MalissaHardaway at 14:26, 3 December 2025

2025-12-03T14:26:45Z

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{{Distinguish|text=the [[Continental Union Flag]]}}
{{Short description|Historical flag}}
{{Infobox flag
| Name = East India Company
| Nickname =
| Image = Flag of the British East India Company (1801).svg
| Use = Company flag and [[Ensign (flag)|ensign]]
| Proportion =
| Adoption = 1801
| Relinquished = 1858
| Design = Horizontal stripes, alternating red and white, with the [[Flag of the United Kingdom|Union Flag]] in the [[Canton (flag)|canton]]
| Designer =
}}

The '''flag of the East India Company''' was used to represent the [[East India Company]], which was chartered in [[Kingdom of England|England]] in 1600. The flag was altered as the nation changed from England to Great Britain to the United Kingdom. It was initially a red and white striped ensign with the [[flag of England]] in the [[canton (flag)|canton]]. The flag displayed in the canton was later replaced by the [[flag of Great Britain]] and then the [[flag of the United Kingdom]], as the nation developed.

== Early years ==
[[File:British East India Company flag.svg|thumb|205px|The flag of the Company with the [[flag of England]] in the [[canton (flag)|canton]]]]
[[File:NatGeog1917EastIndiaCompanyFlag.jpg|thumb|Variant with thirteen stripes]]
Upon receiving a [[Chartered company|Royal Charter]] to trade in the [[Indian Ocean]] from Queen [[Elizabeth I of England|Elizabeth I]] in 1600, the English East India Company adopted a flag of red and white stripes (varying from nine to thirteen stripes in total), with the [[flag of England]] in the canton.<ref>{{cite book|first=George |last=Preble |title=Our Flag: Origin and Progress of the Flag of the United States of America, with an Introductory Account of the Symbols, Standards, Banners and Flags of Ancient and Modern Nations |page=[https://archive.org/details/ourflagoriginan00prebgoog/page/n177 155] |publisher=J Munsell |year=1872 |url=https://archive.org/details/ourflagoriginan00prebgoog}}</ref>

The flag caused problems for the East India Company at first when trading in the [[Far East]], because of its use of the [[Saint George's Cross]]. In Japan in 1616, the Company's ships were turned away because the cross on the flag was viewed as a symbol of Christianity, which the Japanese had banned in 1614.<ref name="fawcett">{{cite journal|first=Sir Charles |last=Fawcett |title=The Striped Flag of the East India Company, and its connexion with the American 'Stars and Stripes' |journal=The Mariner's Mirror |volume=23 |issue=4 |pages=449–476 |doi=10.1080/00253359.1937.10657258 |year=1937 }}{{Subscription required}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Fawcett |first=Charles |url=https://crwflagsonline.com/fotw/flags/gb-eic2.html |title=The STRIPED FLAG of the EAST INDIA COMPANY, and its CONNEXION with the AMERICAN "STARS and STRIPES" |year=1937}}</ref> The [[Lê dynasty]] in [[Tonkin]] banned the Company from using the flag, believing the cross on it to be an endorsement of Christianity, promotion of which the Tonkinese had prohibited. The Company's trading rivals, the [[Dutch East India Company]], argued on the Company's behalf that the cross was a symbol of the English nation and not of Christianity, but the Tonkinese insisted on banning the flying of the flag unless the cross was removed.<ref>{{cite book|first=Hoang |last= Anh Tuan |title=Silk for Silver: Dutch-Vietnamese relations, 1637–1700 |page=195 |publisher=BRILL |year=2007 |isbn=978-9047421696}}</ref> In 1673, when the Company attempted to restart trade with Japan, they initially declared they would not change their flag. However, after receiving local advice and a demand for an explanation from the Japanese authorities, the Company began using a flag with red and white stripes, but without the flag of England on it, for trading in the Far East.<ref name=fawcett /><ref name=":0" />

[[File:Two views of an East Indiaman of the time of King William III.jpg|thumb|left|Two views of an East India Company ship, painted with a different number of stripes on each flag]]
In 1682 in [[Batavia, Dutch East Indies]] (modern-day [[Jakarta]]), the Company flag was at the centre of tensions between the English and Dutch governments after soldiers from the Dutch East India Company were accused of tearing down one of the Company flags. Although the Dutch sent warships to reinforce the area, the event came to nothing, as the person making the accusation was not present on Batavia, and neither the Company directors nor King [[Charles II of England]] had any desire to enter into a military conflict with the Dutch over the matter.<ref>{{cite book|first=H. V. |last=Bowen |title=The Worlds of the East India Company |page=54 |publisher=Boydell & Brewer |year=2002 |isbn=978-1843830733}}</ref>

== Great Britain ==
[[File:Flag of the British East India Company (1707).svg|thumb|205px|The flag of the Company with the [[flag of Great Britain]] in the canton]]
In 1603, when King [[James VI of Scotland]] ascended to the English throne, thus [[Union of the Crowns|unifying the Crowns]] of England and [[Scotland]], he created a combined flag of both nations, to be used for a united British state. However, the [[Parliament of England]] and [[Parliament of Scotland]] were reluctant to unite, and wished that the countries remain separate. The king retained his flag for personal use as the [[King's Colours]].<ref>[[Arthur Charles Fox-Davies|A.C. Fox-Davies]], ''[[The Art of Heraldry: An Encyclopædia of Armory]]'' (1904), p. 399</ref> The East India Company continued using their ensign with the flag of England in the canton. In 1668, [[Charles II of England|King Charles II]] transferred control of [[Mumbai|Bombay]] to the East India Company. The Company then adopted a new flag including the King's Colours, as was shown when blue cloth, in addition to red and white, was requested for making a new flag for the fort in Bombay "if the King's colours were to be kept there; 'if not, white and red will be sufficient'".<ref name="i" /> The King's Colours were later formally adopted as the [[flag of Great Britain]] when the [[Kingdom of Great Britain]] was formed by the [[Acts of Union 1707]] at the behest of [[Anne, Queen of Great Britain|Queen Anne]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nps.gov/jame/learn/historyculture/history-of-the-british-flag.htm |title=History of the British Flag |publisher=U.S. National Park Service |date=2016-03-16 |accessdate=2017-05-23 |archive-date=2017-07-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170709110352/https://www.nps.gov/jame/learn/historyculture/history-of-the-british-flag.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Comparison with American flag ===
[[File:Flag of the United States (1776-1777).svg|thumb|205px|The [[Continental Union Flag]], 1775]]
The flag of the East India Company is considered to have inspired the 1775 [[Continental Union Flag]], the first [[flag of the United States]], as the two flags were of the same design.<ref name=fawcett /><ref name=":0" /> This connection is attributed to numerous sources. [[Benjamin Franklin]] of [[Pennsylvania]] once gave a speech endorsing the adoption of the Company's flag by the United States as their national flag. He said to [[George Washington]] of [[Virginia]], "While the field of your flag must be new in the details of its design, it need not be entirely new in its elements. There is already in use a flag, I refer to the flag of the East India Company."<ref>{{cite book|first=Robert |last=Johnson |title=Saint Croix 1770–1776: The First Salute to the Stars and Stripes |page=71 |publisher=AuthorHouse |year=2006 |isbn=978-1425970086}}</ref> This was a way of symbolising American loyalty to the Crown as well as the United States' aspirations, like those of the East India Company, to be self-governing. Some colonists also felt that the Company could be a powerful ally in the [[American War of Independence]], as they shared similar aims and grievances against [[The Crown|Crown]] tax policies. Colonists therefore flew the Company's flag, to endorse the Company.<ref>{{cite book|first=Tom |last=Horton |title=History's Lost Moments: The Stories Your Teacher Never Told You |chapter=Exposing the Origins of Old Glory's stripes |volume=5 |publisher=Trafford Publishing |year=2014 |isbn=978-1490744698}}</ref>

However, the theory that the Continental Union Flag was a direct descendant of the flag of the East India Company has been criticised as lacking written evidence.<ref name=i /> On the other hand, the resemblance is obvious, and a number of the [[Founding Fathers of the United States]] were aware of the East India Company's activities and of their free administration of [[Company rule in India|India under Company rule]].<ref name=i>{{cite web |author= |url=http://blogs.economictimes.indiatimes.com/onmyplate/saltires-and-stars-stripes/ |title=Saltires and Stars & Stripes |work=The Economic Times |date=2014-09-22 |accessdate=2017-05-23 |archive-date=2017-05-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170501014202/http://blogs.economictimes.indiatimes.com/onmyplate/saltires-and-stars-stripes/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

== United Kingdom ==
In 1801, following the unification of Great Britain and the [[Kingdom of Ireland]] into the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland]], the [[Union Flag]] was changed to incorporate [[Saint Patrick's Saltire]]. Accordingly, the flag of the East India Company was updated to display the new flag in the canton.<ref>{{cite book|first=Paul |last=Van Dyke |title=Images of the Canton Factories 1760–1822: Reading History in Art |page=69 |publisher=Hong Kong University Press |year=2015 |isbn=978-9888208555}}</ref>

In 1858, the British government passed the [[Government of India Act 1858|Government of India Act]], [[Nationalisation|nationalising]] the East India Company and taking over all of their possessions within India, where they would be considered legally a part of the [[British Raj]]. [[Company rule in India]] thus ended, and the Company flag ceased to have official status.<ref>{{cite web |first=A.B. |last=Keith |url=http://projectsouthasia.sdstate.edu/Docs/history/primarydocs/Political_History/ABKeithDoc028.htm |title=A Constitutional History Of India 1600–1935 |publisher=San Diego State University |via=Wayback Machine |accessdate=2017-05-23 |url-status=bot: unknown |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080820032456/http://projectsouthasia.sdstate.edu/Docs/history/primarydocs/Political_History/ABKeithDoc028.htm |archivedate=2008-08-20 }}</ref>

== Gallery ==
<gallery>
File:British East India Company Flag from Downman.jpg|Downman (1685)
File:British East India Company Flag from Lens.jpg|Lens (1700)
File:British East India Company Flag from Rees.jpg|Rees (1820)
File:British East India Company Flag from Laurie.jpg|Laurie (1842)
</gallery>

== See also ==
*[[Historical flags of the British Empire and the overseas territories]]
*[[Star of India (flag)]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== External links ==
* {{Commons category-inline}}

{{Union Flag|state=collapsed}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:East India Company, Flag Of The}}
[[Category:1858 disestablishments in the British Empire]]
[[Category:British East India Company]]
[[Category:Flags of the British Empire]]
[[Category:Flags with cantons]]
[[Category:Flags that incorporate the Union Jack]]
[[Category:Flags with blue, red and white]]
[[Category:Historical flags]]

Flag of the East India Company - Revision history

MalissaHardaway at 14:26, 3 December 2025