Until 1966 Barbados used, as a British colony, the blue British official flag (Blue Ensign) with a Badge in the flying end of the flag. The Badge showed on a white disk the on two sea horses riding sea-god Neptune with a trident in the right hand. The top of the trident emerges today in the middle stripe of the flag.

The today's flag of Barbados was hoisted up officially on 30th of November in 1966. It was designed by G.W. Prescod, and shows three vertical stripes in blue, yellow and blue, as soon as the black trident in the middle. The blue stripes symbolize the ocean and the heaven, the yellow stripe in the middle symbolizes the sand strands. The three jags of the trident stand for three principles of rule: out of the people, with the people and for the people. The stem of the trident was leaved out quite conscious. Therewith should be expressed, that Barbados has outgrown the colonial heritage. But the trident stands for the dense bonding of the population to the sea.

The coat of arms of Barbados was awarded by the British queen Elisabeth II. on 21st of December in 1965, and supersede the badge. It shows in a golden shield an uprooted "bearded fig tree". From this tree infers the name of the island. The Spanish word barbados means bearded. In the upper cantons of the blazon are two red orchids. This species of orchids has the name "Red Pride of Barbados", and is the national plant of the state. The shield carries a helmet with yellow-red blankets. From that reaches out the arm of a native. He holds two sugarcane petioles in the hand. Shield holders are a dolphin and a pelican. They stand for the fishing and the fauna of the island. Underneath a golden ribbon with the motto of the land: "Pride and industry".

Text mit freundlicher Genehmigung von Flaggenlexikon.de