1.
Glossary of vexillology
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Flag terminology is the nomenclature, or system of terms, used in vexillology, the study of flags, to describe precisely the parts, patterns, and other attributes of flags and their display. Badge A coat of arms or simple heraldic symbol, canton Any quarter of a flag, but commonly means the upper hoist quarter, such as the field of stars in the flag of the United States or the Union Jack in the Australian Flag. Charge A figure or symbol appearing in the field of a flag, emblem A device often used as a charge on a flag. It may be heraldic in origin or modern, for example the maple leaf on the Canadian Flag, field The background of a flag, the color behind the charges. Fimbriation A narrow edging or border, often in white or gold, for example the white and gold lines of the South African Flag. Fly The half or edge of a flag farthest away from the flagpole and this term also sometimes refers to the horizontal length of a flag. Hoist The half or edge of a flag nearest to the flagpole and this term also sometimes refers to the vertical width of a flag. Length The span of a flag along the side at right angles to the flagpole, width The span of a flag down the side parallel to the flagpole. Flags often inherit traits seen in traditional European heraldry designs and as a result patterns often share names, banderole or bannerol A small flag or streamer carried on the lance of a knight, or a long narrow flag flying from the mast-head of a ship. Banner Generically, a synonym for a flag of any kind, in heraldry, a flag whose design is the same as the shield in a coat of arms, but usually in a square or rectangular shape, also known as a banner of arms. Burgee A distinguishing flag of a recreational boating organisation, Civil ensign, merchant flag or merchant ensign A version of the national flag flown by civil ships to denote nationality. Civil flag A version of the flag flown by civilians on non-government installations or craft. Colour or color The flag of a military unit, courtesy flag or courtesy ensign A flag flown by a visiting ship in foreign waters as a token of respect. Ensign The flag of a ship or military unit, may also be used generically as a synonym for a flag of any kind. Fanion A small flag used by the French military, gonfalon, gonfanon or gonfalone A type of heraldic flag suspended from a crossbar. Guidon A small flag borne by a military unit, in Scots heraldry, a smaller version of the Standard. Pennon or pennant A flag larger at the hoist than at the fly, pipe banner A decorative flag for the Scottish Highland bagpipes. Prayer flag A type of flag found strung along mountain ridges and peaks in the Himalayas, rank flag or distinguishing flag The flag flown by a superior naval officer on his flagship or headquarters
2.
National flag
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A national flag is a flag that symbolizes a country. The flag is flown by the government, but usually can also be flown by citizens of the country, historically, flags originate as military standards, used as field signs. The practice of flying flags indicating the country of origin outside of the context of warfare became common with the flag, introduced during the age of sail. Most countries of Europe adopted a flag in the course of the 19th and early 20th centuries. The specifications of the flag of Denmark were codified in 1748, the flag of Switzerland was introduced in 1889, also based on medieval war flags. The Netherlands introduced two national flags in 1813, the Ottoman flag was adopted in 1844. Other non-European powers followed the trend in the late 19th century, the flag of Japan being introduced in 1870, the Flag of the United States is not defined in the constitution but rather in a separate Flag Resolution passed in 1777. Minor design changes of national flags are passed on a legislative or executive level. A change in national flag is due to a change of regime. In such cases, the origins of the national flag. In such cases national flags acquire the status of a political symbol, the flag of Germany, for instance, was a tricolour of black-white-red under the German Empire, inherited from the North German Confederation. The Weimar Republic that followed adopted a black-red-gold tricolour, nazi Germany went back to black-white-red in 1933, and black-red-gold was reinstituted by the two successor states, West Germany and East Germany following World War II. Similarly the flag of Libya introduced with the creation of the Kingdom of Libya in 1951 was abandoned in 1969 with the coup led by Muammar Gaddafi. It was used again by National Transitional Council and by anti-Gaddafi forces during the Libyan Civil War in 2011 and officially adopted by the Libyan interim Constitutional Declaration. There are three types of national flag for use on land, and three for use at sea, though many countries use identical designs for several of these types of flag. On land, there is a distinction between civil flags, state flags, and war or military flags, state flags are those used officially by government agencies, whereas civil flags may be flown by anyone regardless of whether they are linked to government. War flags are used by organisations such as Armies, Marine Corps. In practice, many countries have identical flags for these three purposes, national flag is used as a vexillological term to refer to such a three-purpose flag
3.
Ensign
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Ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern of the ship, the naval ensign, used on warships, may be different from the civil ensign or the yacht ensign. Large versions of naval ensigns called battle ensigns are used when a warship goes into battle, the ensign differs from the jack which is flown from a jackstaff at the bow of a vessel. In its widest sense, an ensign is just a flag or other standard, the European military rank of ensign, once responsible for bearing a units standard derives from it. In contrast, the Arab rank of ensign, liwa, derives from the command of a unit or units with an ensign, not the carrier of such a units ensign, and is a general officer. In Arab armies, ensign is a title equivalent to a Western brigade. In nautical use, the ensign is flown on a ship or boat to indicate its appartenance, while this includes its nationality, it may well indicate more information rather than being the national flag itself. This is particularly common for commonwealth and European countries, ensigns are usually at the stern flagstaff when in port, and may be shifted to a gaff or mast amidships when the ship is under way, becoming known as a steaming ensign. Vexillologists distinguish three varieties of a national flag used as an ensign, A civil ensign is worn by merchant. In some countries the yacht ensign, used on boats or ships instead of merchant vessels. A state ensign or government ensign is worn by government vessels, a naval ensign is used by a countrys navy. Such ensigns are strictly regulated and indicate if the vessel is a warship, a merchant ship, several Commonwealth countries national flags had their origin in the ensigns of their original colonising power, the United Kingdom. Most notable of these flags are those of Australia, New Zealand. It is also likely that the original design from which the flag of the United States developed was strongly influenced by the British Red Ensign or the flag of the East India Company. With the creation of independent air forces and the growth in aviation in the first half of the 20th century. These may be divided into air force ensigns and civil air ensigns, in heraldry, an ensign is the ornament or sign, such as the crown, coronet, or mitre, borne above the charge or arms. Distinguishing mark Maritime flag Znamierowski, Alfred, the world encyclopedia of flags, The definitive guide to international flags, banners, standards and ensigns
4.
Flag
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A flag is a piece of fabric with a distinctive design that is used as a symbol, as a signaling device, or as decoration. National flags are patriotic symbols with varied wide-ranging interpretations, often including strong military associations due to their original, flags are also used in messaging, advertising, or for other decorative purposes. The study of flags is known as vexillology, from the Latin word vexillum, due to the use of flags by military units, flag is also used as the name of some military units. A flag is equivalent to a brigade in Arab countries, and in Spain, in antiquity, field signs or standards were used in warfare that can be categorized as vexilloid or flag-like. During the High Middle Ages flags came to be used primarily as a device in battle. Already during the medieval period, and increasingly during the Late Middle Ages. Regimental flags for individual units became commonplace during the Early Modern period, flags also became the preferred means of communications at sea, resulting in various systems of flag signals, see, International maritime signal flags. One of the most popular uses of a flag is to symbolize a nation or country, some national flags have been particularly inspirational to other nations, countries, or subnational entities in the design of their own flags. Some prominent examples include, The flag of Denmark, the Dannebrog, is attested in 1478, the flag of the Netherlands is the oldest tricolour. Its three colours of red, white and blue go back to Charlemagnes time, the 9th century, the coastal region of what today is the Netherlands was then known for its cloth in these colours. Maps from the early 16th century already put flags in these colours next to this region, a century before that, during the 15th century, the three colours were mentioned as the coastal signals for this area, with the three bands straight or diagonal, single or doubled. As state flag it first appeared around 1572 as the Princes Flag in orange–white–blue, soon the more famous red–white–blue began appearing, becoming the prevalent version from around 1630. Orange made a comeback during the war of the late 18th century. During World War II the pro-Nazi NSB used it, any symbolism has been added later to the three colours, although the orange comes from the House of Orange-Nassau. This use of orange comes from Nassau, which today uses orange-blue, not from Orange, however, the usual way to show the link with the House of Orange-Nassau is the orange pennant above the red-white-blue. It is said that the Dutch Tricolour has inspired many flags but most notably those of Russia, New York City, the national flag of France was designed in 1794. As a forerunner of revolution, Frances tricolour flag style has been adopted by other nations, examples, Italy, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ireland, Haiti, Romania and Mexico. The Union Flag of the United Kingdom is the most commonly used, british colonies typically flew a flag based on one of the ensigns based on this flag, and many former colonies have retained the design to acknowledge their cultural history
5.
Kiribati
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Kiribati, officially the Republic of Kiribati, is an island nation in the central Pacific Ocean. The permanent population is just over 100,000, more than half of live on Tarawa Atoll. The nation comprises 33 atolls and reef islands and one raised coral island and they have a total land area of 800 square kilometres and are dispersed over 3.5 million square kilometers. Their spread straddles the equator and the 180th meridian, although the International Date Line is indented to bring the Line Islands in the day as the Kiribati Islands. The International Date Line circumscribes Kiribati by swinging far to the east, almost reaching the 150°W meridian, Kiribatis easternmost islands, the southern Line Islands south of Hawaii, have the most advanced time on Earth, UTC+14 hours. Kiribati became independent from the United Kingdom in 1979, the capital and now most populated area, South Tarawa, consists of a number of islets, connected by a series of causeways. These comprise about half the area of Tarawa Atoll, Kiribati is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the IMF and the World Bank, and became a full member of the United Nations in 1999. The name Kiribati was adopted at independence and it is local enunciation of Gilberts. This name derives from the archipelago that forms the nation. It was named the Gilbert Islands after the British explorer Thomas Gilbert and he sighted many of the islands in 1788 while mapping out the Outer Passage route from Port Jackson to Canton. The Kiribati archipelago was named Îles Gilbert, in about 1820, by Russian admiral Adam von Krusenstern, both their maps, published in 1820, were written in French. The archipelagos name was incorporated in the entire Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony from 1916, the spelling of Gilberts in the Gilbertese language as Kiribati may be found in books in Gilbertese prepared by missionaries and others. It is often suggested that the name for the Gilbert Islands proper is Tungaru. The pronunciation differs, Kiribas is the pronunciation as ti in Kiribatese makes an s sound. The area now called Kiribati has been inhabited by Micronesians speaking the same Oceanic language since sometime between 3000 BC and AD1300, the area was not isolated, invaders from Samoa, Tonga, and Fiji, later introduced Polynesian and Melanesian cultural aspects, respectively. Intermarriage tended to blur cultural differences and resulted in a significant degree of cultural homogenisation, chance visits by European ships occurred in the 17th and 18th centuries, as these ships attempted circumnavigations of the world or sought sailing routes from the south to north Pacific Ocean. The passing trade gave rise to European, Chinese, Samoan and other residents from the 1830s, they included beachcombers, castaways, traders and missionaries. In 1892 local authorities on each of the Gilbert Islands agreed to Captain Davis RN declaring them part of a British protectorate with the nearby Ellice Islands
6.
Frigatebird
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Frigatebirds are a family of seabirds called Fregatidae which are found across all tropical and subtropical oceans. The five extant species are classified in a genus, Fregata. All have predominantly black plumage, long, deeply forked tails, females have white underbellies and males have a distinctive red gular pouch, which they inflate during the breeding season to attract females. Their wings are long and pointed and can span up to 2.3 metres, able to soar for weeks on wind currents, frigatebirds spend most of the day in flight hunting for food, and roost on trees or cliffs at night. Their main prey are fish and squid, caught when chased to the surface by large predators such as tuna. Frigatebirds are referred to as kleptoparasites as they occasionally rob other seabirds for food, a rough nest is constructed in low trees or on the ground on remote islands. A single egg is laid each breeding season, the duration of parental care is among the longest of any bird species, frigatebirds are only able to breed every other year. The Fregatidae are a group to Suloidea which consists of cormorants, darters, gannets. Three of the five extant species of frigatebirds are widespread, while two are endangered and restrict their breeding habitat to one island each. The oldest fossils date to the early Eocene, around 50 million years ago, classified in the genus Limnofregata, the three species had shorter, less-hooked bills and longer legs, and lived in a freshwater environment. The term Frigate Bird itself was used in 1738 by the English naturalist, the book included an illustration of the male bird showing the red gular pouch. Like the genus name, the English term is derived from the French mariners name for the bird la frégate—a frigate or fast warship, the etymology was mentioned by French naturalist Jean-Baptiste Du Tertre when describing the bird in 1667. Christopher Columbus encountered frigatebirds when passing the Cape Verde Islands on his first voyage across the Atlantic in 1492, in his journal entry for 29 September he used the word rabiforçado, modern Spanish rabihorcado or forktail. In the Caribbean frigatebirds were called Man-of-War birds by English mariners and his Wings are very long, his feet are like other Land-fowl, and he builds on Trees, where he finds any, but where they are wanting on the ground. Frigatebirds were grouped with cormorants, and sulids as well as pelicans in the genus Pelecanus by Linnaeus in 1758 in the edition of his Systema Naturae. He described the characteristics as a straight bill hooked at the tip, linear nostrils, a bare face. The genus Fregata was defined by French naturalist Bernard Germain de Lacépède in 1799, louis Jean Pierre Vieillot described the genus name Tachypetes in 1816 for the great frigatebird. The genus name Atagen had been coined by German naturalist Paul Möhring in 1752, in 1874, English zoologist Alfred Henry Garrod published a study where he had examined various groups of birds and recorded which muscles of a selected group of five they possessed or lacked
7.
Ocean
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An ocean is a body of saline water that composes much of a planets hydrosphere. On Earth, an ocean is one of the major divisions of the World Ocean. These are, in descending order by area, the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Southern, the word sea is often used interchangeably with ocean in American English but, strictly speaking, a sea is a body of saline water partly or fully enclosed by land. The ocean contains 97% of Earths water, and oceanographers have stated that less than 5% of the World Ocean has been explored, the total volume is approximately 1.35 billion cubic kilometers with an average depth of nearly 3,700 meters. As the world ocean is the component of Earths hydrosphere, it is integral to all known life, forms part of the carbon cycle. The world ocean is the habitat of 230,000 known species, but because much of it is unexplored, the origin of Earths oceans remains unknown, oceans are thought to have formed in the Hadean period and may have been the impetus for the emergence of life. Extraterrestrial oceans may be composed of water or other elements and compounds, the only confirmed large stable bodies of extraterrestrial surface liquids are the lakes of Titan, although there is evidence for the existence of oceans elsewhere in the Solar System. Early in their histories, Mars and Venus are theorized to have had large water oceans. The Mars ocean hypothesis suggests that nearly a third of the surface of Mars was once covered by water, compounds such as salts and ammonia dissolved in water lower its freezing point so that water might exist in large quantities in extraterrestrial environments as brine or convecting ice. Unconfirmed oceans are speculated beneath the surface of many planets and natural satellites, notably. The Solar Systems giant planets are thought to have liquid atmospheric layers of yet to be confirmed compositions. Oceans may also exist on exoplanets and exomoons, including surface oceans of water within a circumstellar habitable zone. Ocean planets are a type of planet with a surface completely covered with liquid. The concept of Ōkeanós has an Indo-European connection, Greek Ōkeanós has been compared to the Vedic epithet ā-śáyāna-, predicated of the dragon Vṛtra-, who captured the cows/rivers. Related to this notion, the Okeanos is represented with a dragon-tail on some early Greek vases, though generally described as several separate oceans, these waters comprise one global, interconnected body of salt water sometimes referred to as the World Ocean or global ocean. This concept of a body of water with relatively free interchange among its parts is of fundamental importance to oceanography. The major oceanic divisions – listed below in descending order of area and volume – are defined in part by the continents, various archipelagos, Oceans are fringed by smaller, adjoining bodies of water such as seas, gulfs, bays, bights, and straits. The Mid-Oceanic Ridge of the World are connected and form the Ocean Ridge, the continuous mountain range is 65,000 km long, and the total length of the oceanic ridge system is 80,000 km long
8.
Gilbert Islands
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The Gilbert Islands are a chain of sixteen atolls and coral islands in the Pacific Ocean about halfway between Papua New Guinea and Hawaii. They form the part of Kiribati. The atolls and islands of the Gilbert Islands are arranged in an approximate north-to-south line, as the crow flies it is approximately 420 nautical miles between the northernmost island, Makin, and the southernmost, Arorae. In a geographical sense, the equator serves as the line between the northern Gilbert Islands and the southern Gilbert Islands. The International Hydrographic Organization considers the Gilberts wholly within the South Pacific Ocean, another method of grouping the Gilbert Islands is by former administrative districts, the Northern, Central, and Southern Gilberts. A group of the southern Gilberts is called the Kingsmill Group, the Gilberts form a continuous chain of seamounts with the Ratak Chain of the Marshall Islands to the north. In official north-south order, the islands and atolls are, The Northern Gilberts geographically and traditionally encompass Butaritari, Makin, Marakei, Abaiang and they have unique tonal accents with differences particularly noted amongst Butaritari and Makin inhabitants. Traditionally, Butaritari and Makin were ruled by a chief who lived on Butaritari Island, the northern Gilberts have a greater mean rainfall in comparison to the southern and central Gilberts allowing cultivation of a wider crop range. Butaritari and Makin supply most of the bananas sold in Kiribati, the cultivation of taro or babai has been historically easier in the northern Gilberts due to a higher water table and regular rainfall. The Central Gilberts or nuka have traditionally included Maiana, Abemama, Kuria, however, the latter three are considered the main islands that have unique historical and cultural characteristics which distinguish the Central Gilberts from the north and south. Tembinok, the last king of Abemama, Kuria and Aranuka died in the part of the 20th century. The Southern Gilberts include the atolls of Nonouti, South and North Tabiteuea, Beru, Nikunau, Onotoa, Tamana, the islands had been inhabited by Micronesians for several millennia. In 1606 Pedro Fernandes de Queirós sighted Butaritari and Makin, which he named the Buen Viaje Islands, Captain John Byron passed through the islands in 1764 during his circumnavigation of the globe as captain of HMS Dolphin. French captain Louis Duperrey was the first to map the whole Gilbert Islands archipelago and he commanded La Coquille on its circumnavigation of the earth. Two ships of the United States Exploring Expedition, USS Peacock and USS Flying Fish, under the command of Captain Hudson, while in the Gilberts, they devoted considerable time to mapping and charting reefs and anchorages. A British protectorate was first proclaimed over the Gilberts by Captain Davis of HMS Royalist on 27 May 1892, British official Arthur Mahaffy visited the Islands in 1909. He noted that the villages are kept in order and the roads are scrupulously clean. A hospital was on island, as well
9.
Phoenix Islands
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The Phoenix Islands or Rawaki are a group of eight atolls and two submerged coral reefs, lying in the central Pacific Ocean east of the Gilbert Islands and west of the Line Islands. They are a part of the Republic of Kiribati, during the late 1930s, they became the site of the last attempted colonial expansion of the British Empire through the Phoenix Islands Settlement Scheme. The Phoenix Islands Protected Area, established in 2008, is one of the worlds largest protected areas, the group is uninhabited except for a few families on Kanton. The United States unincorporated territories of Baker Island and Howland Island are often considered northerly outliers of the group, Howland and Baker are statistically grouped with the United States Minor Outlying Islands, however. The United States previously claimed all the Phoenix Islands under the Guano Islands Act, the Treaty of Tarawa released all US claims to the Phoenix Islands, excluding Baker and Howland. At various times, the islands were considered part of the Gilbert group, the name Phoenix for this group of islands seems to have been settled on in the 1840s, after an island of that name within the group. Phoenix Island was probably named after one of the many whaleships of that name plying these waters in the early 19th century, the Phoenix Islands are a group of eight islands, totalling 28 square kilometres in land area, located in the central Pacific, north of Samoa. The chain comprises a portion of Kiribati, the only island of any commercial importance is Kanton Island. The other islands include Enderbury, Rawaki, Manra, Birnie, McKean, Nikumaroro, Kanton, or Abariringa Island, is the northernmost and sole inhabited island in the Phoenix group. It is a ribbon of land 9 km2, enclosing a lagoon of approximately 40 km2. Kanton is mostly bare coral, covered with herbs, bunch grasses, low shrubs and its lagoon teems with 153 known species of marine life, including sharks, tuna, stingrays and eels. Land fauna includes at least 23 bird species, lizards, rats, hermit crabs, today, the island still exhibits the remains of the airline and military presence, with 41 persons residing there, most living in abandoned structures from the U. S. /UK occupation. Enderbury is a low, flat, small coral atoll lying 63 km ESE of Kanton and its lagoon is rather tiny, comprising only a small percentage of the islands area. Herbs, bunchgrass, morning-glory vines and a few clumps of trees form the main vegetation on the island, while birds, rats and a species of beetle are the known fauna. Heavily mined for guano in the late 19th century, Enderbury has seen little human impact following the evacuation of the last few colonists in 1942, during World War II. Birnie Island is a small, flat coral island about 20 hectares in area and it contains a tiny lagoon, which has all but dried up. A nesting place for flocks of seabirds, Birnie is devoid of trees and is covered with low shrubs. Unlike most of the other Phoenix Islands, Birnie does not appear to have worked for guano or otherwise exploited by humans
