South America is the 4th largest and fifth most populated continent in the world and
it is full of natural wonders and the remains of ancient civilisations.
Twelve countries make up south America and In part one we are going to look at the flags
of six of them: Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Chile and Ecuador.
The flag of Argentina is a triband, composed of three equally wide horizontal bands coloured
light blue and white.
There are multiple interpretations on the reasons for those colors.
The flag was created by Manuel Belgrano, and was first raised at the city of Rosario on
February 27, 1812, during the Argentine War of Independence – although the colour of
the flag was slightly different.
It was designated it as the national flag in 1816.
And yellow Sun of May – named after the may revolution - was added to the centre in
1818.
the Sun of May is the radiant golden yellow sun bearing the human face and thirty-two
rays that alternate between sixteen straight and sixteen wavy.
The sun is a replica of an engraving on the first Argentine coin, from 1813.
In form, it is similar to — and may be partially derived from — the sun in splendour, which
is common in European heraldry.
Popular belief attributes the colors to those of the sky, clouds and the sun however, historians
usually disregard this idea, and attribute them to loyalty towards the House of Bourbon.
After the May Revolution, at the start of the Argentine War of Independence, the leaders
claimed to be acting on behalf of the Spanish King Ferdinand VII, who was prisoner of Napoleon
Bonaparte during the Peninsular War.
Whether such loyalty was real or a trick to conceal independentism is a topic of dispute.
The creation of a new flag with those colours would have been then a way to show autonomy,
while keeping the relations with the captive king alive.
The national flag of Bolivia was originally adopted in 1851.
The flag is a horizontal tricolor of red, yellow and green with the Bolivian coat of
arms in the center.
The first description of Bolivia's national flag, which was first established by the Supreme
Decree of 1888 Gregorio Pacheco specifies that:
Red: "represents the blood shed by our heroes for the birth and preservation of the Republic"
Yellow: "represents our wealth and resources."
Green: "represents the richness of our natural areas as well as hope, a foundational value
of our society" The central symbol has a border with ten stars
in the bottom, which symbolize the nine Departamentos and the former province Litoral that was taken
over by Chile in 1879, and the name of Bolivia in the top section.
Within the border a mountain (Potosí) is depicted, with Inti in form of a sun rising
above it, and with an alpaca standing next to a palm tree and some wheat.
Around the shield there are three Bolivian flags on each side.
Behind these are two pairs of crossed rifles that symbolize the struggle for independence.
Next to the muskets there are an axe and a red (Phrygian) hood, which is a symbol of
liberty and freedom.
The laurel branches are symbolic of peace, and the condor perched upon the shield is
symbolic of a willingness to defend the nation and its liberty.
The flag of Brazil is a blue disc depicting a starry sky spanned by a curved band inscribed
with the national motto "Ordem e Progresso" ("Order and Progress"), within a gold rhombus,
on a green field.
Brazil officially adopted this design for its national flag on 19 November 1889, four
days after the Proclamation of the Republic, to replace the flag of the Empire of Brazil.
The green field and the gold rhombus from the previous imperial flag, though slightly
modified in hue and shape, were preserved — the green represented the House of Braganza
of Pedro I, the first Emperor of Brazil, while the gold represented the House of Habsburg
of his wife, Empress Maria Leopoldina.
A blue circle with white five-pointed stars replaced the arms of the Empire of Brazil.
The stars, whose position in the flag reflect the sky over Rio de Janeiro on 15 November
1889 represent the union's federated units each star representing a specific state.
Just like the American flag, the flag is modified to include additional stars after new states
are created in the country.
At the time the flag was first adopted in 1889, it held 21 stars.
Then it received one more star in 1960 (representing Guanabara), then another in 1968 (representing
Acre), and finally four more stars in 1992 (representing Amapá, Roraima, Rondônia and
Tocantins), totalizing 27 stars in its current version.
Chile's flag consists of two unequal horizontal bands of white and red and a blue square the
same height as the white band in the canton.
The blue square features a white five-pointed star in the center.
It was adopted on October 18, 1817.
The Chilean flag is also known in Spanish as La Estrella Solitaria (The Lone Star).
The star is said to represent independence; blue symbolizes the sky and the Pacific Ocean,
white is for the snow-covered Andes, and red stands for the blood spilled to achieve independence.
The national flag of Colombia was adopted in 1861.
It is a horizontal tricolour of yellow, blue and red.
The yellow stripe takes up the top half of the flag and the blue and red take up a quarter
of the remaining space each.
According to the current interpretation, the colours mean the following:
Yellow: represents all the gold found in the Colombian land, its cultural wealth, diverse
nature and its people.
Blue: represents Colombia's shores, the rivers that run through the country, and the sky
above.
Red: represents the blood spilled for Colombia's independence and also determination and perseverance.
Although, the flag has other interpretations such as blue for loyalty and vigilance, red
for victory in the battle for Colombian independence, and finally yellow for sovereignty and justice.
The national flag of Ecuador, which consists of horizontal bands of yellow, blue and red,
was first adopted in 1860.
The design of the current flag was finalized in 1900 with the addition of the coat of arms
in the center of the flag.
design of the flag is very similar to those of Colombia and Venezuela, which are also
former constituent territories of Gran Colombia.
All three are based on a proposal by Venezuelan General Francisco de Miranda, which was adopted
by Venezuela in 1811 and later Gran Colombia with some modifications.
There is a variant of the flag that does not contain the coat of arms that is used by the
merchant marine.
This flag matches Colombia's in every aspect, but Colombia uses a different design when
her merchant marine ships are at sail.
In the background of the oval shield is the mountain Chimborazo, while the river originating
from its base represents the Guayas.
The steamboat was the first seaworthy steamship built in Ecuador and in all of South America.
On top a golden sun surrounded by the Zodiac symbols representing the months March to July
to symbolize the duration of the March Revolution of 1845.
The condor on top of the shield stretches his wings to symbolize power, greatness and
strength of Ecuador.
The shield is flanked by four national flags.
The laurel on the left represents the victories of the republic.
The palm leaf on the right side is a symbol of the martyrs of the fight for independence
and liberty.