![[Flag of Trinidad and Tobago]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fflagspot.net%2fflags%2f..%2fimages%2ft%2ftt.gif)
image byZoltan Horvath, 27 November 2024
Official Name:Republic of Trinidad andTobago
Flag adopted:1962
See also:
The red is said to represent the vitality of the land andpeople, the warmth and energy of the sun, and courage andfriendliness. The white is said to represent the sea, the purityof national aspirations, and the equality of all men, and theblack represents strength, unity and purpose, and the naturalresources. (from [smi75b]).
Red stands for 'people's generosity and sunlight', white for'equality and sea' and black for 'tenacity and vocation forunity'. (from a 1994 translation of [taL82]).
Fromwww.gov.tt:
"The national flag was designed by the IndependenceCommittee and selected to be used as the National Flag in 1962.Its colours are Red, White and Black. Red is the colour mostexpressive of our country, it represents the vitality of the landand its people, it is the warmth and energy of the sun, thecourage and friendliness of the people. White is the sea by whichthese lands are bound; the cradle of our heritage; the purity ofour aspirations and the equality of all men under the sun. TheBlack represents for us the dedication of the people joinedtogether by one strong bond. It is the colour of strength, ofunity, of purpose and of the wealth of the land. The colourschosen represent the elements Earth, Water and Fire whichencompass all our past, present and future and inspire us as oneunited, vital, free and dedicated people."
Erki Kurikoff, 13 February 2002
Articles IV(4), V and VI all say that the National Flag shouldbe raised in the morning a lowered at night (the actual timesvary). But all Articles refer to official rather than privatedisplay.
Christopher Southworth, 4 April 2003
From 'The National Flag of the Republic of Trinidad andTobago', undated but must be from after 1976 (when Trinidadbecame a republic), and the specifications it contains areidentical to those issued by 'The Ministry of Home Affairs' on 31August 1962:
'Chapter I - The official description of the Flag reads asfollows: "On a red field, a Bend Dexter Sable borderedSilver; that is to say, there is on the Red Field a diagonal fromleft to right in Black bordered with White. The width ofthe Black and White bands joined side by side at the upper dextercorner of the Flag is one-fifth of the full length of the Flag,and the width of each White band is one-sixth of the width of theBlack and White bands together. The width of Black istherefore four-sixths of the total width of the White andBlack". The Black and White diagonals must always point tothe peak of the staff. "The dimensions of the National Flagshall be in the proportions of five to three (5:3). Forflags carried at sea the dimensions shall be two to one(2:1)"'
Christopher Southworth, 29 March 2003
According to Album 2000 [pay00]- National Flag on land (-SW/--- 3:5) - Red flag with a blackfalling diagonal fimbriated white. Both Album 2000 and [smi83] mark usage as (-SW/---);does it mean that there are some prohibitions regarding the useof this flag by private citizens on land?
Željko Heimer, 6 April 2003
The regulations say only this:
"ARTICLE III - SPECIAL DAYS FOR FLYING THE NATIONAL FLAG -The dates of special significance for this country on which theNational Flag may be flown freely by all citizens are asfollows:
- 1. Independence Day - 31 August.
- 2. Republic Day - 24 September.
- 3. Remembrance Day - 2nd Sunday in November.
- 4. Any other date that may be prescribed from time to time.
The above gives the dates upon which the National Flag may beflown freely by all citizens, but there seems to be nothing inthe remaining 24 Articles to explain what happens on otherdays? The mystery remains.
Christopher Southworth, 6 April 2003
image byŽeljko Heimer, 6 April 2003
The regulations require that the width of the white and blackstripes together is 1/5 of the length, with white and blackstripes being 1-4-1. It is nowhere specifically explained, butthe diagonal stripe is set so that it makes edges only along thetop and bottom and not along hoist and fly, that it touches withone point only.
Željko Heimer, 6 April 2003
The Office of the President website has a page on national symbols with illustrations and descriptions:https://otp.tt/trinidad-and-tobago/national-emblems/
The Ministry of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs website has a page about the national flag with illustration:https://foreign.gov.tt/about/trinidad-tobago/national-symbols/national-flag/
The National Archives has an interesting document issued on Independence Day titled �Our Flag and other National Symbols� with illustrations and descriptions of emblems:https://natt.gov.tt
I haven�t found any legal document on colors of the national flag.
Zoltan Horvath, 27 November 2024
The protocol manual for theLondon 2012 Olympics(Flags and Anthems ManualLondon 2012 [loc12]) provides recommendationsfor national flag designs. EachNOCwas sent an image of the flag, including thePMS shades, for their approval by LOCOG. Once this was obtained, LOCOG produceda 60 x 90 cm version of the flag for further approval. So, while these specs maynot be the official, government, version of each flag, they are certainly whattheNOCbelieved the flag to be.
For Trinidad and Tobago: PMS 186 red and black. The vertical flag is simply thehorizontal version turned 90 degrees clockwise.
Ian Sumner, 10 October 2012
The Flag Manual - Beijing 2008 gives Pantone colors: PMS 032 (red), and Black.
The Album des Pavillons 2000 [pay00] (Corr. No. 6.) gives approximate colors in Pantone and CMYK systems: Red: Pantone 186c and CMYK 0-90-80-5.
The Flags and Anthems Manual London 2012 [loc12] gives Pantone colors: PMS 186 (red), and PMS Black.
The Album des Pavillons 2023 specifies the colors of the flags in three color systems: Red: Pantone 186c, CMYK 10-100-74-2, RGB 210-16-52.
Vexilla Mundi gives colors in Pantone system: PMS 186C (red), PMS Black, and PMS White.
Wikipedia illustrates the flag, and construction details, and doesn�t give any color specification.
Flag Color Codes gives the following color values:
Red: Hex # C8102E, RGB 200-16-46, CMYK 0-100-80-5, Pantone 186, RAL3028
Black: Hex #000000, RGB 0-0-0, CMYK 0-0-0-100, Pantone Black, RAL 9005
White: Hex #FFFFFF, RGB 255-255-255, CMYK 0-0-0-0, PantoneN/A, RAL N/A
Zoltan Horvath, 27 November 2024