British Virgin Islands

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Heraldry of the World
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British Virgin Islands


Brvirgin.jpg Brvirgin-flag.gif Brvirgin-location.jpg
The National Arms of the British Virgin Islands The National Flag Location

Administrative division

The British Virgin Islands are an internally self-governing overseas territory of the United Kingdom divided into 6 districts.

Heraldry

National arms

The arms were granted on November 15, 1960.

The arms comprise a green shield charged with twelve golden oil lamps with red flames and a female figure, St. Ursula, patron saint of the British Virgin Islands attired in white and wearing sandals, carrying one of those lamps. It is said that when Columbus discovered the British Virgin Islands in 1493, he named them "Las Virgenes" in honour of St. Ursula and her companions. The eleven lamps which surround the figure of St. Ursula each represent 1,000 of the 11,000 Virgins who, according to the legend, were martyred along with St. Ursula.

As fas as I know no other civic arms have been used in the country.