The shield of Ecuador is together with the national anthem and flag one of the national symbols of the Republic of Ecuador. This shield exhibits in its design some of the qualities of the Andean nation, enhancing its personality.
The design present in the current version of the shield dates from the year 1900, when minor changes were made to it based on the previous version, which had its origin and display in 1860.
From historical and official documents, it has been pointed out that the current design of the shield of Ecuador is a creation of the artist and teacher Pedro Pablo Traversari.
Since its independence and foundation as a Republic, Ecuador has presented multiple changes in the design and significance of its shield.
For example, at the time when it belonged to Greater Colombia, Ecuador shared the same shield with nations that are also independent today.
The national emblem of Ecuador encompasses the most traditional elements of the Andean culture, as well as its history and its development over the years.
History of the shield of Ecuador
The first years of independence saw the birth of the first civic symbol that would later find its consolidated form in the coat of arms.
This first version was known as the Estrella de Guayaquil (later Estrella de Occidente), which represented the independent and free character of the Province of Guayaquil and its surrounding territories. The design was a star surrounded by laurels.
Starting in 1822, the shield that was displayed as a national symbol was that of Gran Colombia.
The territory corresponding to Ecuador represented the southern department, Nueva Granada the central department, and Venezuela the northern department.
It is said that the shield of Ecuador as an independent and sovereign nation was born from this stage, specifically in 1830, with the separation of Ecuador from the Republic of Colombia.
Despite this first separatist intention, its official name remains that of the State of Ecuador in the Republic of Colombia.
From then on, a shield was developed that, although it had elements of that of Gran Colombia, began to present its own elements: the oval shield and the sun with a face appear on the consular fasces, previously present in that of Gran Colombia.
In 1835, the nation was definitively re-founded as the Republic of Ecuador, and again a shield was adopted from scratch, without taking into account any of the elements present in the previous ones.
For the moment, a concise decree is made around the design of the shield, which only specifies that "the arms of the republic will be placed with the motto Republic of Ecuador."
The sun is redesigned and the signs of the zodiac appear, all inside an oval shield in which some hills of national importance were also represented.
In the upper part of the oval there were seven stars representing the same number of provinces that made up Ecuador at that time. This shield had a validity of almost ten years.
In 1843 a constitutional convention decreed the design of a shield that would comply with the rules of heraldry, with specific shapes and where all its elements would have an individual meaning.
In this version the flags appear for the first time on the sides, the halberd spears and the condor on the upper part present in the current shield.
These three elements were the only ones that were not given meaning at the time.
The interior of the shield contained paintings with individual and significant figures. This shield would only last two years, since in 1845, the Marcist Revolution would refound it towards a version closer to the one known today.
The Marcist Revolution, considered the true libertarian movement of Ecuador, redesigned both the shield and the flag.
The shield adopted the current form and content, with the only difference being that it exhibited a flag that is not the official one, which at that time consisted of vertical, white and blue stripes.
Since then, once the yellow, blue and red flag was made official, the coat of arms of Ecuador would remain without experiencing major changes.
It only changed in 1900, when a few design tweaks would simply add new textures to the same existing elements. The meaning of its elements, individually or as a whole, remains unchanged.
characteristics
The version exhibited and made official in 1900 continues to be valid in the Republic of Ecuador for its internal and international representation.
This shield has an ordinary structure, made up of a blazon, a bell or crest, and a tenant; together they make up a harmonious composition that highlights the characteristics of the Andean nation.
Doorbell
The stamp is the upper part of the shield, frequently used to place insignia that denotes the noble rank of whoever owns and bears the shield.
In the case of this national shield, the present insignia is that of a condor of the Andes, a mythical and sacred bird in Andean cultures, in a position prior to taking flight and with its eyes fixed on its right side.
The condor symbolizes the power and arrogance of the Andean people, as well as their constant struggle throughout history. This condor is to Ecuador and the Andean people what the eagle is to other nations.
More recently another significance has been attributed to it, related to the danger of extinction that the condor lives today due to human intervention.
Blazon
It is in this area of the shield where the greatest number of pictorial elements converge. Inside the oval shield a scene is represented: the sun in a zodiacal strip, which includes the signs corresponding to the months of March to June.
This strip allegories Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer and the Marcist Revolution, an insurrectionary movement that led General Flores to leave power.
At the bottom of the landscape, below these elements, is a snow-capped mountain, which has been identified as the Chimborazo volcano, with perpetual snow at its summit.
From this a river is born that extends to the bottom of the oval: the Guayas River. The mountain and the river seek to represent the natural majesty of the Andes and its natural riches.
At the mouth of the river there is a steam that carries the colors yellow, blue and red.
It has been claimed that this steamship corresponds to the Guayas, the first vessel of this type built in Latin America, an unmatched industrial achievement in those years.
Vapor represents overcoming and progressive development. A motivation for the Ecuadorian people, who once had the industrial advantage on a continental level, and now seek to relive times of glory that mistakes and political greed have left behind.
The presence and design of the ship on the shield has generated controversy, since it has been said that the last redesign carried out was based on a photograph that did not correspond to the historic steamship Guayas.
Supporter
The sides of the shield are covered with the presence of four national flags (two on each side) that are spread over two lances and two halberds.
These are accompanied in the middle by two branches, the laurel and the palm, located to the right and left of the shield, respectively.
The laurel is representative of victory. The palm has a religious, biblical character, being representative of the martyrs of Independence.
Both the lance and the halberd on which the flags are spread have a special character. The first has a significant ceremonial character and represents its use as a weapon of war to achieve freedom, independence and the founding of the republic.
The halberd, on the other hand, serves as a symbol of custody for all constituted powers, due to its use intended for the forces of ceremonial order, historical guardians of the representatives of power.
Other elements present in the lower part of the coat of arms are the consular fasces, which have generated mixed interpretations about their symbolic function in the national coat of arms.
These fasces, represented by a roller of wooden rods covering an ax, were taken for their historical significance related to the Roman republic, specifically to the consuls who, by that time, alternated power in an agreed manner.
References
- Cepeda, JJ (nd). Citizenship and national identity in Ecuador. In The Participation of the Ecuadorian Society in the Formation of the National Identity (pp. 79-98). CNPCC.
- Fernández, P. d. (2008). Teaching National Identity in Ecuador. Minius, 113-134.
- Pine, EA (nd). Shield of Ecuador. Obtained from Encyclopedia of Ecuador: encyclopediadelecuador.com
- Presidency of the Republic of Ecuador. (2009). Instructions for the use of National Symbols. Quito.
- Sosa, R. (2014). The coat of arms of Ecuador and the national project. Quito: Simón Bolívar Andean University / National Publishing Corporation.