History of the Chile Flag: 1817 Lone Star Design, 1912 Standards & Modern Form
Chile’s current Lone Star flag was created during the independence era and gradually standardized through nineteenth- and twentieth-century law.
Before the current flag
Chile used earlier independence-era emblems before the modern national flag appeared. One well-known predecessor from the Patria Vieja period used blue, white and yellow.
1817: the Lone Star flag emerges
The current design was conceived during the administration of Bernardo O’Higgins. Chile’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs states that José Ignacio Zenteno was responsible for the conception, while the design is most often attributed to Antonio Arcos, although Gregorio de Andía y Varela is also cited by some historians.
October 18, 1817: legal adoption
The new flag was legalized on October 18, 1817. It was publicly used in the independence period and became closely associated with the new Chilean state.
1912: dimensions and the star are standardized
Law No. 2,597 fixed the placement of the national colors and specified the white five-pointed star inside the blue canton. It also defined the star’s diameter relative to the blue square and formalized the flag’s proportions.
1967: national-emblem rules consolidated
Supreme Decree No. 1534 consolidated rules for Chile’s national emblems and restated the official form of the flag, coat of arms, cockade and presidential standard.
Why the flag is called La Estrella Solitaria
The single white star in the blue canton gives the flag its familiar name, La Estrella Solitaria—the Lone Star.
Timeline
| 1817 | Current design conceived and legalized |
|---|---|
| 1912 | Colors, placement, star size and proportions standardized |
| 1967 | National-emblem regulations consolidated |
