View source for Coat of arms of Chile

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{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2021}}
{{Infobox coat of arms
|name             = Coat of arms of Chile
|image            = Coat of arms of Chile.svg
|image_width      = 250
|middle           = 
|middle_width     = 
|middle_caption   = 
|lesser           = 
|lesser_width     = 
|lesser_caption   = 
|armiger          = [[Chile|Republic of Chile]]
|year_adopted     = 26 June 1834 (original version)<br/>12 December 1967 (current design)
|crest            = Three [[feather]]s [[Azure (heraldry)|Azure]], [[Argent]], [[Gules]]
|torse            = [[Azure (heraldry)|Azure]], [[Argent]] and [[Gules]]
|shield           = [[Division of the field|Party per fess]] [[Azure (heraldry)|Azure]] and [[Gules]] a [[mullet (heraldry)|mullet]] [[argent]]
|supporters       = Dexter, a [[South Andean deer|huemul]] proper; Sinister, an [[Andean condor]] also proper, both [[naval crown|navally crowned]] [[Or (heraldry)|Or]]
|compartment      = A vegetal compartment [[Or (heraldry)|Or]] on the bottom, white scroll with motto on it
|motto            = '''Por la razón o la fuerza''' <br /> "By reason or by force"
|orders           = 
|other_elements   = 
|earlier_versions = 
|designer         = [[Charles Chatworthy Wood Taylor|Charles Wood Taylor]]
|use              = 
}}

The '''coat of arms of Chile''' dates from 1834 and was designed by the English artist [[Charles Chatworthy Wood Taylor|Charles Wood Taylor]] (1792–1856). It is made up by a figurative background divided in two equal parts: the top one is blue and the bottom, red. A five pointed white star is in the centre of the shield. This background is supported in one side by an [[Andean condor]], the most significant bird of prey from the [[Andes]], and in the other, by a [[South Andean deer|huemul]], a mammal endemic to Chile. Both animals wear golden [[naval crown]]s symbolising the heroic deeds of the [[Chilean Navy]] in the Pacific Ocean.

The coat of arms is crowned by a three-feathered crest, each feather bearing one colour: blue, white and red. This crest was a symbol of distinction that former presidents of the Republic used to wear on their hats.

Underneath the coat of arms and on the elaborated pedestal, there is a white band with the motto: ''Por la Razón o la Fuerza'' ("By reason or force").

This emblem is the last of a series of variations due to diverse circumstances and understandings.

==Official description==
Under [[:s:es:Decreto Supremo Nº 1534 de 1967|Decreto Supremo Nº 1534 del Ministerio del Interior de Chile, sobre el uso de los Emblemas Nacionales]], Chilean law describes the coat of arms as follows:

''The Coat of Arms presents a five-pointed silver star in the center of a cut field, turquoise blue the top and red the bottom and its shape is that fixed by the official model approved by War Decree No. 2,271 of September 4, 1920, in accordance with the law, and which, in addition, has a timbre a tricolor plumage of turquoise blue, white and red; for supports a rampant huemulum on its right and a condor on its left in the position that fixes that model, crowned each of these animals with a gold naval crown; and on the base an arcocola crossed by a ribbon with the slogan "For reason or strength", all in accordance with the aforementioned model.''

== History ==
=== The first coat of arms ===
[[File:Coat of Arms of Chile (1812-1814).svg|thumb|First coat of arms; representation with the human figures as supporters.]]
The first coat of arms was created during the office of President [[José Miguel Carrera]], in 1812. It was designed over an oval in which center was depicted a column representing the Tree of Freedom. On top of this column was a terrestrial globe; over the globe, a lance and a palm leaf crossed and over these two, a star.

Standing, on both sides of the fixture, was the figure of an indigenous woman and a man. On top of everything was written, in Latin, ''Post Tenebras Lux'' ("After the Darkness, Light") and at the bottom, ''Aut Consilio Aut Ense'' ("By Council or by Sword").

This emblem, like the first Chilean flag, was initially exclusively for army use. In Chile, the Spanish emblems were still used at the time of the [[Chilean War of Independence]]. When the Spanish army arrived in Chile in 1813, with the goal of reconquering the country, the first independent emblems were adopted as national symbols.<ref name="monitor"/>

There are no original representations of this first coat of arms, so its design is open to interpretation. One of the few sources is a description made in the ''Memoria histórica sobre la Revolución de Chile'' by Melchor Martínez. Although the version with supporters is the most accepted representation of the coat, other historians have suggested that the coat of arms was oval-shaped, and had also a reverse depicting a sun rising behind mountain with the mottoes ''Aurora libertatis chilensis'' ("The beginning of Chilean liberty") and ''Umbra et nocti, lux et libertas succedunt'' ("Shadow and night are succeeded by light and liberty").<ref name="gay">{{cite book |last1=Gay |first1=Claudio |title=History of the Chilean Independence |location=Volume I |pages=280–281 |language=es}}</ref>

In 1817, two new coats of arms emerged. The first one, created in June, showed a similar pillar and globe, and the motto ''Libertad'' ("Liberty") over them, together with the words ''Unión y fuerza'' ("Union and strength") on a black blue field.

=== Transitory coat of arms ===
[[File:Coat of Arms of Chile (1819-1834).svg|thumb|right|Second coat of arms.]]
Two years later, on 23 September 1819, a new project for a coat of arms was approved in the [[Senate of Chile|Senate]]. It was a dark blue field, with a column standing on a white marble pedestal in the middle. On top of this column, the new American world with the word "Libertad" (''Liberty'') over it. Above this sign, a five-pointed star, representing the province of [[Santiago, Chile|Santiago]]. Two similar stars, representing [[Concepción, Chile|Concepción]] and [[Coquimbo]], were at each side of the column.

This combination of elements was surrounded by two small branches of laurel with their buds tied with a tricolor ribbon. Around this ribbon, the whole armory of the country was depicted in strict order: cavalry, infantry, dragoons, artillery and bombardiers.

To complete the coat of arms, an indigenous man held it with his hands over his head, while sitting on an American cayman with one foot resting on the [[Cornucopia|Horn of Plenty]]. The cayman had, in its jaws, the [[Heraldry of León|Lion of Castile]], whose crown laid fallen on one side and was holding the ripped [[Flag of Spain|Spanish flag]] with its front paws.{{citation needed|date=March 2013}}

This coat of arms was used until 1834, when it was replaced with another one very similar to the current one.

=== The current coat of arms ===

In 1832, [[Joaquín Prieto]] commissioned the creation of a permanent coat of arms for the Republic.<ref>{{cite book|last=Collier|first=Simon|title=Chile: La construcción de una república 1830–1865. Política e ideas.|date=2005|publisher=Ediciones Universidad Católica de Chile|isbn=956-14-0851-1|page=79|chapter=2. El sistema conservador}}</ref> [[Charles Chatworthy Wood Taylor]], an English artist, was designer of the coat that included a field party per fess, blue and red, with a condor and a huemul for supporters and three feathers with the national colors of Chile, that symbolized the feathers that the President and Supreme Director used on their hats as a symbol of power.

In 1920, the motto ''Por la razón o la fuerza'' was added to the coat of arms.

== Evolution ==

=== As part of the Spanish Empire ===

{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible autocollapse" style="width:100%;"
|-
| colspan="4"  style="background:#ccf;text-align:center"|'''Evolution of the coats of arms used in Chile (1540—1813 and 1814–1817)'''
|-
| colspan="4"  style="background:#ccf;text-align:center"|'''In 1540, Chile became part of the [[Spanish Empire]]'''
|-
! style="width:20%;"|Coat of arms
! style="width:10%;"|Dates
! style="width:60%;"|Details
! style="width:10%;"|Shield
|-
|style="text-align:center"| [[File:Greater Coat of Arms of Charles I of Spain, Charles V as Holy Roman Emperor (1530-1556).svg|100px]]
|''1540—1556''
| rowspan="7"| Prior to its independence, as part of the [[Spanish Empire]], in the [[Captaincy General of Chile]] the [[Coat of arms of Spain|coats of arms of Spain]] were used.<br/>Although initially their use was only nominal, by 1750 the coat of arms of the Spanish monarch appeared on every coin coined in Chile. In the golden coins (''Escudos''), from 1749 to 1763, the greater arms of Phillip V were shown; and from 1763 to 1817, when Chile became independent, Charles III and Ferdinand VII used another version that included Parma and Tuscany.<ref name="num">{{cite web |last1=Saavedra |first1=Juan |title=El Escudo en las monedas chilenas |url=http://monedasdechile.blogspot.com/2015/11/el-escudo-nacional-en-las-monedas.html |website=Monedas de Chile |date=22 November 2015 |access-date=7 October 2020}}</ref> The Spanish emblem was no longer used during the final years of the [[Patria Vieja]].<ref name="monitor">{{cite journal |title=Decreto del Gobierno sustituyendo la bandera tricolor en lugar de la española |journal=El Monitor Araucano |date=15 June 1813 |url=http://www.historia.uchile.cl/CDA/fh_article/0,1389,SCID%253D1862%2526ISID%253D143%2526JNID%253D9,00.html |access-date=7 October 2020}}</ref>
|style="text-align:center"| [[File:Greater Arms of Charles I of Spain, Charles V as Holy Roman Emperor.svg|100px]]
|-
|style="text-align:center"| [[File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Philip_II_of_Spain,_English_King_Consort-Spanish_Variant_(1556-1558).svg|100px]]
|''1556—1558''
|style="text-align:center"| [[File:Arms of Philip II of Spain, English King Consort-Spanish Variant (1556-1558).svg|100px]]
|-
|style="text-align:center"| [[File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Philip_II_of_Spain_(1558-1580).svg|100px]]
|''1558—1580''
|style="text-align:center"| [[File:Arms of Philip II of Spain (1558-1580).svg|100px]]
|-
|style="text-align:center"| [[File:Royal Coat of Arms of Spain (1580-1668).svg|100px]]
|''1580—1668''
|style="text-align:center"| [[File:Royal Arms of Spain (1580-1668).svg|100px]]
|-
|style="text-align:center"| [[File:Coat of Arms of Charles II of Spain (1668-1700).svg|100px]]
|''1668''—''1700''
|style="text-align:center"| [[File:Arms of Charles II of Spain (1668-1700).svg|100px]]
|-
|style="text-align:center"| [[File:Royal Coat of Arms of Spain (1700-1761)-Common Version.svg|100px]]
|''1700''—1763
|style="text-align:center"| [[File:Arms of Spain (1700-1761).svg|100px]]
|-
|style="text-align:center"| [[File:Royal Coat of Arms of Spain (1761-1868 and 1874-1931) Golden Fleece Variant.svg|100px]]
|1763—1813<br/>1814—1817
|style="text-align:center"| [[File:Greater_Royal_Arms_of_Spain_(c.1883-1931).svg|100px]]
|-
|style="text-align:center"| [[File:Colonial Currency Badge of the Spanish West Indies.svg|100px]]
|1751—1770
| rowspan="2"| In the silver coins (''Reales''), a lesser version, including only the quarterly of Castile and León, the Grenade Entée-en-point, and the Anjou escutcheon, was shown (from 1773, it included also the Pillars of Hercules). Also, from 1751 to 1770 the currency badge of the Spanish West Indies was used.<ref name="num"/>
| rowspan="2" style="text-align:center"| [[File:Lesser Royal Arms of Spain (1700-1868 and 1874-1930).svg|100px]]
|-
|style="text-align:center"| [[File:Lesser Royal Coat of Arms of Spain (1700-1868 and 1834-1930) Pillars of Hercules Variant.svg|100px]]
|1751—1813<br/>1814—1817
|-
|}

=== As an independent nation ===
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%; margin:0.5em 1em 0.5em 0; background:#f9f9f9; border:1px #aaa solid; border-collapse:collapse;"
|-
| colspan="4"  style="background:#ccf;text-align:center"|'''Evolution of the coats of arms used in Chile (1813—1814 and 1817–)'''
|-
| colspan="4"  style="background:#ccf; text-align:center;"|'''In 1817, Chile became an independent nation'''
|-
! style="width:20%;"|Coat of arms
! style="width:10%;"|Dates
! style="width:60%;"|Details
! style="width:10%;"|Shield
|-
|style="text-align:center"| [[File:Coat of Arms of Chile (1812-1814).svg|150px]]
|1813—1814
| The first arms depicted a doric column with a globe at its top, with a native man and woman as supporters, a wreath, a halbert, a star and the two mottoes in Latin ''Post tenebras lux'' and ''Aut consilio aut ense''.
|style="text-align:center"| [[File:Obverse of the Coat of Arms of Chile (1812-1814).svg|100px]]<br/><br/>[[File:Reverse of the Coat of Arms of Chile (1812-1814).svg|100px]]
|-
| {{center|{{CSS image crop
|Image = Bandera declaración independencia de Chile.jpg
|bSize = 400
|cWidth = 125
|cHeight = 170
|oTop = 240
|oLeft = 140
}}}}
|1817—1819
| During this time, two coats of arms showing a column similar to the one in the previous shield were used. The both of them had a reverse identical as the one depicted in the flag that was used to declare Chilean Independence, that showed a volcano erupting and the motto ''Chile Independ[ien]te''.
|
|-
|style="text-align:center"| [[File:Coat of Arms of Chile (1819-1834).svg|150px]]<br/><br/>[[File:Greater Coat of Arms of Chile (1819-1834).svg|150px]]<br/><br/>[[File:Ornamented Coat of Arms of Chile (1819-1834) Cerro Castillo Version.svg|150px]]
|1819—1834
| This coat was approved by the Senate in 1819, and was extremely similar to the two previous ones. It depicted a column and a globe, as the 1813 shield, and had three stars representing the provinces of [[Santiago]], [[Coquimbo]] and [[Concepción, Chile|Concepción]]. The ornamented coat of arms was represented on the Cerro Castillo Presidential Palace.
|style="text-align:center"| [[File:Arms of Chile (1819-1834).svg|100px]]
|-
|style="text-align:center"| [[File:Coat of Arms of Chile (1834-1920).svg|150px]]<br/><br/>[[File:Coat of Arms of Chile (1834-1920) Compartment Variant.svg|150px]]<br/><br/>[[File:Greater Coat of Arms of Chile (1834-1920).svg|150px]]
|1834—1920
| This coat was designed by [[Charles Chatworthy Wood Taylor|Charles Wood]], an English artist, commissioned by the government of [[Joaquín Prieto]] in 1832. In his design, it didn't conserve any of the elements of any of the previous shields. The variant with a mount vert in compartment displays the [[Lapageria|Copihue]], the national flower. The ornamented variation displays eight Chilean national flags on lances behind the supporters, the condor and the huemul.
| rowspan="4" style="text-align:center"| [[File:Arms of Chile.svg|100px]]
|-
|style="text-align:center"| [[File:Coat of Arms of Chile (Wrong Version).svg|150px]]
|1834—''c.'' 1940
| This was an erroneous version that depicted a horse instead of a huemul, because that animal was unknown in most of the countries where the physical coats were manufactured.<ref>{{cite web |title=¿Por qué aparece un "caballo" en el escudo nacional de la pileta de la Plaza de la Independencia en Concepción? |url=https://www.canal9.cl/programas/noticias/2018/12/18/por-que-aparece-un-caballo-en-el-escudo-nacional-de-la-pileta-de-plaza-independencia-de-concepcion.shtml}}</ref>
|-
|style="text-align:center"| [[File:Coat of Arms of Chile.svg|150px]]
|1920—
| In 1920, a decree officialized the use of the motto ''Por la razón o la fuerza'', creating the current coat of arms.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Declara modelo oficial del escudo nacional de la República |date=4 September 1920 |url=https://www.bcn.cl/leychile/navegar?idNorma=1016221&idVersion=1920-09-08 |access-date=2 January 2021}}</ref>
|-
|style="text-align:center"| [[File:Coat of arms of Chile (official model).svg|150px]]
| 1920—
| Standardized version, used specially during the [[Military dictatorship of Chile (1973–1990)|Military Dictatorship]].
|-
|}

== References ==

{{reflist|2}}

== External links ==
{{portal|Heraldry|Chile}}
{{Commons category|Coats of arms of Chile}}
*[http://simbolospatrios.cl/ Sobre los verdaderos simbolos patrios de Chile] simbolospatrios.cl
*[[:commons:Coats of arms of Chile|Gallery of Chilean coats of arms]]

{{Coats of arms of South America}}

[[Category:National coats of arms|Chile]]
[[Category:National symbols of Chile]]
[[Category:Coats of arms with crowns|Chile]]
[[Category:Coats of arms with deer|Chile]]
[[Category:Coats of arms with birds|Chile]]
[[Category:Coats of arms with stars|Chile]]
[[Category:Chilean coats of arms]]
[[Category:1834 in Chile]]
[[Category:National emblems with birds|Chile]]