FLAG OF URUGUAY: HISTORY AND MEANING - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The Uruguayan flag consists of four blue stripes and five white stripes with a sun in the canton of the flag, which is officially gold. This symbol is the Sun of May, which is also present on the flag of Argentina, given the historical relationship of the origin of both countries.

The Uruguayan national banner is a source of pride for the country's inhabitants. It is one of the flags of South America that has been in force for the longest time, having been established once Uruguay repelled the Portuguese forces that invaded the country's territory.

Current flag of Uruguay. See File history below for details.

The Uruguayan flag has been the banner of the country since it exists as an independent nation after separating from the United Provinces of Río de la Plata in the 19th century. The current design has been in effect since 1830.

History

Flag of the Viceroyalty of Río de la Plata (1776 - 1814)

The Viceroyalty of Río de la Plata was a division of the Viceroyalty of Peru, created by the Spanish Crown in 1776 to simplify the management of Spanish dependencies in South America. It was a viceroyalty that had a short life, since it was created shortly before the movements for independence began in Latin America.

The Eastern Province - the name that the Uruguay region had during its colonial period - was one of the member provinces of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, which had the same flag of Spain as its official standard.

The Spanish had arrived in Uruguay in 1516. However, the first Europeans to touch Uruguayan soil were the Portuguese. The Portuguese did not establish a colonial rule in the country, as they did in the territory of Brazil. Therefore, Uruguay did not use a Portuguese flag until a long time later.

The capital of the viceroyalty was located in Buenos Aires and, although the locals of the Eastern Province had a strong regionalist identity, their influence within the viceroyalty was never as great as that of Buenos Aires. Curiously, the British came to occupy Montevideo during the Napoleonic wars, near the independence of Uruguay.

Flag of the Viceroyalty of Río de la Plata (1776 - 1814). Previous version User: Ignaciogavira; current version HansenBCN, designs from SanchoPanzaXXI

Flag of the United Provinces of Río de la Plata (1816)

The United Provinces of Río de la Plata were born after the May Revolution, in 1810, when the states of the Viceroyalty of La Plata organized to form a government and a nation independent of the Spanish government.

The first flag of the provinces was very similar to the one Argentina uses today. In fact, it was the flag designed by Manuel Belgrano during the war of independence, which the viceroyalty had not allowed him to use until the country finally became independent.

Although the United Provinces of Río de la Plata were created involving all the provinces of the viceroyalty, the territories of Paraguay, Uruguay and Bolivia had their own independence ideas and would later separate from the viceroyalty to establish themselves as autonomous nations.

Flag of the United Provinces of Río de la Plata (1816). By Manuel Belgrano (1770-1820)

Flag of Artigas - Flag of the Federal League (1816 - 1820)

The Federal League was a regionalist confederation within the United Provinces of Río de la Plata, which had as its official banner the flag of Artigas. It was named like that because it was created by José Gervasio Artigas, the first president of the League.

The League existed for several years and was made up mainly of the territory that Uruguay now has and other small Argentine provinces. The flag designed by Artigas is, in fact, a Uruguayan national symbol today. According to the laws of the country, it must have the same dimensions as the flag.

This confederation served as a precedent for Uruguay's independence from the United Provinces. Artigas himself was called "Protector of the Free Peoples" and seen as a symbol in Uruguay. It is considered, in fact, that Artigas is the predecessor of federalism, both in his country and in the Argentine nation.

Flag of Artigas - Flag of the Federal League (1816 - 1820). No machine-readable author provided. Yaddah assumed (based on copyright claims).

Flag of the Cisplatina Province (1823 - 1825)

The Cisplatina Province was the name that was given to the Eastern Province during the occupation of the Portuguese and Brazilians. By 1823, Brazil belonged to the Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and Agraves, and the war between the United Provinces of Río de la Plata and the Portuguese Kingdom caused the entire Eastern territory to be annexed to Brazil.

In fact, the independence of Brazil brought as an indirect consequence the independence of Uruguay. When the Brazilians declared themselves a nation independent from their European colonist, the independence movements of Uruguay were strengthened.

However, the first years of the existence of Brazil as an autonomous nation had the Uruguayan territory in their domain.

The flag of the Cisplatina Province had a pair of green and a white stripes, with the Kingdom's shield in the center.

Flag of the Cisplatina Province (1823 - 1825). By Originally by Robotico, vectorized by Fvasconcellos

Flag of the Uruguayan resistance (1823)

The Uruguayan resistance, called “Los Treinta y Tres Orientales”, was a pro-independence group led by Juan Antonio Lavalleja, in order to enact Uruguayan independence from the Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and Agrave.

The flag had the central inscription of "Freedom or Death" and was used by the revolutionary troops during the battles against the kingdom, and even against Brazil, after they became independent from the Portuguese.

Flag of the Uruguayan resistance (1823). No machine-readable author provided. Yaddah assumed (based on copyright claims).

First flag of Uruguay (1825 - 1828)

In 1825 the Florida Congress approved the use of the first Uruguayan flag. However, it was not until 1828, with the Montevideo Treaty, that Uruguay declared itself independent from Brazil and thus be able to use the flag officially.

This consisted of three horizontal stripes of the same thickness, the upper one being blue, the central one white and the lower one red.

First flag of Uruguay (1825 - 1828). By Kineto007

Flag the United Provinces of Argentina with Uruguay as a member (1828)

After the unification of the provinces in 1828, the Eastern Province came under the banner of the United Provinces of Río de la Plata, which was very similar to the modern-day flag of Argentina, but with darker upper and lower stripes. It was the first flag that officially represented Uruguay with the Sun of May.

First flag of Uruguay (1825 - 1828). By Juan Martín de Pueyrredón (1777-1850), according to Ministerio del Interior website (vector graphics by Guilherme Paula)

Second flag of Uruguay (1828 - 1830)

Uruguay quickly gained independence from the Provinces and the Eastern State of Uruguay was established, through which a new flag was adopted that had the Sun of May, but with a different design. This consisted of 9 celestial stripes distributed horizontally.

The flag was not well defined from a distance, so the decision was made to alter it shortly after it was made official in 1828.

Second flag of Uruguay (1828 - 1830). See File history below for details.

Current flag of Uruguay (since 1830)

While other flags have been used after this design was created, they have always been very similar to the current one. In fact, they were created by government parties and did not last long.

This has remained the official flag since its creation in 1830. The stripes were darker than in the previous flag, the Sun of May was modified, and the number of stripes was reduced to facilitate the visibility of the flag.

Current flag of Uruguay (1830 - Present). See File history below for details.

Meaning

The horizontal stripes of the Uruguayan flag are inspired by those of the United States flag. In the case of the North Americans, the 13 stripes of its flag represent the thirteen original colonies of the nation, while in the Uruguayan case it represents the first nine departments formed after its independence.

In turn, the Sun of May located in the upper left part of the flag is a symbol used by the Incas to pay tribute to the God of the Sun. In the case of the Uruguayan banner, this symbol has been used to commemorate the May Revolution from 1810.

This shield appears on all the banners of the former United Provinces of Río de la Plata, with the exception of Paraguay.

References

1. Flag of Uruguay, Wikipedia, 2019. Taken from Wikipedia.org
2. Flag of Uruguay, Encyclopedia Britannica, 2018. Taken from Britannica.com
3. Flag of Uruguay, Flagpedia - Encyclopedia of Flags, (nd). Taken from flagpedia.net
4. Florida Congress, Wikipedia, 2019. Taken from Wikipedia.org
5. Cisplatina, Wikipedia, 2019. Taken from Wikipedia.org
6. Flag of Uruguay Image and Meaning, Country Flags Website, (nd). Taken from countryflags.com