The precise date of the first appearance of these earlier red ensigns is not known, but surviving payment receipts indicate that the English navy was paying to have such flags sewn in the 1620s.

The Great and General Court of the colony found that Endicott had "exceeded the lymits of his calling", and yet left the flag without its cross for a number of decades afterward.

[1] In 1674, a Royal Proclamation of King Charles II (1630–1685, reigned 1660–1685) confirmed that the Red Ensign was the appropriate flag to be worn by English merchant ships.

It is probable that the cross-saltire was adopted by the Scots as a national ensign at a very early period, but there seems no direct evidence of this before the fourteenth century.

The earliest Scottish records were lost at sea in the ship that was sent to return them to that country, whence they had been carried off, with the "Stone of Destiny", by King Edward I (1239–1307, reigned 1272–1307).

Prior to 1707, the Scottish Red Ensign was flown by ships of the Royal Scots Navy, with a saltire in the canton.

In 2015, a movement was launched by Lieutenant Commander George MacKenzie RNR to have the Scottish Ensign officially recognised, on the basis that the Merchant Shipping Act of 1995 permits Her Majesty the Queen in Council or a Secretary of State to approve "any colours consisting of the Red Ensign defaced or modified".

Supporters cited the example of the States of Jersey, who in 2010 were permitted to use a "voluntary or informal" red ensign, adorned with a Plantagenet crown.

[4] The petition received the support of MSP Michael Russell, and other Merchant sailors and members of sailing trade groups.

[5] The petition gained enough support that it was passed onto the Scottish Government who recommended Mr MacKenzie "raise the issue with the Secretary of State directly or through his MP".

The new design of the Red Ensign was proclaimed by Queen Anne (1665–1714, reigned 1702–1714), who indicated that it was to be used by both the navy and ships owned by "our loving subjects".

The Merchant Shipping Act 1854 included a specific provision that the Red Ensign was the appropriate flag for a British merchantman.

Many in the Admiralty felt that the Royal Navy's use of three separate ensigns (i.e., the red, white, and blue) was outdated and confusing.

At the same time, the red ensign (which was designated in 1864 as the flag for merchant shipping) was used by merchantmen of those colonies or territories which obtained an Admiralty warrant.

Some public bodies or national institutions are authorised to fly red ensigns defaced with a badge or emblem.

There appears to be no formal adoption of the Bermuda flag for use on land, although a 1969 Foreign and Commonwealth Office circular mentions its use.

(For the first half of the 20th century, Canada made use of the Red Ensign defaced with the Canadian shield as an unofficial land flag.)

Prior to 2002, the flag was often used unofficially by Bermudian ships as an ensign, as reflected in Admiralty correspondence dating back to the 1950s.

It is widely used on luxury yachts and large cargo ships around the world, due to the financial benefits the Isle of Man can provide.

Canada's Red Ensign bore various forms of the shield from the Canadian coat of arms in its fly during the period of its use.

[13] The badge in the flag consists of Mercury, the god of commerce and merchandise, presenting to Britannia a fisherman who, in a kneeling attitude, is offering the harvest of all the sea.

Above the device in a scroll are the words Terra Nova, and below the motto Hæc Tibi Dona Fero or "These gifts I bring thee."

In the case of the flag on the right, TAKITIMU refers to a grouping of Māori iwi descended from the crew of the Tākitimu waka (canoe).