The Coat of arms of Saint Pierre and Miquelon is similar to the unofficial flag of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, and reads "A mare labor". The crest was designed before the flag, by Léon Joner. The main part of the shield is blue with a yellow ship, said to be the Grande Hermine

Grande Hermine

Grande Hermine was the name of the carrack that brought Jacques Cartier to Saint-Pierre on 15 June 1535, and upon which he discovered the estuary of the St. Lawrence River and the St. Lawrence Iroquoian settlement of Stadacona . It is believed to be represented in the local flag of Saint Pierre and...

, which brought Jacques Cartier

Jacques Cartier

Jacques Cartier was a French explorer of Breton origin who claimed what is now Canada for France. He was the first European to describe and map the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the shores of the Saint Lawrence River, which he named "The Country of Canadas", after the Iroquois names for the two big...

 to Saint-Pierre on June 15, 1536. Three square flags placed along the top recall the origin of most inhabitants of the islands, from left to right, Basques, Bretons

Breton people

The Bretons are an ethnic group located in the region of Brittany in France. They trace much of their heritage to groups of Brythonic speakers who emigrated from southwestern Great Britain in waves from the 3rd to 6th century into the Armorican peninsula, subsequently named Brittany after them.The...

, and Normans

Normans

The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...

. It is crowned with a Naval crown

Naval crown

The Naval Crown was a gold crown surmounted with the prows of ships. It was a Roman military award, given to the first man who boarded an enemy ship during a naval engagement....

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