Kerguelen Islands Flag Proposal

Proposed Flag of the Kerguelen

Hidden between the Indian and Antarctic Ocean lies the lonesome, quiet, and rainy Kerguelen Islands. Out of all the lands awoken to Europe, this land was of the few to be truly discovered.

America, Africa, Asia, and Australia have been home to mankind for thousands of years before the modern 'Age of Exploration.' But Kerguelen is a unique find found by France. It was found during a February Summer in 1772 under the guidance of Yves-Joseph de Kerguelen-Teremac. Coincidentally Kerguelen was discovered two months before the 'discovery' of Easter Island.

Portrait of Yves-Joseph
TRUE DISCOVERER OF A NEW WORLD

Captain Cook, Christopher Columbus, John Cabot, Leif Ericson, and William Janszoon did not discover any new lands or continents. Rather they permanently awoke European Civilization to these lands.* However a Breton from France can truly claim to have discovered a 'New World' during the Age of Exploration.


Although Yves was a French national he was ethnically a Breton. The Bretons were of the earliest inhabitants to the British Isles - who lived there before the arrival of Rome and Anglo-Saxons tribes. The Bretons are a apart of the Six Celtic Nations- that includes Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Cornwall, and the Isle of Man. Coincidentally the latitude of the Kerguelen Islands is at a converse latitude of Brittany - 49 degrees north to 49 degrees south.


The proposed flag for Kerguelen employs three colours - black, white, and orange. It is a tri-colour in honor of France. Instead of red, orange is used to denote a Celtic connectivity to Ireland. Furthermore orange is considered by some a hue of red - linking it back to France. The black bar by the hoist is reflective of Brittany, as is the central white bar with the black animal fur symbol. It is the fur of an ermine, which is a key symbol tied to Brittany. The colours reflect the aboriginal bi-pedal birds that colonized this land long before mankind could read or write - the penguins.


Due to Kerguelen's remoteness and lack of light pollution - it is an astronomical wonderland and biological reserve. But like Australia and the Galapagos the introduction of non-native species has been detrimental to many native plants and species.

*Lief Ericson did not permanently awake European Civilization to the 'Americas,' rather Christopher Columbus permanently awoke Europe to the Americas. The Vikings gave up on their 'American' colonies and forgot all about it, until some time after 1492.