Mauritius Flag

The actual flag of Mauritius has been adopted since the independence of Mauritius which was on the 12 March 1968. In 1992 of the same date Mauritius Island became a Republic. The flag of Mauritius consists of four horizontal stripes, all four of equal width. The colours start as from top with red, blue, yellow and the last colour at the bottom is green. The red colour was chosen for freedom and independence. The blue colour was chosen for the blue sea of the Indian Ocean in which Mauritius Island is located. The yellow colour was chosen for sunshine and new light of independence. The green was chosen for the agriculture of Mauritius.

The civil ensign of Mauritius has also its own flag which is used for private vessels; the flag has a red background with on the left top side the Mauritian flag and on the right side in the middle a white circle with the coat of arms of Mauritius.

The government ensign flag used for state vessels has a blue background with at the top left the Mauritian flag and on the right side in the middle the coat of arms of Mauritius.

The naval ensign of Mauritius which is used by the coast guards has a flag with a completely different design, it consists of blue, white and red stripes of unequal width and in the centre of the flag you can observe an anchor and key emblem.

There has been before this actual flag others which were in use in the country. Mauritius was before 1968 under the rule of British and French. From 1718 to 1810 Mauritius was under the French colony and was known at this time as Ile de France. As from 1810 Mauritius was ruled by the British colony. But before the French ruled over Mauritius the Dutch were on the island from 1638 to 1710 but they were no power governing the island.

Mauritius has been named after the Prince Maurice de Nassau, who was the Stadholder (the person representing a country) of Netherlands; in Dutch Maurice is written “Maurits”.