Southern Cone Under the British

National Symbols

     In Auchmuty-Whitelocke World (AWW), many national symbols of Argentina and Uruguay are the same, but some are different.  Let’s start with those that are different.  One of those which are different for each of the two countries is in the flags.  The present-day flags of Argentina and Uruguay each use some element of blue and white, along with the Golden Sun (in our world, called the Sun of May), inspired by the Inca sun god Inti.  The Argentine one, adopted in 1930, has a light blue background, with the Golden Sun at the centre and 16 stars around the Sun to represent the 16 provinces of Argentina.  Uruguay’s flag, adopted in 1951, has a dark-blue field occupying the right 60% of the flag, and a white field with the Golden Sun (albeit slightly different from the Argentine one) taking up the rest.  Before their respective flags were adopted, these countries used the Blue (and sometimes Red) British Ensign, with the Union Jack (British flag) on the canton, and the national coat of arms in the centre of the right half.  The Union Jack itself was also flown in those countries.  See the flags here.

     The coats of arms of Argentina and Uruguay both reflect the dual British and Spanish heritage of these countries.  They each have the top half of the Golden Sun on top of the coats of arms proper.  Argentina’s contain the three golden lions of England on the top left quarter, and the red lion of Scotland on the top right corner; rounding out the coat of arms proper are the pink lion on the bottom left representing Leon, and the castle structure on the bottom right representing Castile.  Between the top and bottom sections is a handshake, symbolic of hopes for British-Hispanic cooperation.  Many editions of the coat of arms also show a horse flanking the left side and a rhea flanking the right side, along with the motto “Unitate Mari usque ad Mons” (“United from Sea to Mount”) on the bottom.  

     The Uruguayan coat of arms show the scales of justice on the top left and Montevideo Hill on the top right, just like in our world; on the bottom left is the Union Jack, and the old Spanish flag is on the bottom right.  Many editions also show a horse flanking the left side and a bull flanking the right side, along with the motto “Fortis et Celsus” (“Strong and Proud”) on the bottom.  The shields for the coats of arms are straight on top and curved on the bottom, and not oval like in our world; Argentina’s shield, but not Uruguay’s, is surrounded by laurels as well as by the animals flanking either side.

     The national anthems for the two countries are not nearly as militaristic and bombastic as in our world, and they gravitate more towards praising the land, like in the Canadian or Australian anthems.  Having both English and Spanish versions, these anthems have their countries’ names in their titles as well as in their lyrics.  They took over from “God Save the Queen” or “God Save the King” in the 1940s and 1950s.    

     Some symbols are the same for both countries, mostly to do with plants, animals, and the like.  For example, the national animal of Argentina is the puma (also known as the mountain lion or cougar), in both our world and AWW.  The Argentinian national bird is the rufous hornero (a kind of overnbird); the Uruguayan one is the southern lapwing.  For both countries, the national flower is the ceibo (or the coral cockspur tree), and the Golden Sun is a prominent symbol of both places (much like the maple leaf in Canada). 

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