Did Texas Copy The Chilean Flag?

It is historically accurate that Chile adopted the present design of its flag on October 18, 1817, but did Texas copy the Chilean flag? Yes, it is a fact that The Republic of Texas adopted today’s design of the Texas State flag on January 25, 1839. Chile’s flag is called “La Estrella Solitaria”, which translates to “The Lone Star”. Texas’ flag is representative of Texas’ motto, the Lone Star State.

Can you tell the difference? Do you know which flag belongs to Texas?

Well, Did Texas Indeed Copy The Chilean Flag?

No, Texas did not copy Chile’s flag. The two flags are almost twins, but not exactly the same. Each jurisdiction’s lone star is atop a blue field on the left of the flag and each has a horizontal red stripe and white stripe divided equally on the right field of its flag. 

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Is Chile’s and Texas’ Flag the Same?

No. The key difference between the Chile and Texas flags is the left side of their flags and the lone star on the blue field. The blue vertical stripe on the left side of the Texas flag stretches from the top to the bottom of the flag. The Chilean flag puts its lone star on a blue square in the upper left corner, and its red stripe extends the bottom length of its flag.

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Why Are the Texas and Chile Flags so Similar?

The flags of Texas and Chile appear similar because both share design elements influenced by historical flag traditions. But their resemblance is coincidental? Chile’s flag also took inspiration from banners of independence movements, particularly from the U.S. and French revolutionary ideals. 

The “Lone Star of Texas” ideals were in place long before Texas’ War of Independence with Mexico. The Lone Star first appeared in Texas when Spain still owned Mexico. According to vexillologists, the Lone Star of Texasfirst appeared on a flag in 1821. 

Dr. James Long led an expedition to declare Texas independence from Spain. His followers carried the earliest known use of the “Lone Star” as a symbol of Texan aspirations for independence. Dr. Long’s flag featured a single white star on a red field. This is the earliest know use of Texas’ “Lone Star”.

Dr. James Long (1793–1822) was an American physician, soldier, and filibuster who played a notable, albeit unsuccessful, role in early attempts to establish Texas as an independent republic.Long led an armed expedition into Spanish Texas in 1819. 

Long declared the region of Texas independent from Spain. He and his supporters proclaimed the short-lived Republic of Texas, with Long as its president. They based their claim on the idea that Texas should have been part of the Louisiana Purchase, an argument popular among American expansionists.

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Is Chile’s and the Texas’ Flag the Same?

No. The key difference between the Chile and Texas flags is the left side of their flags and the lone star on the blue field. The blue vertical stripe on the left side of the Texas flag stretches from the top to the bottom of the flag. The Chilean flag puts its lone star on a blue square in the upper left corner, and its red stripe extends the bottom length of its flag.

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Who Had the Flag First, Chile or Texas?

When a newly established soveriegn country becomes independent from its previous motherland, it will adopt its own flag via a legislative process. Chile formally won its independence from Spain in 1818. However, Chile declared independence from Spain on September 18, 1810, and celebrates its Independence Day on September 18, of 1810.  

Chile approved its flag before The Republic of Texas formally adopted its flag. Chile adopted its flag on October 18, 1817, long before it won its independence from Spain. Chileans call this war, the “Guerra de la Independencia de Chile” in 1818, which translates to the “War of Independence of Chile”. 

The Republic of Texas did not adopt its flag until 1839, three years after it achieved independence from Mexico in 1836. It took Chile seven years to design and adopt its flag while in its revolution. Texas took three years to adopt formally its current flag after its revolution, but the Texian Lone Star flag had been flying during the war in several versions not yet officially adopted.

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What Do the Colors of the Texas Flag Symbolize?

The official Texas Flag Code states what the colors symbolize. Red symbolizes courage, white is for purity and liberty, and blue for loyalty like the American Flag. During the Texas revolution, red symbolized war, white symbolized peace, and blue, friendship. Most historical research points to Interim President David B. Burnet of 1836 and 1841, and Texas Vice President 1839-1841, as the designer of the 1836 flag, which became the 1839 Texas flag. 

The current design of the Texas flag could have possibly been inspired by Sarah R. Dodson in 1835, who sewed Texas’ first red, white, and blue tri-color flag. Her flag had three equally-sized squares of each color, with blue on the left with a lone star, a white square in the middle, and a red square on the right. Historians do not cite exact proof that Sarah designed the Lone Star flag as of today. 

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Why Does the Chile flag Look the Way it Does?

The following explanation of the Chilean flag’s design and symbolism comes from widely accepted vexillological studies, historical records, and interpretations by experts on national flags. Chile calls its flag, La Estrella Solitaria, or The Lone Star in English. The specific details about the Chilean flag’s elements, meanings, and derive their historical context from:

Records from Chile’s independence era, 1810–1818, Analyses by organizations like the North American Vexillological Association (NAVA) and the Federation of Vexillological Associations (FIAV), works by historians studying the independence movement, including indigenous influences and the political context of the time, and studies of how geographic features like the Andes Mountains and the Pacific Ocean, and cultural elements like the Mapuche star, influenced national symbols.

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Vexillological Significance

Vexillologists consider the Chilean flag is one of the simplest yet most elegant flags in vexillology. Its design effectively incorporates geographic and symbolic elements, making it a powerful emblem of Chile’s identity. While it shares similarities with other flags, such as Texas, its unique blend of natural and cultural symbolism gives it distinct significance.

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What Do the Colors of Chile’s Flag Represent?

• The Chilean Flag’s Design Elements and Their Meanings.
• La Estrella Solitaria represents guidance, honor, and progress and symbolizes Chile as a unified and sovereign nation. La Estrella Solitaria is a salute to the aspirations for independence and the unity of the Chilean people.

Cantón, Blue Square 

• Represents the sky and the Pacific Ocean, both of which are integral to Chile’s geography and national identity.
• It also signifies vigilance and justice.
• “Canton” in Spanish or “canton” in English vexillology refers to the rectangular section at the top left corner of a flag, usually occupying up to a quarter of the flag’s area; It is the upper hoist quarter of a flag, often containing a distinct design or emblem.

White Stripe:

• Symbolizes the snow-capped peaks of the Andes Mountains, which dominate the country’s landscape.
• It also reflects purity and peace.

Red Stripe:

• Represents the bloodshed and sacrifice of Chilean patriots during the war for independence from Spain, 1810–1826.

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Who Designed Chile’s Flag?

The designer of the Chilean flag is debated, 

There are historical debates of who designed the Chilean flag, but the designer is commonly attributed to José Ignacio Zenteno, the Chilean Minister of War during Chile’s war of independence from Spain:

• José Ignacio Zenteno: The Chilean Minister of War during the war of independence with Spain, who is commonly credited with designing the flag
• Antonio Arcos: A Spanish-born soldier who is also considered a possible designer
• Gregorio de Andía y Varela: A historian argues that he was the designer of the flag. 

Origins and Influences

• The current flag was officially adopted on October 18, 1817, during Chile’s fight for independence.
• Designed by Antonio Arcos and Gregorio de Andía y Varela, the Chilean flag replaced earlier banners used during the revolutionary period.
• The Chilean flag’s colors and lone star reflect ideals associated with liberty and nationhood, similar to influences seen in the United States flag and other revolutionary banners of the Americas.
• Vexillologists believe the Chilean flag’s layout was influenced by Spanish colonial heraldry and the flags of indigenous Mapuche warriors, who also used stars as symbols.

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Why Does the Texas flag Look Like the American Flag?

According to vexillologists, the Texas flag resembles the American flag because the powers-that-were designed it to evoke shared values and historical ties between Texas and the United States. The similarities in design reflect both Texas’s early cultural and political connections to the U.S. and the ideals of freedom and unity that inspired its creation.

Cultural and Political Influence:

• Many early settlers in Texas were from the United States, particularly from Southern states, bringing with them American ideals and symbols.
• The adoption of red, white, and blue as the flag’s colors reflects the influence of the U.S. flag and the values of liberty and self-determination.
• Revolutionary Inspiration:
• During its fight for independence from Mexico, Texas identified strongly with the revolutionary spirit of the United States.
• The Texas flag was designed to honor those shared revolutionary ideals, much like other flags of independence movements in the Americas.

Distinct Identity:

• While the Texas flag draws inspiration from the American flag, it distinguishes itself with the Lone Star, emphasizing Texas’ unique identity as an independent republic before joining the Union in 1845.

Flag Design Trends:

• The resemblance also aligns with broader flag design trends in the 18th and 19th centuries, where many new nations and states modeled their flags after the U.S. flag or European heraldry.
• The Lone Star became a powerful symbol of Texas independence during its Republic Era from 1836 to 1845 and remains a central part of Texas identity. While the flag intentionally nods to the American flag, it also reinforces Texas’s distinct history as a sovereign nation that eventually chose to join the Union.

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Which Flag Is more Similar to the U.S. Flag? Chile’s or Texas’?

Texas’ Flag Design Similarities:

• The Texas flag has red, white, and blue as its primary colors, matching the U.S. flag’s palette.
• Both flags incorporate a star motif: the “Lone Star” on the Texas flag parallels the stars in the U.S. flag, symbolizing unity and independence.
• The horizontal white and red stripes in the Texas flag are reminiscent of the stripes in the U.S. flag.

Historical Intent:

• The Texas flag was deliberately designed to evoke similarities to the U.S. flag as a tribute to shared ideals of liberty, bravery, and purity.
• Early Texans, many of whom were settlers from the U.S., sought to align themselves culturally and politically with American values.

Chilean Flag Design Similarities:

• The Chilean flag also uses red, white, and blue, and features a single white star.
• The blue is confined to a square canton and similar to the U.S. flag, but the rest of the flag uses two horizontal stripes of white and red.
• It lacks the multi-star field and the number of stripes seen in the U.S. flag.

Historical Intent:

• The Chilean flag was inspired more by the ideals of independence seen across the Americas, including the U.S. flag, but it also draws heavily from Chile’s unique geography and indigenous influences.
• Unlike the Texas flag, the Chilean flag was not designed to resemble the U.S. flag closely.

Unfortunately…For Texans

The BBC reported, “Some Texans have developed a habit of using the Chilean flag in text messages and on social media as a sign of national pride. None of the US states currently have their own emoji flag.”

In 2017, Texas State Representative Tom Oliverson, a Republican, filed a resolution in the Texas House of Representatives urging Texans to stop using the emoji of the Chilean flag in place of the Texas flag.

The issue came because the Chilean flag emoji closely resembles the Texas state flag but differs in subtle ways. The resolution highlighted the importance of correctly representing state symbols to avoid confusion or misrepresentation of Texas’s identity. While largely symbolic, the resolution became a lighthearted topic of conversation online.

Tom Oliverson’s resolution, HCR 75, filed in 2017 to urge Texans to stop using the Chilean flag emoji instead of the Texas flag, passed in the Texas House of Representatives. The resolution was symbolic and non-binding, serving as a humorous yet prideful reminder to Texans about the importance of correctly representing their state’s flag. It gained attention for its quirky nature and underscored the passion Texans have for their state identity.