History of the Barbados Flag: Grantley Prescod, Independence & the 1966 Design
How a national competition produced one of the Caribbean’s most recognizable independence flags.
How the flag was chosen
As Barbados prepared for independence, a national competition was held to select a flag for the new state. The winning design came from Grantley Prescod, a secondary-school teacher and Education Officer.
Grantley Prescod’s design
Prescod used three equal vertical panels—ultramarine, gold and ultramarine—with a black broken trident centered on the gold panel. The colors refer to the sea and sky and to the island’s beaches, while the broken trident transformed an older colonial maritime emblem into a symbol of constitutional separation.
First raised on November 30, 1966
The Barbados flag was raised for the first time at the independence ceremony on November 30, 1966, when the Union Jack was lowered and Barbados became an independent state.
Why the design endured
The flag’s simple three-panel structure, distinctive trident and direct independence symbolism made it immediately recognizable. Barbados retained the same national flag when it became a republic in 2021.
