Editing Flag of Chile (section)

==History of Chile==

===Pre-Independence flags===
[[File:Ancient mapuche flag.svg|thumb|right|{{FIAV|reconstructed}}Flag possibly used by Mapuche troops during the early 18th century [[Arauco War]].]]
The first records on the possible use of flags by indigenous peoples date back to the [[War of Arauco]], the most famous being the use described in the late 16th-century epic poem ''[[La Araucana]]''. In [[Canto]] XXI, [[Alonso de Ercilla]] described [[Talcahuano]], warrior and chief of the [[Mapuche]] who work the lands near the present-day city that bears his name, bearing emblems of blue, white and red.

Two flags have been documented as used by Mapuche troops. However, these descriptions were made late in the eighteenth century without certainty about the age of them. One consisted of a five-pointed white star on a blue background similar to the canton of the current Chilean flag, while the second had a white eight-pointed star centered on a blue diamond with border zigzagged over a black background.  The latter flag appears to be waved by the chief [[Lautaro]] in the best-known artistic representation of it, created by painter [[Pedro Subercaseaux]].<ref name="Escaner">{{cite web|url=http://revista.escaner.cl/node/93 |title= Virtual journal of contemporary art and emerging trends |access-date=22 April 2010 |publisher=Escaner Cultural|language=es}}</ref>

The main symbol of this flag is the star of Arauco, called [[guñelve]], representing the [[Drimys winteri|flower of the canelo]] and the bright star of Venus. In the independence of Chile, [[Bernardo O'Higgins]] said that guñelve was the direct inspiration for creating the Chilean flag with the Lone Star.<ref name="Guaquil">{{cite book|url=https://issuu.com/albedu/docs/los_verdaderos_emblemas_de_la_rep_b|title=Los verdaderos emblemas de la República de Chile: 1810-2010|page=23|last1=Guaquil|first1=Rodolfo Manzo|date=5 May 2018 |language=es|quote=Otro aspecto importante en la bandera es la estrella de cinco puntas e inclinada que representa a la wünelfe, nombre que con que los indígenas mapuches asignaban al planeta Venus...}}</ref><ref name=mla>{{cite book |last1=Amunátegui Aldunate |first1=Miguel Luis |title=Los precursores de la independencia de Chile |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9fZoAAAAMAAJ&q=precursores+de+la+independencia+de+chile |access-date=11 October 2019 |volume=III |year=1870 |publisher=Imprenta, Litografía i Encuadernación Barcelona |location=Santiago, Chile |language=es|pages=587–590}}</ref>

In the case of the colonizing troops, they used several [[Flag of Spain|Spanish flag]]s. Each battalion had its own flag, which could incorporate different elements including the [[heraldic]] [[coat of arms of the King of Spain]]. One of the symbols most commonly used was the [[Cross of Burgundy]], a jagged, red [[saltire]] crossed on a white cloth. The Cross of Burgundy was one of the main symbols of the Spanish Empire overseas, so it flew over the warships and was carried by the militia in the colonial territory during the [[Spanish colonization of the Americas]].{{citation needed|date=July 2017}}

In 1785, [[Charles III of Spain|Carlos III]] established a uniform flag for all ships of the [[Spanish Armada]], similar to the current flag of Spain. The use of this red-and-yellow flag would be extended in 1793 to "maritime towns, castles and coastal defenses." Despite the establishment of this new flag, the cross of Burgundy would still often used by colonial entities.{{citation needed|date=July 2017}}

===Flag of the ''Patria Vieja'' (1812–1814)===
[[File:Flag of Chile (1812-1814).svg|thumb|{{FIAV|historical}} Flag of the ''[[Patria Vieja]]'' (1812–1814). First Chilean national flag, used by merchant ships.]]
At the onset of the [[Chilean War of Independence]], the [[Government Junta of Chile (1810)|First Government Junta]] was proclaimed on 18 September 1810, marking Chile's first step toward independence. It would be during the government of [[Jose Miguel Carrera]] in which the desire for emancipation would gain more strength. Nevertheless, the junta was established (at least nominally) as a way of controlling the government during the absence of [[King Fernando VII]], so that the symbols of government remained Hispanic. Therefore, one of the first acts of his government would be the implementation of national symbols, such as an insignia, a [[coat of arms]] and a distinctive flag to identify the patriots. The first flag, according to tradition, would have been embroidered by the sister of the ruler, [[Javiera Carrera]], and would be presented and raised for the first time on 4 July 1812 at a dinner with the United States [[Consul (representative)|consul]] [[Joel Roberts Poinsett]] to celebrate the anniversary of U.S. independence, an event having a great influence on the locals' struggle for independence.

Named the flag of the ''[[Patria Vieja]]'' ("Old Fatherland"), the flag had three horizontal stripes of blue, white and yellow. For some, the bands represent the three branches of government: majesty popular, law and force, respectively; to others, the stripes represent features of nature: the sky, the snowy Andes and fields of golden wheat, respectively. The following 30 September, during a celebration in the capital to commemorate the first government junta, the Chilean coat of arms, also called ''Patria Vieja'', was solemnly adopted and included in the center of the flag.

Although the blue-white-yellow flag of the ''Patria Vieja'' was the most recognized, other versions utilized a different arrangement of the colors, such as white-blue-yellow, for example. On other occasions, the red [[Cross of Saint James|Cross of Santiago]] was included in the upper left corner together with the coat of arms in the center. The cross originates from the victory of the patriot troops in the [[Battle of El Roble]], where within the possessions of the captured [[war booty]] was a distinctive insignia of the [[Order of Santiago|Order of St. James]], an important symbol of Spanish pride.

In 1813 after the royalist invasion and the outbreak of the War of Independence, the Spanish symbols were abolished and the tricolor flag was formally adopted by the patriotic forces in a ceremony at the [[Plaza Mayor of Santiago]]. Months later in 1814, Carrera left political and military power, and [[Francisco de la Lastra]] was chosen as [[President of Chile|Supreme director]]. The war of independence began at great losses for the patriot side, and so signed the [[Treaty of Lircay]] on 3 May 1814. This agreement reaffirmed the Spanish sovereignty over the territory of Chile, among other things, and as one of its direct consequences, the Spanish flag was readopted at the expense of the tricolor.

The flag of the ''Patria Vieja'' would wave again after Carrera's return to power 23 July 1814 until the [[Battle of Rancagua]] (1–2 October) where the royalist victory ended the patriot government and began the [[Reconquista (Spanish America)|''Reconquista'']] (or ''Reconquest'') from 1814 to 1817, restoring the imperial standard. The tricolor flag was last flown for the last time in the [[Battle of Los Papeles]] (''Batalla de los Papeles''), but it would appear again raised in the ships that José Miguel Carrera brought in 1817 and during his campaigns in Argentina (1820–1821). The Reconquista ended with the victory of [[Army of the Andes|Liberation Army of the Andes]] (''Ejército Liberatador de los Andes'') in the [[Battle of Chacabuco]] on 12 February 1817. In this battle, the patriot troops fought with the army colonel and the flag of the Army of the Andes, inspired by the [[flag of Argentina]], without readopting the blue-white-yellow standard.

Today, the flag of the ''Patria Vieja'' is used during memorial services for moose Chilean historical period, conducted by the [[Instituto Nacional|National Institute]] (''Instituto Nacional General José Miguel Carrera''), which Carrera's government founded (10 August 1813). The emblem, adopted as a symbol at the beginning of [[carrerismo]], was subsequently adopted by Chilean nationalism movement. For example, the flag with a red lightning bolt emblem superimposed was the insignia of the [[National Socialist Movement of Chile]] between 1932 and 1938.

===Flag of the Transition (1817–1818)===
[[File:Flag of Chile (1817-1818).svg|thumb|{{FIAV|historical}} Flag of the Transition (1817–1818).]] The victory at the Battle of Chacabuco on 26 May 1817 gave way to a new period known as the ''[[Patria Nueva]]'' (''New Fatherland''). A new flag was adopted that day, known today as the Flag of the Transition (''Bandera de la Transición''), and it is recognized as the first national flag and the last flag used until the one used currently. It was widely publicized at the time that the design was attributed to [[Juan Gregorio de Las Heras]]. This flag had three equal stripes: blue, white, and red, which is identical to the [[Flag_of_Yugoslavia#Kingdom_of_Yugoslavia|flag of pre-communist]] [[Kingdom of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]] (the [[flag of Serbia and Montenegro]] later). The bottom red strip replaced the yellow from the flag of 1812. The origin of the flag's colors would be based on the description given by [[Alonso de Ercilla]] as those of the insignia of the Mapuche troops. The significances of these colors were equivalent to those of the ''Patria Vieja'', except that the yellow replaced the red to represent the blood that had been shed during the many conflicts.

Despite initial enthusiasm, the flag did not obtain official legalization and disappeared five months later. One reason for its suppression was that it was easily confused with both the [[Flag of the Kingdom of the Netherlands|flag of the Netherlands]] and the [[Flag of France|tricolor of revolutionary France]], from which it was inspired.

According to the ''General History of Chile'' by [[Diego Barros Arana]], the last time the Flag of the Transition was unfurled was at the ceremony to commemorate the [[Battle of Rancagua]], two weeks before the adoption of the current national flag. However, there is information about a possible third flag between the Transitional and final, which would have exchanged the order of white and blue stripes and incorporated the five-pointed white star on the central strip, but that is no certainty, and it is not accepted by the majority of Chilean historians.

===Third and current flag===
[[File:JuraIndependencia.jpg|thumb|During the [[Chilean Declaration of Independence#Pledge of independence|Declaration of Independence]], today's flag was raised for the first time.]]
[[File:Flag of Chile (1818).svg|thumb|right|{{FIAV|reconstructed}} Reproduction of the original design.]]
The design of the current Chilean flag is commonly attributed to [[Bernardo O'Higgins]]'s [[Ministry of National Defense (Chile)#Ministers of War and Navy|Minister of War]], [[José Ignacio Zenteno]], having been designed by the Spanish soldier [[Antonio Arcos]], although historians argue that it was [[Gregorio de Andía y Varela]] who drew it.

The flag was made official on 18 October 1817 by a decree,<ref name="Soublette">{{cite web|url=http://www.soberaniachile.cl/controversias/sim/articulo0174.html |last= Soublette |first=Gastón |year=1984 |title=Historia de los Emblemas Nacionales Chilenos. Hechos, mitos, errores y discusiones sobre los Símbolos Patrios. |publisher=soberaniachile.|language=es}}</ref> of which only indirect references to the absence of a copy thereof, which was officially presented during the [[Chilean Declaration of Independence#Pledge of independence|Pledge of Independence ceremony]] on 12 February 1818, a ceremony in which the [[Standard-bearer|bearer]] was Tomás Guido.

The original flag was designed according to the [[Golden Ratio]], which is reflected in the relation between the widths of the white and blue parts of the flag, as well as several elements in blue canton. The star does not appear upright in the center of the rectangular canton, instead the upper point appears slightly inclined toward the pole in such a way that the projection of its sides divide the length of the canton golden proportion. Additionally, in the center is printed the National Coat of Arms, known from the previous Flag of the Transition and adopted in 1817.<ref name=autogenerated1>{{cite web |url= http://www.chileatento.com/chile/chile_texto.asp?codigo=38 |last= Soublette |first= Gastón |year= 1984 |title= La estrella de Chile. |publisher= Ediciones Universitarias de Valparaíso. |language= es |access-date= 7 October 2010 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090922201116/http://www.chileatento.com/chile/chile_texto.asp?codigo=38 |archive-date= 22 September 2009 |url-status= dead }}</ref><ref name="autogenerated2">{{cite web |last=Navas |first=Andrés |year=2015 |title=The amazing story of a forgotten golden flag. |url=http://www.mat.usach.cl/images/Profesores/navas-papers/flag.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220614142428/https://www.mat.usach.cl/images/Profesores/navas-papers/flag.pdf |archive-date=2022-06-14 |publisher=Preprint. |language=en}}</ref>

[[File:Guñelve.svg|thumb|left|100px|A sample ''[[Guñelve]]''.]]
The adoption of the star configuration goes back to the star used by the Mapuches. According to O'Higgins, the star of the flag was the Star of Arauco. In Mapuche iconography, the morning star or Venus, ([[Mapudungun]]: ''Wünelfe'' or the [[Hispanicization|Hispanicized]] ''[[Guñelve]]'') was represented through the figure of an [[octagram]] star or a foliated cross. Although, the star which was finally adopted bore a star having five points with the design of the ''guñelve'' remaining reflected in an asterisk inserted in the center of the star, representing the combination of European and indigenous traditions.

[[File:Flag of Chile (1818-1854).svg|thumb|{{FIAV|normal}} Chilean flag used between 1818 and 1912.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Rodolfo Manzo |title=Los verdaderos emblemas de la República de Chile: 1810-2010 |date=2010 |isbn=9781257124336}}</ref>]]
[[File:Flag of Chile.svg|thumb|{{FIAV|normal}} Current Chilean flag.]]
These designs soon fell into oblivion due to the difficulty in the flag's construction. So, the embroidered seal and the eight-pointed asterisk disappeared while the star was kept completely upright. In 1854 the proportion was determined in keeping with the colors of the flag, leaving the canton as a square and the ratio of hoist to fly set to 2:3. Finally, in 1912, the diameter of the star was established, the precedence of the colors in the presidential flag and decorative [[cockade]] was determined, setting the order as blue, white and red from top to bottom or from left to right of the viewer.

All of these arrangements would later be recast into [http://es.wikisource.org/wiki/Decreto_Supremo_N%C2%BA_1534_de_1967 Supreme Decree No. 1534 of 1967] from the [[Ministry of the Interior (Chile)|Ministry of the Interior]] during the government of [[Eduardo Frei Montalva]]. In this document, the national emblems, [[Coat of arms of Chile|coat of arms]], the rosette or cockade, and the presidential standard were established. Meanwhile, the [[Chilean Constitution of 1980|Political Constitution of Chile of 1980]] establishes in the first clause of article 222 that all inhabitants of the republic should respect Chile and its national emblems.

[[File:BanderaLaMoneda.JPG|thumb|125px|''Time of Flags'' by the artist Ricardo Meza, located on the wall of the stairway access to the second floor of [[La Moneda Palace]].]]
Few records remain of the original design, the most valuable being that of the flag used in the Declaration of Independence, which had a width of two meters and a length just over two feet. The flag was protected by various hereditary institutions until it was stolen in 1980 by members of the [[Revolutionary Left Movement (Chile)|Revolutionary Left Movement]] as a protest against the [[Chile under Pinochet|military dictatorship]]. This group kept the specimen and returned it in late 2003 to the [[Museo Histórico Nacional (Chile)|National Historical Museum]], where it can be found today.

There is a rather popular [[legend]] in Chile that claims this third Chilean flag won a "Most Beautiful National Flag in the World" contest. Its most common version states that this happened in 1907 in [[Blankenberge]], Belgium, in the coast of the [[Baltic Sea]] {{sic}}.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://siglo20.latercera.cl/1900-09/1907/curiosi1.htm | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070802230726/http://siglo20.latercera.cl/1900-09/1907/curiosi1.htm | archive-date = 2007-08-02 | title = Chilean flag wins international competition (archived entry)| date = 6 October 1907 | access-date =25 September 2013 |language=es}}</ref> Other versions of this story say this happened in the 19th century, or that the Chilean flag was placed second after the [[French flag]]; there are even variations that talk about Chile's [[national anthem]], placing it either in the first place or second, after [[La Marseillaise]]. The fact that the only documented version of this story gets basic details wrong (Belgium has a coast on the [[North Sea]], not the Baltic Sea) does not reflect well on its historical accuracy.