Netherlands Antilles, 1959

In 1948 the six Dutch Caribbean islands were renamed the “Netherlands Antilles” and in 1954 became equal partners with the Netherlands and Suriname. On 19 November 1959, a flag was adopted: white, with a horizontal blue stripe, on a vertical red bar, all of the same width. In the centre of the blue band are six white, five-pointed stars, representing the six main islands of Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten.