Six flags isn’t just the name of a famous theme park. Its origin comes from the slogan “Six flags over Texas,” which describes Texas‘s history in just a few words. Though several of the states in the Union were at some point part of a larger power (England, France, Spain) or went a few years as an independent republic, Texas has the unique history of having belonged to six different sovereign countries, a combination of its complicated history and a particularity the Lone Star State takes pride in.
This is a map of the territory that now encompasses the United States, with the colored state indicating which power it belonged to. Texas mostly falls under the Spanish empire, but there’s a fraction of it that belonged to French rule as part of a territory known as the French Louisiana, named after Louis XIV, King of France from 1643 to 1715. As such, Texas was therefore initially part of two countries, but from the moment territories in the American began fighting and later gaining their independence, things started to change quite quickly. Texas was mostly caught in the way and its interesting history would make it eventually belong to six different nations. These were the flags flown in Texan territory:
France
You probably think that France’s flag would have been the three-striped red white and blue. But that flag didn’t exist until 1789, when the French Revolution broke out. This flag wasn’t the “official” flag of France, but it was the royal banner of the Kingdom of France from 1684 to 1690. Fort Saint Louis in the Texan Gulf Coast was founded by René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, but it had an unsuccessful run. Still, the French Louisiana included a northern section of Texas, which was sold to the United States in what became known as “the Louisiana purchase.”
Spain (or New Spain)
The sun never set on the Spanish empire, and you have Texas to thank for that. At least, in part. The Spanish empire used many flags, including one that came in use in the 18th century and which looks a lot like the flag Spain uses today (three horizontal stripes of red-yellow-red). The most common one, however, was the castle and lion flag, representing Spain’s most powerful regions, Castilla and León. Though sometimes New Spain is represented with the Cross of Burgundy flag, Texas looks to its Spanish past in this traditional Spanish emblem, which is still found today in Spain’s official flag.
Mexico
As we have shown on the map, Texas and much of what is now the Southwestern United States was part of New Spain. Therefore, when Mexico won its independence in 1821, Texas automatically became a Mexican state. If you look for the modern-day Mexican flag, you’ll find some similarities to the one below, but it’s strikingly different in the style of the central image. It’s still very much a representation of an Aztec legend that tells of a priest who instructed his nomadic people to wait for a signal indicating where to found their city. After years of pilgrimage, the Aztecs finally came across it, just as the priest had told them: an eagle devouring a snake on a nopal (one of those flat cacti) was spotted on what later became Tenochtitlan, the same spot where you now find Mexico City.
Texas
Texas seceded from Mexico in a process that is still disputed today. The point is, it fashioned its flag after the American flag, except they were “alone” in gaining its independence. What better way to put it than by having only one star. That’s how we got the Lone Star flag.
@flagsoftheus
United States
When the United States annexed Texas in 1845, it had already grown from 13 original states to 27. Texas became the 28th state, but certainly not the last.
Confederacy
Texas has a knack for seceding. Or how else would you explain their constant fight for independence? This flag belonged to the Confederate States of America, the country made up of eleven American states that attempted to secede from the American Union. You know the story, right? The Confederacy was as white supremacist as it was ill-conceived. But, the point is, for a brief moment, Texas became a part of yet another a country, a sixth country, thus giving way to the famous slogan “Six flags over Texas.”
Texas actually had many more flags that were either proposed or simply short lived. Which one is your favorite?
Cover picture @sgshou
