The in 1621 founded Colony of New Netherlands was created by the Dutch West India Company. Its flag showed the Dutch colours of that times, three horizontal stripes in orange, white and blue, and the white stripe was added in the middle by the initials GWC. They stand for "Geoctroyeerde West India Company". In the colony itself, the then flag of the Netherlands was used, three horizontal stripes of orange, white and blue. Around 1660, the process of switching to today's colors of the Netherlands red, white and blue began, which lasted for years and was not fully completed until 1796 with the official introduction.
The name "New Netherland" goes back to the name of one of the first ships that brought colonists to the country. The official name for the country was: "Novi Belgii Novæque Angliæ", or "Nova Belgica" or "Novum Belgium", that means "New Belgica". It should remember the former Roman province of Belgica.
