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| Flag of Chile (1817–1818) | |
|---|---|
| Name | Flag of Chile (1817–1818) |
| Use | Historic national flag |
| Proportion | 2:3 |
| Adoption | 1817 |
| Relinquished | 1818 |
| Design | A horizontal bicolor of white over blue with a canton charged with a white five-pointed star |
Flag of Chile (1817–1818) was the provisional national banner used during the final phase of the Chilean War of Independence and the first months of the nascent Republic. Adopted amid campaigns by José de San Martín, Bernardo O'Higgins, and the Army of the Andes, the flag accompanied Chilean forces during key operations such as the Battle of Chacabuco, the Siege of Valdivia, and the consolidation of authority in Santiago. Its short-lived official life was framed by diplomatic engagements with the Spanish Empire, coordination with the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata, and the political leadership of the Patria Nueva period.
The flag emerged in 1817 after the Crossing of the Andes and the decisive Battle of Chacabuco, when revolutionary leaders sought a distinctive emblem to replace royalist banners flown by the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata and local Royalist forces. Influences included symbols used by the Logia Lautaro, the iconography of Enlightenment-era revolutions such as the French Revolution and the American Revolution, and the colors adopted by allied contingents from the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata and volunteers from Peru (Viceroyalty) sympathetic to independence. Provisional governmental bodies including the Junta de Gobierno and the nascent Directorate of Bernardo O'Higgins ratified the flag for use by civic institutions, merchant shipping, and the Navy of Chile during operations like the Expedition to Chiloé and the campaign to secure southern ports. By 1818, with the promulgation of new symbols and formal decrees, the banner was superseded amid debates in the Chilean Congress and among military leaders.
The flag's composition—a white upper field over a blue lower field with a canton bearing a white five-pointed star—drew on heraldic precedents visible in the standards of the House of Bourbon and the maritime flags of Spain while asserting republican motifs associated with the Estrella Solitaria emblem later popularized in Chilean civic iconography. The white element was interpreted by contemporaries as signifying peace and the influence of figures such as Manuel Rodríguez and José Miguel Carrera in the independence narrative; the blue evoked the Pacific coastline by which ports like Valparaíso and Concepción connected the country to Guayaquil and Callao (Peru), and the single star was aligned with the star used by the Congress of Tucumán and the emergent republican identity championed by San Martín and O'Higgins. Naval usage paralleled ensigns flown by the Royal Navy and privateers like those commissioned by the Patria Nueva, while terrestrial display matched civic standards used by municipal councils in La Serena and Copiapó.
Adoption occurred under decrees issued by authorities loyal to Bernardo O'Higgins during the provisional administration established after 1817 victories. The flag's legal standing was provisional, documented in administrative orders circulated among ministries, the Intendencia de Santiago, and the Ministerio de Guerra y Marina; however, no enduring constitutional clause entrenched it, and debates in the Legislative Assembly and correspondence with foreign representatives from Great Britain, France, and the United States prompted reconsideration. The transitional nature of the symbol was acknowledged in proclamations by O'Higgins, directives to the Navy of the Republic of Chile, and instructions to municipal mayors, leading to replacement by a design codified in 1818 through legislative acts influenced by diplomatic protocols and comparative examples from the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata and the Peruvian independence movement.
Contemporary accounts record the banner flown at military headquarters during campaigns coordinated from Mendoza (Argentina), on vessels operating out of Valparaíso and Talcahuano, and over civic ceremonies in Santiago after the Battle of Maipú. Portraits by artists of the period depict the flag alongside figures such as Juan Mackenna and Francisco de la Lastra, and chroniclers in newspapers like El Monitor Araucano and letters exchanged with diplomats from Great Britain and the United States note its presence in formal events, proclamations, and military parades. Regulations governing the flag’s hoisting and respect were issued to local alcaldes in provinces including Colchagua and Aconcagua, while naval instructions specified its use as an ensign aboard corvettes and schooners engaged in commerce raiding against royalist shipping near Chiloé Archipelago.
Multiple field variants circulated: some manifestations substituted the canton star with stars arranged in constellation patterns similar to those advocated in assembly debates inspired by the Flag of the United States and the flag proposals of Antonio José de Sucre; municipal banners in Concepción and Valdivia adapted the color arrangement for local militias associated with leaders like Mariano Necochea. Naval jack variants and pennants showed differing star shapes and proportions influenced by British and French naval practice, while private merchant ensigns bore modifications negotiated with foreign consuls from Liverpool, Marseille, and Boston. The transitional design links to later symbols, including the 1818 national flag codified after consultations with expatriates from Lima and naval officers trained in Portsmouth and Brest.
Although brief in official status, the banner informed the visual grammar of Chilean national identity alongside monuments commemorating the Liberation of Chile and institutions such as the Museo Histórico Nacional. Its motifs reappeared in revolutionary iconography used by 19th-century politicians like Diego Portales and in civic pageantry during anniversaries of the Battle of Chacabuco and the Battle of Maipú. Historians in works preserved in archives in Santiago and scholarly treatments comparing South American independence iconography cite the flag as an intermediate step between colonial heraldry and the enduring 1818 flag; researchers from Pontifical Catholic University of Chile and University of Chile have analyzed surviving textile fragments alongside diplomatic dispatches to trace its iterations. The emblem's single star persisted as a national motif adopted in municipal coats of arms, military insignia, and maritime pennants throughout the 19th century, linking the short-lived banner to Chile’s consolidated republican symbols.
Category:Flags of Chile Category:Political history of Chile Category:Flags introduced in 1817