Union Jack Union Jack. The Basque Country's flag, the Ikurriña, is also loosely based on the Union Jack, reflecting the significant commercial ties between Bilbao and Britain at the time the Ikurriña was designed in 1894. The Miskito people sometimes use a similar flag that also incorporates the Union Jack in its canton, due to long periods of contact in the Mosquito Coast. The Union Jack was used by the United States in its first flag, the Grand Union Flag. This flag was of a similar design to the one used by the British East India Company. Hawaii, a state of the
Union Jack as rags (ADM 1/8369/56), not to be used for decoration or sold. The exception was flags that had flown in action: these could be framed and kept on board, or transferred to a "suitable place", such as a museum (ADM 1/8567/245). In 2013 the Australian Flag Society announced a worldwide quest and a reward for information leading to the discovery of the Union Jack which was reportedly hoisted beneath the Eureka flag at the Battle of the Eureka Stockade. As the de facto national flag of the United Kingdom, the Union Jack serves as a patriotic or nationalist symbol, and