Guyana Flag

The design of Guyana’s flag consists of a background of green, a large isosceles yellow triangle bordered in white, and a smaller isosceles red triangle bordered in black. These colors are Pan African colors as well as the colors that go with Marcus Garvey. The triangles point to the right side of the flag. This Guyanese flag was adopted after Guyana won its independence from Britain on May 26, 1966. The flag was designed by Dr. Whitney Smith, an American vexillologist, from a contest held in 1962. Although that flag of Guyana he created did not contain the borders around the triangles. Those borders were added by the College of Arms in the United Kingdom. The flag has not been modified since it was enacted in 1966. This flag is also known as the Golden Arrowhead. These flags of Guyana are both the national flag of Guyana and the civil flag that is flown by its citizens.

The green represents the forest, vegetation and agriculture of Guyana. The yellow represents the mineral wealth and the golden future of Guyana. The red represents the country’s willingness to go through the nation building process. The white represents the large water resources of Guyana. The black represents the perseverance and endurance of Guyana.

In 1581, the Dutch built some trading posts. In 1658, they created sugar plantations bringing in Africans as slave labor. In 1841, Britain over took the town of Demerara. In 1831, the colony of British Guiana started to surface. In 1834, Britain discontinued slavery, and brought in indentured servants to work from India and China. In 1953 Cheddi Jagan became prime minister. In 1961, with Jagan’s assistance Guiana received the right to self rule from Britain. Guyana gained complete independence from Britain in 1966. Forbes Burnham ruled the country from 1964 to 1985. He established the Guyana flags for his country. In 1970, Guyana became a republic. In 1978, nine hundred twelve people of the people’s temple cult committed suicide. This was led by Jim Jones. In 1992, elections were held and Jagan became president. His wife was president from 1997 to 1999. Ethnic tensions rose in 1998, and became riots. Bharrat Jagdeo became president in 1999.

Individuals can purchase Guyana flag wallpaper, or a black and white flag of Guyana, through any one of several different websites.