular image of a ship at right (the fly) remained as the colony’s flag until 1906 when it was altered. The alteration retained the Union Jack at the canton and a circular image at the fly, but also included an oval image, in the centre of the disc, of a ship with the colony’s motto Damus Petimusque Vicissim (Latin for “we give and we seek in return”). This remained the colony’s flag until Dec 8, 1954 when it was again altered to depict
another image of a ship and a different placement of its motto, though the Union Jack remained at the quadrant. This arrangement remained until Guyana became independent in 1966. The independent Guyana’s flag was adapted from a design proposed by American vexillologist (a person who studies flags), Whitney Smith. Although technically, the official flag of British Guiana is said to be the Union Jack, the ensigns used to identify the territory remain a historical aspect of flags in our national heritage.