Barbados flag picture
| Name | The Broken Trident (the flag's popular name) |
|---|---|
| Adopted | November 30, 1966 (independence, at midnight) Unchanged at the republic, November 30, 2021 |
| Designer | Grantley W. Prescod (art teacher; 1,029 entries) |
| Proportion | 3 : 2 (fly : hoist) |
| Use | National flag, civil and state ensign |
The Barbadian flag is ultramarine, gold and ultramarine around a black broken trident — sea, sky and sand, and a colonial seal snapped at the shaft; a schoolteacher's design raised at midnight on November 30, 1966.
An overview
The national flag of Barbados is a vertical triband of ultramarine, gold, and ultramarine with a black trident head — its shaft broken — centered on the gold band. The ratio is 2:3, and the same flag serves as national flag, civil ensign, and state ensign.
It came from an open competition: 1,029 entries, and a winner from a schoolroom. Grantley W. Prescod, an art teacher at Parkinson Secondary School, took the one emblem of the colonial seal — Britannia’s trident of Neptune — and broke off its shaft. At midnight on November 30, 1966, at the Garrison Savannah in Bridgetown, the Union Jack came down and the Broken Trident went up.
Fifty-five years later to the day, Barbados became a republic, and the flag did not change a line. The severance the trident stood for had simply been completed.
The broken trident
The colonial seal of Barbados showed Britannia in a chariot drawn by sea horses, holding the trident of Neptune — the emblem of British rule of the waves. Grantley Prescod took the trident and broke it: the head remains, in black on the gold band, but the shaft is gone. The break is the point — the island’s severance from its colonial past.
The three prongs were then given a reading of their own — the three principles of democracy: government of the people, for the people, and by the people. When Barbados became a republic on November 30, 2021, the flag stayed exactly as it was; the trident had already said what needed saying.
Official color specification
Barbados specifies its colors by British Standard rather than by Pantone: the blue is BCC 148, ultramarine — a shade the vexillological record notes as lighter than the Union Jack’s — and the gold is BS 0/002, deep enough to read almost orange. The Pantone values below are the standard references’ matches.
| Color | Hex | Pantone | RGB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ultramarine | #00267F | 280 C | 0, 38, 127 |
| Gold | #FFC726 | 123 C | 255, 199, 38 |
| Black | #000000 | Black | 0, 0, 0 |
Symbolism and meaning
The government’s own etiquette states the meanings, and they divide neatly between the island and its history.
Some accounts give both blue bands to the sea; the government’s leaflet gives them the sea and the sky.
Design and official specification
Three equal vertical bands at 2:3 — the government states the proportion as 3:2, fly to hoist — with the trident head centered on the gold. No construction sheet fixes the trident’s exact shape, and the record notes that renderings differ slightly from maker to maker; the head, the three prongs, and the broken shaft are constant.
| Element | Specification | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Hoist (height) | 1.0 | 100 cm (39.4 in) |
| Fly (length) | 1.5 | 150 cm (59.1 in) |
| Ratio | 2 : 3 | The government gives it as 3:2, fly to hoist |
| Bands | Three equal vertical — ultramarine, gold, ultramarine | Each 50 cm (19.7 in) on the reference flag |
| Trident | A black trident head, its shaft broken, centered on the gold band | Neptune's trident from the colonial seal, the staff removed |
| Colors by standard | Ultramarine BCC 148; gold BS 0/002 | British Standard color codes |
| Uses | National flag, civil and state ensign | The Coast Guard flies a white ensign with a red cross and the flag in the canton, 1:2 |
How the flag evolved
A colonial seal, a short-lived federation, and a midnight at the Garrison — the flag’s story in three moves, and not one change since.
1885
Britannia's seal
Barbados flew the Union Jack as part of the Windward Islands until 1885, then a British Blue Ensign bearing the colony's seal: Britannia in a chariot drawn by sea horses, holding the trident of Neptune. The seal flew for eighty years and gave the future national flag its one borrowed element.
1958
The federation
From 1958 to 1962 Barbados belonged to the West Indies Federation, whose flag — a golden sun over white wavy lines on blue — flew beside the colonial ensign. The federation collapsed in 1962, and Barbados moved toward independence on its own.
1966
Midnight at the Garrison
The government held an open competition and received 1,029 entries; the winner was Grantley W. Prescod, an art teacher at Parkinson Secondary School. At midnight on November 30, 1966, at the Garrison Savannah, the Union Jack came down and the new flag went up, unfurled by Lieutenant Hartley Dottin of the Barbados Regiment. It has not changed since — not even when Barbados became a republic on the same date in 2021.
Who designed the Barbadian flag?
Grantley W. Prescod, an art teacher at Parkinson Secondary School in Bridgetown, whose entry was chosen from the 1,029 submitted to the government’s open competition of 1966. The design’s stroke of wit — keeping the colonial seal’s trident but snapping its shaft — was his. After the choice, Prime Minister Errol Barrow asked him personally to make several of the first flags, and he did.
The first raising fell to Lieutenant Hartley Dottin of the Barbados Regiment, who unfurled the new flag at midnight on November 30, 1966, as the Union Jack came down.
November 30
Barbados keeps no flag day. The flag’s day is Independence Day, November 30 — the anniversary of its midnight raising in 1966 and, since 2021, the day the country became a republic under the same flag. It flies too for National Heroes Day, April 28, and Errol Barrow Day, January 21.
Legal status and display rules
The flag was adopted with independence and carried unchanged into the republic’s constitution of 2021. The government publishes a flag etiquette — the practical rules of display — and it is tabled here.
| Provision | The rule |
|---|---|
| Hours | Flown on schools, businesses, government and public buildings from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. — not after 6 p.m. unless indoors |
| Condition | Kept in regulation appearance — no tears, no discoloration; a worn flag is replaced |
| Precedence | No other flag is flown above the national flag |
| Respect | Not draped over vehicles, used as a covering or allowed to touch the ground |
| Who may fly it | Any citizen, at any time within the hours — the flag belongs to everyone |
| The adoption | Raised at midnight on November 30, 1966, as the Union Jack came down at the Garrison Savannah — first unfurled by Lieutenant Hartley Dottin of the Barbados Regiment |
Half-mast and mourning
Mourning is the government’s to declare.
| Provision | The rule |
|---|---|
| When | At half-mast in periods of mourning declared by the government |
| How | Raised to the peak first, then lowered to half-mast; raised to the peak again before lowering for the day — the Commonwealth practice the etiquette follows |
Things you may not know
The trident is a colonial emblem, sabotaged. Britannia held it on the colony’s seal for eighty years; the flag keeps the head and throws away the shaft — the only national flag whose central device is deliberately broken.
The designer made the first flags himself. After Prescod’s entry won, Prime Minister Errol Barrow asked the art teacher to sew several of the first flags by hand.
The republic kept the flag. When Barbados removed the Queen as head of state on November 30, 2021, it changed its constitution, its anthem’s pledge, and its head of state — and not one thread of the flag.
Frequently asked questions
What does the flag of Barbados look like?
Three equal vertical bands — ultramarine at the hoist and the fly, gold in the middle — with a black trident head, its shaft broken, centered on the gold. The ratio is 2:3. Barbadians call it the Broken Trident.
What do the colors and the trident of the Barbadian flag mean?
The ultramarine stands for the sea and the sky, the gold for the sand of the beaches. The trident is Neptune's, taken from the colonial seal where Britannia held it; its shaft is broken to mark the break with the colonial past, and its three points stand for the three principles of democracy — government of the people, for the people and by the people.
Who designed the Barbadian flag?
Grantley W. Prescod, an art teacher at Parkinson Secondary School, whose design won an open competition organized by the government before independence, chosen from 1,029 entries. At Prime Minister Errol Barrow's request he then made several of the first flags himself.
When was the Barbadian flag adopted?
At midnight on November 30, 1966, the moment Barbados became independent, when the Union Jack was lowered at the Garrison Savannah and the new flag raised by Lieutenant Hartley Dottin of the Barbados Regiment. It has flown unchanged since.
Did the flag change when Barbados became a republic?
No. Barbados replaced the Queen with a president on November 30, 2021 — the 55th anniversary of independence — and kept its flag exactly as it was. The broken trident had marked the break with colonial rule since 1966; the republic completed it.
What are the official colors of the Barbadian flag?
The government specifies them by British Standard code — ultramarine BCC 148 and gold BS 0/002. The usual Pantone matches are 280 C for the ultramarine (#00267F) and 123 C for the gold (#FFC726), with black for the trident.
What are the rules for flying the Barbadian flag?
The government's flag etiquette: it flies on schools, businesses and public buildings from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. and not after dark unless indoors; it is kept in regulation appearance, with no tears or fading; no other flag flies above it; it is not draped over vehicles or allowed to touch the ground; and it flies at half-mast in mourning as the government directs.
What flag did Barbados fly before 1966?
The British Blue Ensign with the colonial seal — Britannia in a chariot drawn by sea horses, holding Neptune's trident — from 1885, and before that the Union Jack as part of the Windward Islands. From 1958 to 1962 the flag of the West Indies Federation, a golden sun over white waves on blue, flew as well.
Does Barbados have a flag day?
No. The flag's day is Independence Day, November 30 — the anniversary of its midnight raising in 1966 and, since 2021, of the republic as well. The flag also flies for National Heroes Day on April 28 and Errol Barrow Day on January 21.
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