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This coat of arms, however, was not implemented in a time of royalty and nobility. They were officially adopted in 1971, when Richard Nixon was president and Spain was still under the rule of a fascist dictator.

The Canarians, who settled in the area in 1731, were promised a coat of arms by the King of Spain. Somehow it was forgotten during the Spanish conquest of the New World.

But thanks to Thomas A. Wilson, former board member of the Texas Hispanic American History Foundation, that promise has finally been fulfilled nearly 250 years later.

Wilson designed the city and county coats of arms. The San Antonio coat of arms includes the Alamo. The Bexar County heraldic shield has a cannon that represents Texas’ battle for independence from Mexico and Texas’ support of the Confederacy during the Civil War.

Wilson also officially cataloged and filed them in the Spanish heraldic records. Wilson and Fernando Muñoz Altea de Madrid, the Spanish king of arms, even presented them in San Antonio on December 18, 1971.

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“So it’s kind of like a big deal,” said Dr. David C. Carlson, a Spanish archivist with the Bexar County Clerk’s Office. “And so, for that reason, we can’t really make any changes to it unless we have to go through the whole rigmarole and process again.”

The coat of arms was an important Spanish tradition that could be found throughout the New World. Cities in Mexico, Cuba, Colombia and Spain have one. Just like Germany and other European cities. But that’s pretty rare in the United States.

The town of Albany, New York, has one. The same goes for St. Augustine, Florida, a former Spanish colony on the state’s east coast. The coat of arms of Saint Augustine is over 300 years old. San Antonio and Bexar County appear to be the only Texas governments to have official coats of arms recognized by Spain.

Seeking to prevent the French from expanding into Spanish-held territory in Texas, King Philip VI agreed to send volunteers from the Canary Islands to establish a permanent colony in Texas.

After a voyage across the Atlantic and a four-month journey over land from Veracruz, Mexico, the 16 families, including four single men, arrived at the Presidio San Antonio de Béjar on March 9, 1731. They named the settlement Villa de San Fernando. of Bejar.

A decree was issued in 1730 to establish a coat of arms for the village which was to be named San Fernando de Bejar in honor of Prince Ferdinand, Prince of Asturias.

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It will be 241 years before the respective city and county coats of arms are created.

In addition to deputies’ uniforms, the county coat of arms can be seen on Sheriff’s Office vehicles and as a crest worn by animal control officers. It’s also on the county’s folksy and colorful marriage license.

In the upper left corner are the arms of Don Alvaro de Zuniga, former Duke of Bexar in Spain. The top right corner features Mission San Francisco de Espada and depicts the work of the other four Spanish missions.

With few exceptions, the city of San Antonio rarely uses its coat of arms, opting instead for its official seal.

Through a city spokesperson, an employee of the City Records and Records Department said the official San Antonio coat of arms has been missing for 50 years.

According to the city, the coat of arms has not been seen since 1972, when it was placed in the mayor’s office for display.

In 2017, a copy of San Antonio’s coat of arms was used for the signing of the Sister Cities Agreement with Darmstadt, Germany. Photos from the ceremony show the Alamo city coat of arms on a streetcar, named in honor of San Antonio.

The following year, the coat of arms was used at the official dinner in honor of Spain’s King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia, who visited San Antonio in 2018.

Timothy.Fanning@express-news.net