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Antigua and Barbuda

Last modified: 2003-04-26 by dov gutterman
Keywords: antigua | barbuda | caribbean | america | antigua and barbuda | agave | west indies | leeward islands |
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by Zeljko Heimer, 12 January 2001
Flag adopted 27 February 1967, coat of arms adopted 16 February 1967.



See also:


The Flag

Antigua and Barbuda's flag was designed by Mr. Reginald Samuels, an art teacher in an Antiguan high school, when Antigua gained "statehood" status (Self-governing) in 1967.
L. Jacobs II , 21 September 1998 and Ivan Sache , 31 January 2000

Acording to L'Album 2000 [pay00] the construction details are stripes in ratio 18:10:18, lenght 69~ [so total ratio 2:3~]. Is this based on some official data?
[smi80] have as civil ensign for Antigua and Barbuda to be the british red ensign, but here the national flag is indicated to be (among other uses) civil ensign too. Is that changed since 1980?
Zeljko Heimer, 5 January 2001

I visited Antigua in spring 1994 and I saw there a lot of national flags, both on land and at sea.
Ivan Sache, 6 January 2001

The flag is national flag and ensign (i.e. CSW/CSW). The flag was adopted, apparently only for the use on land in 1967, but the flag must have been introduced into maritime use since 1981 when Antigua and Barbuda aquired full independence. Until 1981 the undefaced red ensign was the civil ensign in Antigua and Barbuda. Was there any defaced blue ensign?
History of the status of AG could be quoted from rulers site <www.geocities.com/Athens/1058/rulers.html>:

  • 1632: British colony (Antigua).
  • 1871-1 July 1956: part of the Federal Colony of the Leeward Islands (Antigua, British Virgin Islands, Montserrat, Saint Christopher-Nevis- Anguilla, and, until 1940, Dominica).
  • 3 January 1958-31 May 1962: part of the Federation of the West Indies.
  • 27 Febuary 1967: associated state
  • 1 November 1981: independence as Antigua and Barbuda

Zeljko Heimer, 12 January 2001

Example of gold on flags as opposed to yellow was given recently by the embassy of Antigua Barbuda in London, who sent a delivery of flags back to their manufacturer recently on the grounds that they (the manufacturers) had used yellow where the law stipulates a 'golden' sun.
Christopher Southworth, 28 March 2003


Meaning of Symbols and Colors

The sun represents the dawning of a new era; red - the energy of the people; blue - hope; black, the African ancestry of the people. The combination of yellow, blue and white represent the sun, sand and sea.
James Dignan , 22 November 1995


Details of the Flag


by Zeljko Heimer, 12 January 2001

The construction sheet is made according to the data given in l'Album 2000 [pay00]. Overall ratio 2:3~ is approximated as (18+10+18):69~. The sun symbol is half of a 16-pointed star with outer diameter 30 and inner 15 units. The colours provided are approxiamtive. The red is apparently the same as the red of the british ensigns (Pantone 186c). This seems a bit purpulish when reverted to BS (204-0-51). Blue is somehwat lighter then the standard British ensign blue (Pantone 300c) and yellow is aproximated with Pantone 116c.
Zeljko Heimer, 12 January 2001


Coat of Arms


from Ralf Hartemink site

One of the stags that support the Antigua and Barbuda shield holds an agave which repesent connection to the rope industry.
Nahum Shereshevsky, 31 May 1997


Subdivisions

According to the CIA World Factbook, Antigua and Barbuda comprises six parishes and two dependencies. The two dependencies being the islands of Barbuda and Barbuda.  Evidently all the parishes are on Antigua.
Joe McMillan, 9 April 2003

Encyclopaedia Universalis Yearbook lists the administrative divisions as follows:
Parishes:
- St. George
- St. John
- St. Paul
- St. Phillip
- St. Peter
- St. Mary

Other islands:
- Barbuda
- Barbuda (uninhabited).
Ivan Sache, 11 April 2003