The today's flag of Mauritius was hoisted for the first time on 12th of March in 1968 (by other sources on 9th of January in 1968). It shows four horizontal stripes in red, blue, yellow and green. Red stands for the struggle for independence, blue for the ocean around the island, yellow for the sun and the golden light of independence and green for the fruitful soil and its vegetation. The colours were borrowed from the colours of the coat of arms. The flag was designed by the College of Arms (Herald Office in London). The colours of the flag are laid down in the "Mauritius Standard Bureau". They are given as follows: Red = Pantone 185, Blue = Pantone 295, Yellow = Pantone 116, Green = Pantone 356. Mauritius is orientated in the British Ensign-System. This points to the connexions to the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom introduced a flag system in 1864 in which: • war ships fly the "White Ensign" (naval flag), a white flag often with an uninterrupted red St. George's-Cross and with the Union Jack in the upper staff quadrant of the flag, • merchant ships fly a "Red Ensign" (also named "Civil Ensign" → civil flag, the real merchant flag), a red flag with the Union Jack in the upper staff quadrant of the flag, and • governmental ships fly the "Blue Ensign" (flag for the use by the gouvernment → the actual state flag), a blue flag with the Union Jack in the upper staff quadrant of the flag. Mauritius uses a Red Ensign as merchant flag and a Blue Ensign as state flag (instead of the Union Jack with its own national flag in the upper corner).
The coat of arms was awarded on the 25th of August in 1906 by King Edward VII. In the shield a vessel, it stands for the settlement from outside, tree palm trees, they stand for the tropical vegetation and the three dependencies, a key and a peak with a star, they stand for the strategic position of the country corresponding to the motto in the coat of arms: "Stella Clavisque Maris Indici" → "Star and Key of the Indian Ocean". Shield supporters are a Dodo (Dronte) and a Sambur Deer with sugarcane.
At the first European settlement by the Netherlanders the island was named by them after Moritz (Neth. Maurits) of Orania-Nassau, the then supreme commander of the Netherlands troops.
