The Coat of Arms of Alabama depicts a shield upon which is carried the flags of four of the five nations which have at various times held sovereignty over a part or the whole of what is now Alabama: Spain (Castile), France, Great Britain and the Confederacy. The union binding these flags is a shield of the United States. The crest of the coat represents a ship (the "Badine") which brought the French colonists who established the first permanent white settlements in the state. Below is the state motto: Audemus jura nostra defendere.

See also

United States state insignia