An Aspect of Symbolic Nationalism in Spanish America: (Aspirations and Emblems)

Abstract

It was symptomatic of the postrevolutionary years in the former Spanish colonies in America, years that were confused by political and economic puzzles, that considerable and loving attention should have been paid to the badges, coats of arms, and national flags of the new-born states. In a way, they were a refuge. Unlike the endless wrangles of political principles and personalities, these could be devised with patriotic fervor and relative unanimity. The very fact that they were judged necessary in the new statesmen's minds was a meaningful indication of the dependence of these gentlemen on European forms and at the same time of their immersion in the swelling tide of nationalism, which had been gradually developing for over a century. Just as the old feudal lords and the kings had their symbolic insignia, so it was incumbent on any newly-formed and respectable state to present its distinctive coat-of-arms. In effect, these early forgers of symbolism can give us at least a partial picture of their ideals as they broke away from the mother country and of their ardent search for national identity. Naturally enough, the framework and part of the substance of the virgin emblems were picked from the traditional treasure chest of the western European tradition. Encircling wreaths and flanking adornment were, in the majority of cases, the classical, conventional leaves of the oak, olive, palm, and-above all-the laurel, with their age-long European symbolism. Perhaps the palm, evident in the arms of Venezuela, Cuba, and Peru, had in the designers' minds a tropical and New-World significance. Horns of plenty, with overtones of eighteenth-century optimism, grace at least four of the Latin American coats-of arms. Flanking flags, crossed swords or guns, and the solid Roman fasces (an increasingly urgent symbol) are monotonous commonplaces, without any significance but the oovious.