Mexican Flag design changes throughout history The Mexican Flag has changed 8 times during recorded history. Some of the changes have been minor, some major but throughout history, many details in the coat of arms have remained constant. The features that have remained constant are the eagle, with a serpent, perched on a cactus, which sits on a rock, found in a lake. Whew! That's a lot of details that have stayed the same. What's changed? The design and position of the eagle/serpent/cactus/rock/lake in the coat of arms and the length to width ratio of the flag has changed over time. The Aztec legend states that their gods told them to build a city where they spotted an eagle devouring a serpent (this is now Mexico City). Early Spanish conquistadors came to Mexico in the 1500s, killing local rulers and laying claim to this land for Spain. For more than 300 years, Mexico belonged to Spain's empire. The first unofficial flag of Mexico The first 'unofficial' national flag of Mexico is considered by many to be the Standard of the Virgin of Guadalupe (some Catholics honor her as the manifestation of the Virgin Mary in the Americas) dating back to 1810. This Standard was associated with the rebel army during the Mexican War of Independence. The first national Mexican Flag Spain was finally defeated by Mexico in 1821 and the first official national flag, the Imperial Flag was established, celebrating Mexican sovereignty. The flag colors of green, white and red (encarnado - flesh eating red) were chosen and ordered to be arranged vertically, with the crowned eagle in the center of the white stripe. This flag is similar to the national flag used today but this eagle wore a crown and was not holding a serpent in his talons. The second national Mexican Flag The second national flag was adopted at the start of the first federal republic in 1823. The new flag's only difference was the change to the coat of arms. The crown was removed from the eagle's head, a serpent was placed in the eagle's right talon and a branch of oak and laurel was added. This flag was discontinued in 1864 when the federal republic was dissolved. The third national Mexican Flag The third official national flag used the traditional green, white and red pattern with the coat of arms centered in the white stripe as before. The ratio of the flag's length to width was changed from 4:7 to 1:2 and four golden crowned eagles were placed in the 4 corners of the flag. The design was ordered by the Emperor Maximilian in 1864 to have a French flavor. This flag was abandoned in 1867 when Maximilian was overthrown and executed by the Mexican people. The second national flag (eagle's head without a crown, serpent in the eagle's right talon, branch of oak and laurel) was used once again as the national flag, but was not officially declared as the national flag. The fourth and current national Mexican Flag The current national Flag of Mexico was adopted on September 16, 1968 and the eagle was changed from front-facing to a side-facing view. Mexico City hosted the 1968 Summer Olympic Games which may have prompted the creation of this new Flag of Mexico, the fourth official national flag. Even though Mexico has had four national flags (far fewer than the United States) since gaining independence from Spain in 1821, many of the Mexican Flag's proud details have remained the same: vertical stripes of green, white and red; eagle, snake, cactus, lake, and rock. |
