Chilean Flag

Chilean Flag

Flag of Chile

Until the 15th century, when the Inca invaded, the area known today as Chile was inhabited by the Auraucanician people. The first European to reach Chile was Ferdinand Magellan, who sailed through the strait now named after him in 1520. Members of a Spanish expedition under Pedro de Valdivia founded the capital, Santiago, in 1541 and Spanish settlement continued, despite the frequent rebellions of the native peoples. A revolution against Spanish rule was led by Bernardo O'Higgins in 1810 and in 1818, with the help of Argentinean troops led by Jose de San Martin, Chile was liberated from its colonial ruler.

While the French Tricolore became the model for the flags of many emerging European nations, in the New World that role was taken by the flag of the United States of America and, during the struggle for freedom from Spain, Chile adopted the red, white and blue of the 'Stars and Stripes'. Although the design was initially a horizontal tricolor, in 1854 it was modified to form the present layout of two horizontal bands, white over red, with a blue canton charged with a white star. The blue represents the Andean sky, the white signifies the snow of the Andes, while the red denotes the blood of the patriots who died to win Chile's independence.