Brain Zap

Flags of the Caribbean

Recognise the 13 national flags of Caribbean by their colours and design, one family of flags at a time.

13 cards ยท Geography

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Each Zap teaches up to 5 new cards, so you learn the deck a few at a time.

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  • Blue and white stripes, with a white star on a red triangle

    Blue and white stripes, with a white star on a red triangle

    Show answer: Blue and white stripes, with a white star on a red triangle

    Cuba

    Learn more: Designed in 1849. The three blue stripes stood for the island's three old departments.

  • Gold diagonal cross, with green and black triangles

    Gold diagonal cross, with green and black triangles

    Show answer: Gold diagonal cross, with green and black triangles

    Jamaica

    Learn more: The only national flag with no red, white or blue. Adopted at independence in 1962.

  • Blue over red, with a coat of arms

    Blue over red, with a coat of arms

    Show answer: Blue over red, with a coat of arms

    Haiti

    Learn more: Born in 1803 when the white was torn out of the French tricolour. The arms show a palm tree and cannons.

  • White cross over blue and red quarters

    White cross over blue and red quarters

    Show answer: White cross over blue and red quarters

    Dominican Republic

    Learn more: The only national flag with a Bible in its coat of arms.

  • Black triangle on aquamarine and gold bands

    Black triangle on aquamarine and gold bands

    Show answer: Black triangle on aquamarine and gold bands

    Bahamas

    Learn more: Aquamarine for the sea, gold for sand and sun, black for the people's strength. Adopted in 1973.

About this topic

This chapter of Flags of the World covers the national flags of Caribbean. Each card shows a flag and asks which country flies it, with a hint and a short story of where its colours and shapes come from.

Most Caribbean islands became independent in the 1960s and 1970s and chose bold new designs: triangles, diagonals, a trident, a parrot and even a nutmeg.

Learn the family first, then the one detail that sets each flag apart: the order of the colours, a shade of blue, a cross, a star or an emblem. Once you know most of this chapter's flags, the next chapter of the Book starts arriving in your Daily Zap.

All 13 cards

  1. Blue and white stripes, with a white star on a red triangle
    Blue and white stripes, with a white star on a red triangle

    Cuba

    Learn more: Designed in 1849. The three blue stripes stood for the island's three old departments.

  2. Gold diagonal cross, with green and black triangles
    Gold diagonal cross, with green and black triangles

    Jamaica

    Learn more: The only national flag with no red, white or blue. Adopted at independence in 1962.

  3. Blue over red, with a coat of arms
    Blue over red, with a coat of arms

    Haiti

    Learn more: Born in 1803 when the white was torn out of the French tricolour. The arms show a palm tree and cannons.

  4. White cross over blue and red quarters
    White cross over blue and red quarters

    Dominican Republic

    Learn more: The only national flag with a Bible in its coat of arms.

  5. Black triangle on aquamarine and gold bands
    Black triangle on aquamarine and gold bands

    Bahamas

    Learn more: Aquamarine for the sea, gold for sand and sun, black for the people's strength. Adopted in 1973.

  6. Black trident on gold between blue bands
    Black trident on gold between blue bands

    Barbados

    Learn more: The broken trident marks the break from British rule in 1966: the shaft of the old colonial badge, snapped.

  7. Black band edged in white across red
    Black band edged in white across red

    Trinidad and Tobago

    Learn more: Red for the sun's warmth, black for the people's strength, white for the sea. Adopted in 1962.

  8. Green with a cross and a red disc holding a parrot
    Green with a cross and a red disc holding a parrot

    Dominica

    Learn more: The bird is the sisserou parrot, found nowhere else. One of the few national flags with purple.

  9. Red border with stars, yellow and green triangles
    Red border with stars, yellow and green triangles

    Grenada

    Learn more: The small symbol near the pole is a nutmeg, the spice it is famous for.

  10. Blue with a black, white and gold triangle
    Blue with a black, white and gold triangle

    Saint Lucia

    Learn more: The triangles echo the Pitons, two volcanic peaks rising from the sea.

  11. Blue, gold and green bands, with three green diamonds
    Blue, gold and green bands, with three green diamonds

    Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

    Learn more: The three diamonds form a V for its name and give it the nickname 'the Gems of the Antilles'.

  12. Black diagonal band with two white stars
    Black diagonal band with two white stars

    Saint Kitts and Nevis

    Learn more: The two stars stand for hope and liberty, not for the two islands as often thought.

  13. Rising sun over black, blue and white, inside a red V
    Rising sun over black, blue and white, inside a red V

    Antigua and Barbuda

    Learn more: The V shape stands for victory. Adopted in 1967.

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