The Signal and Commercial Flags of St. John’s, Newfoundland c. 1500–c. 1900

Flags are often called the “shorthand of history”. To the avid vexillologist, flags can be appreciated not only as the shorthand of that social science, but also of politics, geography, and economics (to name but a few). This point is well illustrated during the four centuries from c. 1500 to c. 1900 in and around the port city of St. John’s, Newfoundland. The signalling and commercial flags of the city began their history reflecting the needs of an early colonial settlement and culminated in turn by having an effect themselves upon the social-status consciousness of a late-Victorian city. The broad period of history that this paper takes into account will show the context of these flags in the life of St. John’s, and in doing so, the great importance and central role flags played in the affairs of men.