Barbados has a flag with a black broken trident centered on a gold vertical band.
The flag was adopted on November 30, 1966, when Barbados became independent from the United Kingdom. Grantley W. Prescod designed it after winning a national competition with more than 1,000 entries. Its ultramarine bands represent the surrounding sea and sky, while the gold band symbolizes the island’s sands.
The trident head comes from the colonial badge of Barbados, where Britannia was shown holding the trident of Poseidon. Its missing lower shaft is deliberate: the break represents Barbados breaking with colonial rule. The three points are also associated with democracy—government of, for, and by the people.
A common mix-up is to identify the symbol as a complete trident or confuse the flag with Caribbean designs featuring stars, crescents, or crosses. The distinctive combination of blue-gold-blue vertical bands and the black, shaftless trident head points specifically to Barbados.