The Red Ensign or " Red Duster " is a flag that originated in the early 17th century as an English ensign flown by the Royal Navy and later specifically by British Merchant Seamen ( The British Merchant Navy ).

The British Union Flag was designed as a naval ensign in the 17th century, but it was not identified as " national flag " of the United Kingdom prior to 1908.

Interestingly, use of the Union Flag as an ensign on a civilian craft remains illegal to this day ever since Charles I ordered it be restricted to His Majesty's ships " upon pain of Our high displeasure " in the 17th century, mainly due to its unauthorised use by merchant mariners to avoid paying harbour duties by passing themselves off as Royal vessels.

It was only with the emergence of nationalist sentiment from the late 18th century that the desire was felt to display national flags also in civilian contexts, notably the US flag, in origin adopted as a naval ensign in 1777, which after the American Revolution began to be displayed as a generic symbol of the United States, and the French Tricolore which became a symbol of the Republic in the 1790s.

This ensign was used by the Austrian capital Vienna from the late 13th century onwards.

After description of the Austrian-Hungarian flags used on sea during 19th century on eastern Adriatic, and after a paragraph on national colours ( i. e. Croatian national tricolour based flags ) used as house flags and owner's signals on ships beside the A-H ensign, Isaić writes: " For river navigation the flag hoisting was solved with legislation of 1869 according to which each ship was to hoist its national flag.

Use of the white cross as a military ensign ( attached to the cantonal flags in the form of strips of linen ) has been used in the Old Swiss Confederacy since the 14th century, but the modern design of a white cross suspended in a square red field was introduced only during the Napoleonic period, first used in 1800 during the Hundred Days by general Niklaus Franz von Bachmann, and was introduced as official national flag in 1889.

A typical naval ensign of Ottoman Tunisia during the 18th century.

Bermuda's use of a red ensign on land is in keeping with Canada ( pre-1965 ) and the Union of South Africa ( pre 1928 ), both of which used red ensigns ashore as local flags in the early part of the 20th century.

In the twentieth century, the coat of arms — without the banner holding the motto — was added to the Red ensign to create the distinguishing colonial flag ( the national flag is the Union Jack, which appears in its upper, left corner ), and on the Governor's Flag.

A blue ensign at the mizzen-mast indicated the presence of a Rear Admiral of the Blue, the lowest flag-rank in the Royal Navy of the early 19th century.

Evidence of crescent use is also found in the 14th century blue ensign of Nubia / Dongola and yellow ensign of Mamluks of Egypt.

The British Army briefly had a rank of sub-lieutenant in the late 19th century, replacing the ranks of ensign in the infantry and cornet in the cavalry.

The minor divisions of a cohort, called centuries, had also each an ensign, inscribed with the number both of the cohort and of the century.

The size and shape of the civil ensign (" Koffardiflaget ") for merchant ships is given in the regulation of June 11, 1748, which says: A red flag with a white cross with no split end.

A courteous, peaceable merchant ship or yacht customarily flies its ensign ( in the usual ensign position ), together with the flag of whatever nation it is currently visiting at the mast ( known as a courtesy flag ).

To fly one's ensign alone in foreign waters, a foreign port or in the face of a foreign warship traditionally indicates a willingness to fight, with cannon, for the right to do so.

Carrying commercial cargo on a boat with a yacht ensign is deemed to be smuggling in many jurisdictions.

As with the national flags, there are three varieties: the civil ensign ( 23px ), flown by private vessels ; state ensigns ( also called government ensigns ; 23px ), flown by government ships ; and war ensigns ( also called naval ensigns ; 23px ), flown by naval vessels.

Desdemona is the only named character in Cinthio's tale, with his few other characters identified only as " the Moor " ( Othello ), " the squadron leader " ( Cassio ), " the ensign " ( Iago ), and " the ensign's wife " ( Emilia ).

The current flag of South Australia was adopted on 13 January 1904, and is a British blue ensign defaced with the state badge.

In an alternate timeline where Voyager made it home by different means, Miral was shown as an adult serving in Starfleet, with the rank of ensign.

Although inspired in the National flag, the yacht ensign is not always corresponding with the civil or merchant ensign of the state in question.

Carrying commercial cargo on a boat with a yacht ensign is deemed to be smuggling in many jurisdictions.

William Augustus Bowles was born into a wealthy Maryland Tory family, enlisting with the Maryland Loyalists Battalion at age 14 and becoming an ensign in Royal Navy by age 15.

Other countries ( such as India and Jamaica ) follow similar ensign etiquette as the UK, replacing the Union Flag with their own national flag.

Swedish and Norwegian civil ensign 1818 – 1844, with the saltire on red in the canton symbolizing Norway.

Swedish and Norwegian naval ensign 1815 – 1844, with the saltire on red in the canton symbolizing Norway.

Naval ensign of Sweden with union badge 1844 – 1905.

Swedish civil ensign 1844 – 1905, with the union badge in the canton ( heraldry ) | canton.

In a government instruction of ship building of 1730, this civil ensign should have the same proportions and colours as the state flag, with the notable difference of being square-cut.

This flag was identical to the former triple-tailed military ensign, with a white saltire on red to be included in the canton.

Norwegian ships continued to use the Danish civil ensign distinguished with the national arms in the canton north of Cape Finisterre, but had to fly the Swedish civil ensign in the Mediterranean to be protected from pirate attacks.

Following the adoption of a separate Norwegian flag, a Royal regulation of July 17, 1821, stipulated that ships of both kingdoms use the common square-cut civil ensign ( with the saltire included ) in " distant waters " ( i. e. beyond Cape Finisterre ).

Clive was, however recognized for his contribution in the defence of Fort St. David, where the French assault on 11 March 1747 was repulsed with the assistance of the Nawab of the Carnatic, and was given a commission as ensign.

At this time, the ensign displayed the English Cross of St George in the canton.

Born in St. Thomas, Lower Canada, in 1795, the third son of Charles Taché and Geneviève Michon, Taché studied at the Séminaire de Québec until the War of 1812 when he joined the 5th battalion of the incorporated militia as an ensign.

Today's white ensign, as used by Royal Navy ships, incorporates the St George's Cross ( St George's Ensign ).

The naval ensign is a red St. George cross on white flag, with the national flag in canton.

The White Ensign or St George's Ensign is an ensign flown on British Royal Navy ships and shore establishments.

These striped ensigns continued in use under the Stuart kings: the Naval ensign of 1623 is described as having " 15 horizontal stripes alternately blue, white and yellow with a Cross of St George in the canton ", but after 1630, with the introduction of the Red, White and Blue ensigns, the striped ensign with a Union flag in the canton was adopted as the flag of the Honourable East India Company.

By 1630 the white ensign consisted of simply a white field, with a small St George's cross in the canton, which was consistent with the red and blue ensigns of the time.

A further difference is that St. Mark's lion, symbolising the Republic of Venice, does not hold the gospel in its paw ( as it does on the civil ensign, where the book is open at the words " Pax tibi Marce, evangelista meus ", meaning " Peace to you Mark, my Evangelist ") and is wielding a sword instead: such an image is consistent with the pictorial tradition from Venetian history, in which the book is shown open during peacetime and closed during wartime.

The British used a Kriegsmarine ensign in the St Nazaire Raid and captured a German code book.

The First Naval Member of the Australian Commonwealth Naval Board, Sir Allan McNicoll, proposed two designs to the board members: one retaining the St George's Cross from the old ensign but replacing the Union Flag in the canton with the Australian flag, the other retaining the Union Flag and replacing the Cross with the six stars from the Australian flag.

He was made an ensign ( enseigne de vaisseau ) in November 1781 and served on the Terrible and the Zélé in the fleet of Admiral De Grasse, taking part in the fights of Fort-Royal ( 29 April 1781 ), Chesapeake ( 5 September ) and St. Kitts ( January 1782 ).

In the same year, NJK received its first yachting ensign, based on the flag of the Neva Yacht Club of St. Petersburg: white with a blue cross ( similar to the flag of Finland ), with the crest of the district of Nyland ( Uusimaa ) in the upper inner corner.