These flags come from Ghana, and were made by different ‘companies’ of the coastal Fante people. The ones with the Union Jack in the corner date back to before Ghana's independence, when it was a British colony known as the Gold Coast. The history behind all this is complex, but it seems the colonising British allied with the Fante against the more powerful Ashanti empire. In each locality the Fante formed military units or companies. They would choose a captain, and each new captain of a company would commission a flag. The companies fought amongst themselves and often the flags referred to rivalries, and symbolised boasts of their own prowess and ridicule of other companies.
The interpretations of the symbology are fascinating; so different to western interpretations of our symbols. Eg the first flag illustrates the proverb “We can carry water in a basket using a cactus as a head cushion” meaning “we can do the impossible.”
The flags often incorporate new technology such as trains and planes as symbols for power. The train in the last flag is adorable.
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