View source for Flag of Saint Kitts and Nevis

{{short description|none}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2016}}
{{Infobox flag
|Name = Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis
|Image = Flag of Saint Kitts and Nevis.svg
|Nickname = 
|Use = 111110
|Symbol = {{FIAV|111110}} {{FIAV|normal}}
|Proportion = 2:3
|Adoption = {{Start date and age|1983|09|19|df=y}}
|Design = A yellow-edged black diagonal band bearing two white five-pointed stars divided diagonally from the lower hoist-side corner to the upper fly-side corner: the upper triangle is green and the lower triangle is red.
|Designer = Edrice Lewis
|Image2 = Naval Ensign of Saint Kitts and Nevis.svg
|Nickname2 = Naval ensign of Saint Kitts and Nevis
|Use2 = 000001
|Symbol2 = {{FIAV|000001}} {{FIAV|normal}}
|Proportion2 = 1:2
|Adoption2 = 
|Design2 =A white field with a centered red cross, the national flag stretched out to a ratio of 1:2 is in the [[Canton (flag)|canton]]. 
|Designer2 = 
|Image3=Flag of the Governor-General of Saint Kitts and Nevis.svg
|Proportion3=1:2
|Nickname3=Flag of the [[governor-general of Saint Kitts and Nevis]]
|Design3=A lion statant guardant surmounted upon St Edward's Crown above a gold scroll inscribed with 'COUNTRY ABOVE SELF' on a blue field
|Adoption3=19 September 1983}}
[[File:Flag of Saint Kitts and Nevis (1-2).svg|250px|thumb|right|Version with aspect ratio 1:2]]
[[File:Secretary Pompeo Meets with Saint Kitts and Nevis Foreign Affairs Minister Brantley (49429597733).jpg|thumb|Meeting between American and Kittsian diplomats; Saint Kitts and Nevis flag in background]]
The [[national flag]] of [[Saint Kitts and Nevis]] consists of a yellow-edged black band containing two white stars that divides diagonally from the lower hoist-side corner, with a green upper triangle and red lower triangle. Adopted in 1983 to replace the [[flag of Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla]], it has been the [[flag]] of the Federation of [[Saint Kitts and Nevis]] since the country gained independence that year.  Although the flag utilises the colours of the [[Pan-Africanism|Pan-Africanist]] movement, the symbolism behind them is interpreted differently.<ref>{{cite book|title=Flags|publisher=HarperCollins UK|year=1992|last=Shaw|first=Carol P.|isbn=0-00-470114-3}}</ref>

The islands of [[Anguilla]], [[Nevis]], and [[Saint Kitts|Saint Christopher]] formed a province of the [[West Indies Federation]] in 1958. After the federation dissolved four years later, they were granted the status of associate state as [[Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla]].<ref name=EB>{{cite encyclopedia|first=Whitney|last=Smith|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|title=Saint Kitts and Nevis, flag of|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1355479/Saint-Kitts-and-Nevis-flag-of|access-date=June 10, 2013|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.|archive-date=4 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131204054129/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1355479/Saint-Kitts-and-Nevis-flag-of|url-status=live}}'''{{subscription required}}'''</ref>  However, Anguilla decided to secede from the federation in 1969,<ref name=imperialism>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uyqepNdgUWkC&q=history+of+st.+kitts+and+nevis&pg=PA28|title=Historical Dictionary of European Imperialism|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|date=January 1, 1991|editor1-first=James Stuart|editor1-last=Olson|editor2-first=Robert|editor2-last=Shadle|pages=28|access-date=June 10, 2013|isbn=9780313262579}}</ref> owing to fears that their population, which was already small, would be further marginalised in parliament.<ref name=EB/> This was eventually formalised in 1980,<ref name=imperialism/> and a new flag for the remaining parts of the federation was needed, since the symbolism of the previous flag centred on the concept of a union of three.<ref name=EB/>

A national competition was held in the early 1980s to choose a new flag.  The winning design by student Edrice Lewis was one of 258 entries.<ref name=complete>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=anBaE-TAlcUC&q=Flag+of+St.+Kitts+and+Nevis&pg=PA33|title=Complete Flags of the World|publisher=Dorling Kindersley Ltd.|date=November 3, 2008|last=Kindersley|first=Dorling|pages=33|access-date=June 10, 2013|isbn=9781405333023}}</ref>  It was first hoisted one minute after midnight on 19 September 1983, the day Saint Kitts and Nevis became an independent country.<ref>{{cite news|title=Newest Caribbean Flag Is Raised Over Tiny State Of St. Kitts–Nevis|url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=MH&s_site=miami&p_multi=MH&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB35D97294A3AE2&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM|date=September 20, 1983|access-date=June 10, 2013|first=Harvey|last=Hagman|page=18A|newspaper=The Miami Herald|agency=Associated Press|archive-date=5 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305014131/http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=MH&s_site=miami&p_multi=MH&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB35D97294A3AE2&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM|url-status=live}}'''{{subscription required}}'''</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=St. Kitts–Nevis: New nation born|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=5-FNAAAAIBAJ&pg=6404,2852361&dq=flag+of+saint+kitts+and+nevis&hl=en|date=September 19, 1983|access-date=June 10, 2013|first=Dan|last=Sewell|page=4|newspaper=The Free Lance-Star|location=Fredericksburg|agency=Associated Press|archive-date=6 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211206205237/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=5-FNAAAAIBAJ&pg=6404%2C2852361&dq=flag+of+saint+kitts+and+nevis&hl=en|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Design==
===Symbolism===
While the flag's design is nearly identical to that of [[Flag of the Republic of the Congo|The Republic of the Congo]], its colours and symbols carry cultural, political, and regional meanings. The green alludes to the country's fertile land, while the red evokes the fight against slavery and colonialism.  The yellow stripes represent the sunshine the islands enjoy all year round, and the black epitomises the people's African origins.<ref name=EB/><ref name=complete/>  The two stars on the black band symbolise the two islands as well as hope and liberty.<ref name=EB/><ref name=complete/><ref name=CIA>{{cite web|title=Saint Kitts and Nevis|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/saint-kitts-and-nevis/|access-date=June 10, 2013|work=The World Factbook|publisher=CIA|archive-date=5 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201205061139/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/sc.html|url-status=live}}</ref>  The official meaning behind the flag's symbols was formulated by Edrice Lewis, the same person who designed the flag.<ref name=complete/>

==Historical flags==
{| class="wikitable"
! width="110"|Flag!!width="100"|Duration!!width="250"|Use!!width="250"|Description
|-
| [[File:Flag of Leeward Islands (1871–1952).svg|border|100px]] || 1871–1952 || Flag of the [[British Leeward Islands]] || 
|-
| [[File:Flag of Leeward Islands (1952–1958).svg|border|100px]] || 1952–1958 || Flag of the British Leeward Islands || 
|-
| [[File:Flag of the West Indies Federation (1958–1962).svg|border|100px]] || 1958–1962 || Flag of the [[West Indies Federation]] || A blue field with four white horizontal wavy bars (the top pair of bars being parallel and the lower pair also parallel) and an orange sun in the centre.
|-
| [[File:Flag of St. Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla (1958-1967).svg|border|100px]] || 1958–1967 || Flag of [[Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla]] || 
|-
| [[File:Flag of Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla (1967).svg|border|100px]] || 1967 || Flag of Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla || A vertical tricolour of green, yellow and blue.
|-
| [[File:Flag of St Christopher Nevis Anguilla.svg|border|100x100px]]|| 1967–1983 || Flag of Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla || A vertical tricolour of green, yellow and blue charged with a palm tree at the centre.
|}

==Flag of Nevis==
[[File:Flag of Nevis.svg|thumb|left|Flag of [[Nevis]]]]
The flag of [[Nevis]] island incorporates the flag of the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis in the top left corner.

The golden field stands for sunshine. The central triangle represents the conical shape of Nevis, with the blue being the ocean; the green being the verdant slopes of the island; and the white being the clouds that usually wreathe [[Nevis Peak]].

== Similar Flags ==

* [[Flag of the Republic of the Congo]]

==References==
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

{{Flags of North America}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Kitts and Nevis}}
[[Category:Flags of Saint Kitts and Nevis| ]]
[[Category:National symbols of Saint Kitts and Nevis|Flag of Saint Kitts and Nevis]]
[[Category:National flags]]
[[Category:Flags adopted through competition]]
[[Category:Flags introduced in 1983]]
[[Category:1983 establishments in Saint Kitts and Nevis]]
[[Category:Flags with green, red and yellow|Saint Kitts and Nevis]]