By: Neil Armstrong / BBC
Translation: Telegrafi.com
Although it is several centuries old, the Union Jack, which represents the union of England, Scotland and Ireland, is rarely absent from the news in the United Kingdom these days. Previously mostly seen flying on the poles of official buildings, it now hangs from the windows of people’s homes and is seen hanging from highway bridges and other public spaces.
Its meaning and symbolism are at the heart of debates that often cause more confusion than clarity. Is the increasingly widespread public display of the Union Jack - and the flag of St. George - an expression of patriotism or a provocation? The debate continues, but what is clear is that the Union Flag represents very different things to different people and different contexts. For some, it is simply a symbol of the United Kingdom, while for others it is an emblem of the Empire 0 or has disturbing connotations due to its appropriation by the far right.
The flag consists of three elements - the crosses of St. George [England], St. Andrew [Scotland] and St. Patrick [Ireland]Source: Getty Images
Professor Nick Groom is a cultural historian and his book Union Jack: The History of the British Flag [The Union Jack: The Story of the British Flag] follows the history of the flag. He told the BBC: “In the 70s, we had [far-right nationalist party] the National Front [NF] trying to appropriate the Union Flag, but we also had Tim Brooke-Taylor from the comedy group ‘The Goodies’ wearing vests with it. We had the Queen’s Silver Jubilee and also punks tearing up the flag and turning it into a fashion item.”
"There are periodic outbursts of flag-waving and display, some supported by the government, as happened in 2007 when Gordon Brown became prime minister and in his first statement to Parliament recommended that government buildings fly the Union Flag every day, to foster a sense of British identity."
“I think it’s up to everyone to not let political extremists set the agenda,” says Professor Groom. “If they try to set it, you take it back. This is a flag for inclusivity and diversity. The Union Flag is almost like a history or a map of these islands. Each element has had to compromise to fit in with the others and it has a very long and varied history.”
There are three components to the flag. The red cross of St. George on a white background is the symbol of England. The diagonal cross of St. Andrew on a blue field is the emblem of Scotland. The red diagonal cross of St. Patrick of Ireland on a white background is the third element.
When James VI of Scotland succeeded to the throne of England in 1603 as James I, a union of the crowns was established, uniting the two kingdoms under one monarch but leaving them constitutionally separate. British naval ships were required to fly both the red cross of St George and the flag of St Andrew. However, two flags flown from the same mast meant that a military engagement had taken place, with the flag of the victor flying above that of the vanquished (according to some interpretations, the practice of lowering the flag to half-mast meant that the invisible flag of death was above it). English ships carried the cross of St George above, while Scottish ships carried the cross of St Andrew.
Union flags lined the streets during Queen Elizabeth II's platinum jubilee in 2022Source: Alamy
This was far from the spirit of unity that the king wished to encourage, so he commissioned the Lord of Nottingham to consider how the two flags could be incorporated into a single one. The earl – who was also Lord Admiral of the Navy – favoured a design with the cross of St George alongside the cross of St Andrew. However, according to heraldic protocols, the flag closest to the flagpole was superior, so this design did not win any favours.
In 1606, a clever compromise was agreed. The cross of St George would be placed above the cross of St Andrew, but the “canton” – the upper part of the flag closest to the flagpole, and according to heraldry the most important sector – would be dominated by the colours of St Andrew. No one ensign had primacy. The new Union Flag would be flown by all merchant and royal ships. There were still discontented Scots and English who felt their identity was threatened, and there were changes in design, but essentially this became the foundation of the Union Flag.
When the Act of Union with Ireland was passed in 1801, the red cross of St. Patrick, placed within the cross of St. Andrew, was added to the flag. As historian Graham Stewart explains in his book Britain: 100 documents that shaped a nation [Britannia: 100 Documents that Shaped a Nation]: “In order not to completely obliterate the Scottish flag, the Irish portion was made thinner and also ‘reverse-loaded’ – inverted on each half so that it is lower on the half closest to the flagpole (giving hierarchical precedence to Scotland), but higher on the half furthest from it.”
Stewart continues: “This was another way of assuaging national sensitivities by ensuring that the priority given to the Irish flag - because it stands above the Scottish one - was balanced by the priority given to the Scottish flag in the more prestigious half of the design.”
The flag was first flown on 1 January 1801, when the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was created. Since the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921, red has represented Northern Ireland.
Why is Wales, the other country that makes up Britain (England, Scotland, and Wales) and the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland), not included? Because in 1283, Edward I conquered the rebellious Welsh. To emphasize his supremacy, Edward made his son Prince of Wales. As a principality, not a kingdom, Wales is considered to be represented by the cross of St. George.
In the British Parliament, in 1908 it was declared that “the Union Flag shall be regarded as the national flag”. Along with the Stars and Stripes of the United States, the British flag is probably the most recognizable flag in the world. “I think that, in terms of longevity, influence and representation in various fields, the Union Flag is absolutely iconic,” says Nick Groom. He points out that the flag is easily recognizable even when only a small part of it is seen, or when it is presented in different colors or black and white.
Although originally a royal flag, the Union Flag gradually became the symbol of Britain and then of the United Kingdom. And as Britain grew as a colonial power and its empire expanded, the Union Flag – which once flew over around a quarter of the world's population and land area – became synonymous with subjugation and exploitation for the peoples of imperial territories who desired independence. For many, the flag still carries connotations of colonialism as well as a troubling connection to Britain's role in the transatlantic slave trade.
JMW Turner's masterpiece, "The Battle of Trafalgar, 21 October 1805" (1822-24) has been interpreted in various ways.Source: Alamy
Over the centuries, the flag has been a recurring motif in art, and many of the earliest examples are military and naval depictions, such as The death of Major Peirson (1782–84) by John Singleton Copley. Celebrating the British victory against a French invasion of the island of Jersey, at a time when the British Empire was facing challenges, the painting served propaganda purposes, boosting confidence in the British Empire after the loss of the American colonies and glorifying British imperial power.
In Turner's painting, Battle of Trafalgar (1805), the eye is drawn to a Union Jack only partially visible but unmistakable in the foreground on the left. This painting too has been seen as a powerful nationalist statement, marking Britain’s naval supremacy and its role as a global power after the battle. But it has also been interpreted as being anti-war and anti-empire, with art critic Jonathan Jones focusing on the “problematic” depiction of human suffering at its centre, with “a giant British flag floating, shroud-like, over troubled waters”.
In recent years, the Union Flag has taken on a different meaning for some UK citizens. Author and critic Arifa Akbar told the BBC: “I was born in London, but as someone of Pakistani descent, my earliest and most formative childhood memories of the flag are closely linked to the National Front and the very real fear of violence or attack that people who looked like me experienced in 1970s and 80s Britain. The NF appropriated the British flag for their own purposes and gave it a sickening association with violent racism.”
In the 1970s, the extremist political party National Front adopted the Union Flag as its emblem.Source: Getty Images
The 90s were characterised by a powerful wave in British music, fashion and art, which coincided with the coming to power of the New Labour government (Tony Blair's victory) in 1997. This was called the era of Cool Britain [Attractive Britain!], an expression that played on the title of the patriotic song. Rule, Britannia [Rule, Britain]. The Union Flag at that time became a symbol of this new, optimistic view of the United Kingdom on the international stage.
Akbar says: “There was a change in my relationship with the flag with the emergence of Young Labour and Cool Britain. Remember the Spice Girls flag dress [worn by Geri Halliwell at the 1997 Brit Awards]? I didn't feel so uncomfortable around it anymore. It seemed to have been stripped of its aggressive and racist elements and represented a more tolerant, less hostile patriotism. I also remember some friends - people of colour - who felt more comfortable flying the Union Flag. I don't think the British flag is just synonymous with colonialism or imperial history. The flag of a nation has many different meanings, not just one, and they can change over time."
The emblem has appeared in artwork by various artists, including British pop artist Peter Blake and Turner Prize-winning painter Chris Ofili, whose work Union Black redesigns the flag in the Pan-African colors: red, black and green.
The flag was used in Jamie Reid's artwork for the Sex Pistols' anti-monarchy song, God Save the Queen, in 1977.Source: Getty Images
Banksy has used the flag in his satirical murals, and in 2019, when Stormzy became the first black British artist to headline the main stage at Glastonbury, he took to the stage wearing a bulletproof vest designed by Banksy - with the Union Flag printed on it in almost monochrome. It was a commentary on social injustice, racism and knife crime in the UK. It may also have served as a stylish response to the racist slogan of the 70s: "There's no black in the Union Jack" - a phrase which in 1987 became the title of an influential book by author Paul Gilroy.
The emblem has been appropriated over the decades by numerous musical artists - from The Who and the British mod movement in the 60s, to punks in the 70s - with the Sex Pistols using the flag ironically on the cover of their anti-monarchy song, God Save the QueenDesigner Alexander McQueen created a flag-print coat for David Bowie, which the singer wore on stage and on the cover of his 1997 album, Earthling.
At the peak of the phenomenon Cool Britain, Patsy Kensit and Liam Gallagher appeared on the cover of the magazine Vanity Fair, lying on Union flag cushions. In 2012, the opening ceremony of the London Olympics began with an impersonator of Queen Elizabeth II landing in the stadium with a parachute emblazoned with the British flag - a moment full of light-hearted humor and benevolent patriotism.
Today, Akbar expresses concern that the flag's connotations may be undergoing another shift: "Unfortunately, once again, with the rise of anti-immigrant anger and racial hatred, the flag seems to have been appropriated by haters," she says.
On the other hand, the flag functions as a symbol of national pride for many people across the country. Nick Groom says: “When it comes to people reclaiming the flag for themselves, a child waving a plastic Union flag at a neighborhood party or a country fair does as much to bring the flag back into the community as any statement by a politician. It is the flag of the people.” /Telegraph/
