The flag of Argentina was first used by Manuel Belgrano (an Argentine economist, lawyer, politician and military leader) with the original design based on the Cockade of Argentina which Belgrano had created during the Argentine War of Independence after noticing both the royalist and patriotic forces were using the same colours - Spain's yellow and red. The flag used the same blue and white colours seen on the current Argentina flag but with a different layout – 3 equally spaced vertical stripes of white, blue and white. Belgrado sent a letter to the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata (modern-day Argentina) body of government (the First Triumvirate) informing of them of the new flag, which was promptly rejected; policy at the time was to state that the government was ruling on behalf of King Ferdinand VII of Spain who was captive of Napoleon, whereas the creation of a flag was a clear act of independence. However, by the time the reply was received, Belgrado had moved on, and on August 23, 1812 he had reached Buenos Aires where the flag was flown atop the Church of Saint Nicholas of Bari. Still not knowing about the Triumvirate's refusal, Belgrano raised the flag at San Salvador de Jujuy and had it blessed by the local church on the second anniversary of the May Revolution. When order arrived at Salta, Belgrado swiftly accepted it and stopped using the flag.
The current governing body was eventually replaced by the Second Triumvirate who agreed the flag could be used as a war flag, with its first outing at the Battle of Salta which saw the Army of the North led by Belgrado defeat the Royalist troops led by Pío de Tristán.
The flag was finally declared as the national flag by by the Congress of Tucumánin 1816 with the design now being the more familiar vertical tri-colour of blue, white, blue.
In 1818 the Sun of May (May referring to the May Revolution which took place in the week from 18th to 25th May 1810, which marked the beginning of the independence from the Spanish Empire) was added to the war flag, and it was soon decided to also use it in the national flag. Over the years the flag has stayed almost the same, with a few minor alterations – for more info click here.
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