The Grand Union Flag is similar to the British East India Company’s (EIC) flag and may have been selected by John Paul Jones, who documented to Congress the raising of the flag on the USS Alfred, because of it’s similarity to the EIC flag. This similarity allowed Continental Naval ships to pass as EIC ships, since the EIC flag was not to be used outside of India and southeast Asia, ensuring no confusion with British forces using the same flag. Using an identical looking flag gave the Continental Navy the advantage of surprise, yet still allowed the Continental Army’s red and white striped flag to be in contrast to the solid red of the British West India Company Flag. The motto of the Majapahit Empire was “bhinneka tunggal ika”, which means “it is one although it is separated” which is similar in meaning to the traditional United States motto “E pluribus unum” which means “out of many, one”. The British East India Company most likely first adopted the red & white stripped flag based off the Majapahit Empire (present-day Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, southern Thailand, Sulu Archipelago and East Timor) Naval Jack Flag flown on their ships in the Indian Ocean. The British East India Company added St. George’s Cross to the canton field of the stripped Majapahit Naval Jack Flag.
By 1587 the Portuguese Catholics proselytizing to the Japanese common people, trading in enslaved Japanese people and the arming of converted Daimyo warlords with nitre or saltpetre, (potassium nitrate, a primary ingredient in gunpowder), was enough to alarm the Japanese Emperor. However the trading of enslaved Japanese, in particular was considered insulting to the Emperor and the Japanese people, enough so that Christianity and the slave-trading Portuguese were all deported and trade with the Dutch and English increased, who refrained from enslaving Japanese, however unfortunately continued to trade African slaves. When the English East India Company ships sailed into Nagasaki harbor flying the British flag (St. George’s Cross) or the British East India Company Flag with St. George’s Cross in the canton field, were viewed as in violation of the ban on Christianity by displaying a cross (Christian). The offending traders were barred from trading, since they were seen as promoting Christianity. In order not to return empty-handed, the offending St. George’s Cross was removed from the flag, leaving the flag with five red stripes, making it the same as the Majapahit Empire Naval Flag, so to differentiate the British East India Naval Jack Flag flown in Asia, six and eventually seven red stripes were standard.
The Continental Navy’s first two warships were converted Willing, Morris & Co. merchant ships. American trading companies bypassed the English monopoly on tea and spices by trading directly with Asia and selling directly to the colonist, whereas the British East India Company shipped oversupply from England at inflated prices. Being a colony of England, American trading companies were in the habit of identifying their ships as English merchant ships by flying the naval Jack flags of the British East India Co. So the practice of flying British East India Co. naval flags was continued on Continental Navy ships.
