GRENADA, FLAG OF

national flag consisting of a diagonally divided field of yellow-green-yellow-green with a red border; in addition to the six yellow stars in the border, there is a central star in a red disk and, at the hoist, a nutmeg symbol. The flag has a width-to-length ratio of 3 to 5. Proposals were made in the 1950s for a federation of all the British territories in the Caribbean Sea, but the larger ones (in particular Jamaica and Trinidad) wanted separate sovereignty. As an alternative to maintaining the colonial status that had existed for centuries, Britain offered "associated statehood" to the remaining smaller islands, including Grenada. Although without military forces and international relations of their own, those states accepting the offer became entirely self-governing internally. Grenada entered into the agreement in 1967. Some of the Caribbean states adopted flags that they continued to use after achieving complete independence, while Grenada and others had interim designs only. Grenada's flag had horizontal stripes of blue-yellow-green with a central representation of a nutmeg, one of the island's chief products. The nutmeg symbol was retained when, in anticipation of independence, a new flag was developed. Officially hoisted at midnight, February 6/7, 1974, this unusual design has a diagonally divided background of green for vegetation and yellow for wisdom and the sun. Around the edge is a red border, symbolic of harmony and unity. The seven yellow stars stand for the original administrative subdivisions of Grenada. This design is typical of the striking new patterns that many Caribbean countries selected to avoid the more common vertical and horizontal tricolours. Whitney Smith History Grenada was sighted by Christopher Columbus on Aug. 15, 1498, when he sailed past the island without landing and gave it the name of Concepcin. The origin of the name Grenada remains obscure. After its discovery, Grenada was dominated for 150 years by the warlike Carib Indians, who had earlier killed off the more peaceful Arawak. In 1609 British merchants attempted to form a settlement, but the Caribs forced them to leave. French settlement The French governor of Martinique, Jacques-Dyel du Parquet, purchased Grenada from a French company in 1650 and established a settlement at St. George's. Grenada remained French until 1762, when it capitulated to the British. It was formally ceded to Britain in 1763 by the Treaty of Paris. In 1779 it was recaptured by the French, but it was restored to Britain in 1783.