The geographical representation in the coats of arms of the Latin American countries

Abstract

In this article, I reflect on the geographical representation in the coats of arms of the Latin American countries, showing how the physical features, the aspects of the landscape, the elements of the economy and the Republicans symbols were used by local elites to compose an imaginary of the nation in the nineteenth century. This process of “naturalization of the territory” was used as an important resource in the national discourse, because at this time, in most cases, the Latin American nations were composed of multi-ethnic States, with strong differences of class and a large illiterate population, besides a tenuous territory from the standpoint of national integration. Thus, the elements related to geographic, through the use of the image of the coats of arms, conveyed a strong messages to the citizens, showing how these heraldic symbols can become an important source of research to unravel the process of construction of the imaginary of nation.