Flag of Sint Maarten

The flag of Sint Maarten is a special symbol for the country. It has a white triangle on the left side with the country's coat of arms inside it. There are also two horizontal bands, one cherry red on top and one navy blue on the bottom. This flag was adopted in 1985, just a short time after Sint Maarten got its own coat of arms. It became the official flag on June 13, 1985. After the Netherlands Antilles broke apart on October 10, 2010, this flag became the only one used in Sint Maarten.

History

The island of Saint Martin was first seen by Christopher Columbus on November 11, 1493, during his second voyage to the West Indies. He named it after Martin of Tours because the date matched a special day for him. Over the years, control of the island changed between the Spanish, Dutch, and French until 1648, when the Dutch Republic and France signed a treaty to split the island.

Later, Sint Maarten became part of the Dutch West Indies in 1828 and then joined the Netherlands Antilles in 1954. In 1982, it got its own coat of arms, and a contest was held to design a flag. The new flag, made by Roselle Richardson, was adopted on June 13, 1985. After the Netherlands Antilles ended in 2010, this flag became the only one used in Sint Maarten, which then became a country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Design

The flag of Sint Maarten has a white triangle at the left side with the island's coat of arms inside it. There are two horizontal bands: one red at the top and one blue at the bottom.

The colors and symbols on the flag have special meanings. The blue stands for the sea and the sky. The red represents the strength of the people of Sint Maarten. The green and yellow on the coat of arms show the island's fertile land and the energy of its people. The orange around the shield and the light blue background remind us of the Dutch monarchy. The shield shows symbols like the island's official flower, a special court building, and a monument that marks the friendship between the Dutch and French parts of the island. Above the shield is a pelican bird in front of a sun, and a motto that means "always progressing."

The main colors of red, white, and blue are the same as the flag of the Netherlands, the country that Sint Maarten comes from, and also the same as the flag of France, which governs the other part of the island.

The flag looks a bit like the war flag of the Philippines because both have a white triangle at the left side with red and blue bands.

Variants

The flag used by the governor of the country has red, white, and blue horizontal bands at the top and bottom. In the middle, there is a light blue circle with an orange edge. Inside this circle is a white courthouse on a white band.

Variant flag of Sint Maarten

Variant flag	Usage
	Standard of the governor of Sint Maarten