Six Flags over Texas Emblems under State Capitol Dome

"Six flags over Texas" is the

slogan A slogan is a memorable motto or phrase used in a clan or a political, commercial, religious, or other context as a repetitive expression of an idea or purpose, with the goal of persuading members of the public or a more defined target group ...

used to describe the six sovereign countries that have had control over some or all of the current territory of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

(1519–1685; 1690–1821),

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

(1685–1690),

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

(1821–1836), the

Republic of Texas The Republic of Texas (), or simply Texas, was a country in North America that existed for close to 10 years, from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846. Texas shared borders with Centralist Republic of Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande, an ...

(1836–1845), the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

(1845–1861; 1865–present), and the Confederate States (1861–1865). This slogan has been incorporated into shopping malls, theme parks (

Six Flags Six Flags Entertainment Corporation is an American amusement park company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. It was formed on July 2, 2024, following a merger between longtime rivals Cedar Fair and the former Six Flags ...

, including the flagship park, Six Flags Over Texas, in Arlington), and other enterprises. The six flags fly in front of the state welcome centers on the state's borders with

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

, and

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

. In Austin, the six flags fly in front of the Bullock Texas State History Museum; the Texas State Capitol has the six coats of arms on its northern façade, and the University of Texas at Austin Life Sciences Library, previously the location of the central library in the Main Building, has each coat of arms displayed in plaster emblems with short excerpts representative of the constitutions of each country. The six flags are also shown on the reverse of the

Seal of Texas The Seal of the State of Texas was adopted through the 1845 Texas Constitution, and was based on the seal of the Republic of Texas, which dates from January 25, 1839. Design The official artwork, drawn by Juan Vega of Round Rock, Texas, was a ...

. In 1997, the Texas Historical Commission adopted standard designs for representing the six flags. While six flags are universally accepted throughout the state, some controversy exists regarding a potential seventh: The Republic of the Rio Grande. Ultimately, the former nation is not included, but certain local governments such as the city of Laredo (which served as its capital city) hold it as a prominent member of the array. The reason why it is not considered one of the original "six flags" in the Texas set is because both the Republic of Texas and the Republic of the Rio Grande claimed part of the same territory in 1840. In 2017, the Six Flags Over Texas theme park stopped flying the Confederate flag, part of a larger trend of removing public symbols of the slavery-supporting secessionists.

Spain (1519 to 1685; 1690 to 1821)

border, 100px

The first flag belonged to

, which ruled most of Texas from 1519 to 1685 and 1690 to 1821. Three Spanish flags were used during this period: the "castle and lion" arms of the

Crown of Castile The Crown of Castile was a medieval polity in the Iberian Peninsula that formed in 1230 as a result of the third and definitive union of the crowns and, some decades later, the parliaments of the kingdoms of Kingdom of Castile, Castile and Kingd ...

(see Flag of Castile and León); the Cross of Burgundy, a military and maritime flag also used by the viceroys of

New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( ; Nahuatl: ''Yankwik Kaxtillan Birreiyotl''), originally the Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain. It was one of several ...

; and the ''Rojigualda'' introduced by

King Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

in 1785, containing horizontal stripes of red-gold-red and the simple arms of Castile and León. This third flag has been used by Spain in various forms to the present day, and is the flag used in the reverse of the

and adopted by the Texas Historical Commission.

France (1684 to 1690 for Fort Saint Louis and 1800 to 1803 as French Louisiana)

border, 100px

The second flag was the royal banner of the

Kingdom of France The Kingdom of France is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the Middle Ages, medieval and Early modern France, early modern period. It was one of the most powerful states in Europe from th ...

from 1684 to 1690. In 1684, French nobleman

René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle (; November 22, 1643 – March 19, 1687), was a 17th-century French explorer and North American fur trade, fur trader in North America. He explored the Great Lakes region of the United States and Canada ...

, founded a colony on the Texas Gulf Coast called Fort Saint Louis. The colony was unsuccessful, and after La Salle's murder, was soon abandoned. During this time, no official

French flag The national flag of France () is a tricolour featuring three vertical bands coloured blue ( hoist side), white, and red. The design was adopted after the French Revolution, whose revolutionaries were influenced by the horizontally striped r ...

existed, so a number of designs are used in displays of the "six flags". Later on in 1800, Spain ceded Louisiana to France under the

Third Treaty of San Ildefonso The Third Treaty of San Ildefonso was a secret agreement signed on 1 October 1800 between Spain and the French Republic by which Spain agreed in principle to exchange its North American colony of Louisiana for territories in Tuscany. The terms we ...

. French Louisiana included northern sections of Texas. It remained in the hands of France until 1803, when France sold the Louisiana Territory to the United States. However, what was later northern Texas was sold back to Spain years later.

Mexico (1821 to 1835)

The third flag flown (1821 through 1836) was the

flag of Mexico The national flag, national flag of Mexico () is a vertical Tricolour (flag), tricolor of green, white, and red with Coat of arms of Mexico, the national coat of arms charge (heraldry), charged in the center of the white stripe. While the meani ...

. Mexico's independence was recognized by Spain in September 1821. The Mexican flag displayed in the Austin Capitol is that of the Mexican Republic of 1823 through 1864. This flag was in use in Texas until its independence from Mexico in 1836.

Republic of Texas (1836 to 1845 as the Republic of Texas; since 1845 as the State of Texas)

The fourth flag belonged to the

from 1836 to 1845. The Republic had two national flags during its history, the first being the so-called " Burnet Flag". The " Lone Star Flag", the final

national flag A national flag is a flag that represents and national symbol, symbolizes a given nation. It is Fly (flag), flown by the government of that nation, but can also be flown by its citizens. A national flag is typically designed with specific meanin ...

, became the

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

flag when Texas joined the United States as a

in 1845.

United States (1845 to 1861; 1865 to present)

The fifth and current flag is that of the

, which Texas joined in 1845. Upon

secession Secession is the formal withdrawal of a group from a Polity, political entity. The process begins once a group proclaims an act of secession (such as a declaration of independence). A secession attempt might be violent or peaceful, but the goal i ...

, Texas abandoned this flag for its sixth, until readmission to the Union in 1865.

Confederate States (1861 to 1865)

The sixth flag belonged to the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. During this time, the Confederate States had three national flags.

Gallery

File:Six Flags of Texas.jpg, Display of the Six Flags in

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

References

External links

*
Six Flags of Texas
{{Texas Flags of Texas Slogans Flags of the Confederate States of America