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
Jack (flag) or confederated states have in many cases adopted a jack representing their national union. The best known is the Union Jack of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy, composed in 1606 by joining together the flags of England and Scotland. When the Kingdom of Ireland merged with Great Britain in 1801, a red saltire (St Patrick's Cross) was added to form the present Union Flag. The design of the British Union Jack probably inspired later jacks of other nations, e.g. Russia and the Union Jack of Norway and Sweden. The Russian jack in its turn inspired the jacks of Bulgaria, Estonia