thumb|Barbados flag at Carifiesta 2018, [[Montreal|alt=The flag of Barbados displayed at a festival.]]
The flag of Barbados was designed by Grantley W. Prescod and was officially adopted to represent Barbados at midnight on 30 November 1966, the day the country gained independence.
The flag was chosen as part of a nationwide open contest held by the government. Prescod's design won the over a field of one thousand entries. The flag is a triband design, with the outermost stripes coloured ultramarine, to represent the sea and the sky, and the middle stripe coloured gold, to represent the sand. Within the middle band is displayed the head of a trident. This trident is meant to represent the trident of Poseidon, most visibly held by Britannia in Barbados' colonial coat-of-arms. The fact that it is broken is meant to represent the breaking of colonial rule in Barbados and independence from the British Empire.
After Prescod's design was selected as the winner of the contest, he was asked to make several flags as a personal request from Errol Barrow, the nation's first prime minister. Prescod constructed seven flags out of fabrics purchased from a department store. The flag was raised for the first time in a ceremony by Lieutenant Hartley Dottin of the Barbados Regiment.
From its independence in 1966, Barbados also had a royal standard for Queen Elizabeth II and a standard for the governor-general until 2021 when these flags were retired after Barbados officially became a republic. Barbados now uses the Presidential Standard.
History
After some time as a British colony, Barbados became part of the British Windward Islands in 1833, with the Union Jack as its official flag. It was reestablished as the colony of Barbados in 1885 and remained that way until 1958; during this time, the flag of the colony consisted of a Blue Ensign which was defaced with the colonial seal. After control was retaken by the United Kingdom from 1962 to 1966, following the dissolution of the West Indies Federation, the Barbadian legislature made their case for independence. Barbados became an independent nation on 30 November 1966. with the exact number being 1,029. He was awarded a $500 cash prize, which was donated to a popular newspaper publishing company, a scroll from the Barbadian government, and a gold medal. In addition to designing the flag, Prescod also constructed the first physical flag, at the request of Prime Minister Errol Barrow. The blue stripes are separated by a golden middle band, which represents the sand. A black trident head, commonly called the broken trident, is centred in the golden band, and the fact that the staff is missing is significant. The trident symbol was taken from Barbados' colonial badge, where the trident of Poseidon is shown with Britannia holding it. The broken lower part symbolises a symbolic break from its status as a colony. The three points of the trident represent the three principles of democracy: government of the people, government for the people, and government by the people. The Pantone colours of the Barbadian flag are:
Historical and variant flags
From its independence in 1966, Barbados had standards for Queen Elizabeth II, as well as the governor-general and prime minister. The first of these consisted of a yellow field with a blue circular disk containing the letter "E" and a crown in the centre, surrounded by gold roses; this device is displayed on Elizabeth II's personal flag.
The standard of the prime minister consists of the coat of arms within a white circle at the flag's centre. The standard of the president is noticeably simpler; it consists only of a dark navy field with the coat of arms in the centre, surrounded by a wreath of gold flowers. Just below the arms is a small version of the "broken trident" symbol, coloured gold. rather than a Union Jack, the canton is occupied by the national flag of Barbados.
See also
- National symbols of Barbados
- List of Barbadian flags