THE Chile flag it constitutes a red horizontal band that occupies half of the pavilion.
The other half is occupied by a white band and in the upper right corner, a blue square with a five-pointed star.
Colors and Symbols
The colors of the Chilean flag refer to those of the United States and revolutionary France, which were fashionable at that time.
Anyway, Chileans give the following meaning to their tricolor pavilion:
- Blue: represents the waters of the Pacific Ocean;
- White: represents the peaks of the Andes Mountains that are always snowy;
- Red: represents the blood of those who fell fighting for Chile's independence.
In addition, the Chilean flag bears the “Star of Arauco”. The placement of this star was suggested by Bernardo O’Higgins (1778-1842), one of the independence leaders. With that, he wanted to pay homage to the original peoples of Chile, the Araucan indigenous people.
Some interpretations also indicate that the star is an homage to the Virgin of Carmo, patron saint of Chile or even to the stars in the sky.
Origin
The Chilean flag has its origins in the wars against Spain. The first flag was made up of three white, blue and yellow horizontal lines that became known as the “Old Homeland Flag”.
There was also a tricolor flag, with three horizontal blue, white and red bands, but without the star. This was called the “Transition Flag”.
Later, with the wars of independence, the Libertador de los Andes army, commanded by José de San Martín (1778-1850), won an important victory at the Battle of Chacabuco, on February 12, 1817.
In this way, a flag with a design similar to the one we know today was adopted. This was authored by José Ignácio Zenteno (1786 -1847), secretary of Bernardo O’Higgins, the liberator of Chile.
This flag was first presented at the ceremony of the Pledge of Independence in 1818. For a brief moment, the flag included the national shield, which was soon eliminated.
Chile's Flag Day is commemorated on the 9th of July when the Combate da Concepción in 1882 is commemorated.
Read more about other flags:
- Brazil's flag
- flag of argentina
- Canada flag
- Paraguay Flag
- France flag
- United states's flag
- Flag of Portugal
- England's flag
- Spanish flag
- flag of japan
- Russian flag
