Artigas historical flags (Uruguay, 1813-1815)

Last modified: 2000-01-21 by antonio martins
Keywords: uruguay | artigas (josé gervasio) | belgarno | jack | tupamaros | patria vieja |
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• Description of the flag
• Tupamaro’s “desacration”
• Variant Artigas flag

• Uruguay
• Argentina

The flag of Artigas, the national hero of Uruguay, was adapted from the Belgrano flag by adding a diagonal red stripe. This flag is now the naval jack of Uruguay and the flag of the province of Entre Rios in Argentina.

The red, blue and white colours were used by Artigas to establish a clear difference between the flag of the Eastern Province — that was the name of our country before independence and meant that our country was at the east of Buenos Aires Province. This "Eastern" adjective was kept when the Independence of our country was achieved in 1928, but with a differente meaning. From then on it was known as the República Oriental del Uruguay, i.e. the republic east side or the Uruguay river. This is still today the official name of our nation.

These three colours evoke the colours of the french Tricolor of French Revolution days. At the beginning of the XIX century, red and blue were the colours you could find when looking for cloth for the soldiers’ uniforms, in these Spanish colonies. Materials came in two shades of blue. One, the lightest, was celestial or "heavenly" blue and had been chosen by Belgrano for the flag of the May 1810 Revolution leading to the Argentine Independence. Four or five years later, not wanting his colors to be similar or confused with those of the Buenos Aires government, against whose dominance he would be soon fighting, Artigas chose to design his flag and other provinces which were with him in opposing Buenos Aires domination, in colours not existing in the Argentine flag. The shade of blue he adopted therefore was navy blue.

Those were the times of the Patria Vieja, (the Old Fatherland), a short historical period extending from 1813 to 1815, approximately, during which our territory (the Eastern Province) was independent, under Artigas rule. Then the Brazilians, and later the Portuguese invaded us and final independence really came ten years later, and different flags were adopted.

Jorge Cajarville, 16 Jun 1999

Was the current national flag used also as such in 1825-1830?
António Martins, 23 Jun 1999

I do not know when Uruguay changed her jack, but I can tell you why: the Tupamaros used the Artigas flag as their symbol, [something considered to be] a shameful and blasphemous profanation of the emblem of José Gervasio Artigas, National Hero of the Oriental Republic.
Juan Morales, 8 Jun 1998

In a recent visit of the spanish Kings to Uruguay, the Artigas flag, the national flag and the 33 Orientales flag shown togheter (as habitual) in official acts and military parades. If profanation exists then why the flag is still used?
Jaume Ollé, 10 Jun 1998

Many designs were used, included this one, believed to be one of the first used in Montevideo.
Jorge Cajarville, 16 Jun 1999