The original inhabitants of the Virgin Islands are not known to have had flags. Christopher Columbus first visited the islands in 1493, naming them for St. Ursula, the legendary 4th-century leader of 11 (or 11,000) virgins who reputedly were martyred at Cologne (Germany) by the Huns. The first flags specific to what was to become the U.S. Virgin Islands were those utilized by the Danes roughly from the late 17th century, when ships of the Danish West India Company were allowed to display a special emblem centred on the traditional swallow-tailed ensign of Denmark. Later, ships trading with the Danish West Indies used a rectangular flag or a triangular pennant. Each had a blue field with the Danish national flag (red with a white off-centre cross) in the canton.
The islands were purchased by the United States in 1917, after which the U.S. national flag was flown. The distinctive local flag in use today was authorized by the territorial governor on May 17, 1921. The design of the eagle, intended to reproduce the U.S. coat of arms, does not match that emblem. The arrows are thought to represent the three main islands of Saint Croix, Saint John, and Saint Thomas.
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