- History and other data of the second flag of Peru
- - History
- - Composition
- - How did it come about?
- - Disadvantages
- - Replacement
- References
The second flag of Peru was one of the four that were decreed between 1820 and 1825. This specifically was approved as a national insignia during the government of the Marquis Torre Tagle in 1822.
The flag of Peru is one of the national symbols of the Republic of Peru, a country located in western South America. José de San Martín, an Argentine military decisive in Argentine, Chilean and Peruvian independence, created the first flag of the Inca nation in 1820.
Second Peruvian flag
However, the Inca flag, together with the next two, lived for quite short periods, unlike the one currently used, which has been in force for almost 200 years.
History and other data of the second flag of Peru
- History
The creation of the second flag of Peru came from the hand of José Bernardo de Tagle, popularly known as the Marqués de Torre Tagle.
After assuming the presidency of Peru, he wrote a decree on March 15, 1822 in which the creation of a new flag for the Peruvian country was announced.
- Composition
The newly created flag of Peru was not far from the colors of its predecessor.
It consisted of three horizontal stripes of identical size, the first and third being red, while the middle stripe was white with a sun (which could be red or yellow) stamped in the center.
- How did it come about?
Upon assuming the presidency of the country, the Marquis of Torre Tagle ordered the creation of a new flag.
It was considered that the flag used at that time, created by José de San Martín, generated many problems when it came to making it. For this reason, a simpler model was proposed to represent the ideals of Peru.
The previous flag consisted of diagonal stripes and a central shield made up of olive leaves and a setting sun behind a mountain located on the coast. A relatively difficult design to achieve for that time.
- Disadvantages
From the first moment, the second flag of Peru had some drawbacks. Its resemblance to the Spanish flag, used to confuse the distance.
Since fabrics were easily discolored by those times, the middle strip (whose color was supposed to be white) took on a yellowish hue. This caused that the flags were left with 2 red stripes surrounding a yellow one, the pattern of the flag of Spain.
Numerous confusion was generated on the battlefields, where armies could not recognize whether the flag flown by nearby troops were allies or enemies.
- Replacement
Finally, after just 77 days, on May 31, 1822, the same Marquis of Torre Tagle decided again to modify the flag to give it a design that would differ from the pattern of the flag of Spain.
For this, the horizontal stripes were changed to vertical, the new flag being made up of three vertical stripes of equal length, where the first and third were red, and the central stripe a white tone.
This pattern would be inherited by the fourth and final flag, used by Peru today.
References
- John Preston Moore, James S. Kus, Thomas M. Davies, Robert N. Burr, Javier Pulgar-Vidal «Peru» in: Britannica (2017) Recovered in 2017 from britannica.com.
- Whitney Smith «Flag of Peru» in: Britannica (2016) Recovered in 2017 from britannica.com.
- Tony Dunnell "The History, Colors and Symbols of the Peruvian Flag" in: Trip Savvy (2017) Recovered in 2017 from tripsavvy.com.
- CIA «Peru» in: CIA (2017) Recovered in 2017 from cia.gov.
- Lisa Owings (2011) Peru. United States: Bellwether Media Inc.