Flag of Mosquitia

Mosquitia National Flag

Other names	King George Cross, King George Flag The Mosquitian flag Mosquitia flag
Use	National flag
Proportion	1:2
Adopted	8 March 1824;201 years ago (1824-03-08)
Design	Six horizontal stripes, alternating blue and white; in the canton, the Union Flag proper, extending vertically over the top three stripes and horizontally over the hoist-ward half of the flag
Designed by	George Frederic Augustus II
Use	Ensign
Adopted	1844
Design	Barry of twelve, white and blue, the white uppermost, having the British Union in the first canton

The Flag of Mosquitia, officially designated the Mosquitia National Flag and commonly referred to as the King George Cross, is the first officially adopted national flag of the Kingdom of Mosquitia. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

The Mosquitia National Flag was commissioned on March 8, 1824, by King George Frederic Augustus II, in an official correspondence addressed to British Superintendent Colonel Edward Codd, then stationed in British Honduras. The letter, archived in the British Colonial Office records under CO 123/35, formally introduced the national flag and established it as the symbol of the kingdom’s sovereign identity. ^[4]

History

On March 16, 1740, the Declaration of Edward (which formally placed Mosquitia under English protection) was proclaimed “under the colours”. ^{[5] [6] [7]} Consequently, the flag of the Kingdom of Great Britain served as the de facto national flag of Mosquitia until the union of 1801.

Flag of the Kingdom of Great Britain used by Mosquitia from 1740 to 1801.

Following the Act of Union in 1801, the newly adopted flag of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was likewise employed in Mosquitia. This remained in use until 1824, when the Mosquitia National Flag was formally introduced.

Flag of the United Kingdom used by Mosquitia between 1801 and 1824.

On 8 March 1824, King George Frederic Augustus II issued a formal communication to Major General Edward Codd, Superintendent of British Honduras, declaring his decision to adopt and hoist a national flag for the Kingdom of Mosquitia. He explained the measure as a necessary step to “prevent future disputes” with neighbouring states emerging from the former Spanish Empire—particularly Colombia—by clearly distinguishing Mosquitian territory from that of the newly independent republics.

Mosquitia National Flag adapted on March 8, 1824.

References

1. The Flag Bulletin. Flag Research Center. 1979.
2. Clavel, Damian (2022). "The Rise and Fall of George Frederic Augustus I: The Central American, Caribbean, and Atlantic Life of a Miskitu King, 1805–1824". Business History Review. 96 (3): 525–558. doi: 10.1017/S0007680522000575 . ISSN   0007-6805.
3. "Banderas del S.XIX".
4. King George Frederic of the Mosquito Nation (1824-03-08). Letter of king George Frederic to Codd with Mosquito National Flag (CO 123/35) (handwritten).
5. Bancroft, Hubert Howe (1886). The Works of Hubert Howe Bancroft: San Francisco. A. L. Bancroft, 1883-90. [New York] Arno Press.
6. Lytton, Edward Bulwer Lytton Baron (1874). Speeches of Edward, Lord Lytton: Now First Collected with Some of His Political Writings Hitherto Unpublished, and a Prefatory Memoir by His Son. W. Blackwood and sons.
7. State, United States Department of (1882). The Clayton-Bulwer Treaty and the Monroe Doctrine: A Letter from the Secretary of State to the Minister of the United States at London Dated May 8, 1882, with Sundry Papers and Documents Explanatory of the Same, Selected from the Archives of the Department of State. U.S. Government Printing Office.