Miami is one of the two main US resort cities that has recently gained popularity in the world. Miami offers tourists a mild climate, luxurious sunny beaches and, literally, a lot of entertainment for every taste. However, Miami has become such only recently. Throughout its history, this city has seen a lot of everything: terrible cataclysms, bloody wars, massive invasions of migrants and social riots. And surprisingly, unlike the same European tradition, the city is not proud of its former glory. If you look at the coat of arms of Miami, you can see only a modest image of a palm tree and the statement that the coat of arms belongs to Miami. Everything else remains hidden and unrecognized.
History of the Miami coat of arms
We can immediately say that in the United States, heraldic traditions play far from such an important role as in the Old World. If we talk specifically about Miami, then everything is complicated here, and the city has never been monolithic. Its entire territory consists of many administrative units, and each has its own municipality, mayor, police, budget, etc. And all this today is united only by a modest seal with the image of a palm tree and the name of the city.
It is only known that the palm tree depicted on the seal is a kind of tribute to the past, since before the arrival of the Europeans, tribes of Indians who were not familiar with agriculture lived here. Therefore, the palm tree for them was one of the main sources of food and figured in the symbolism of the tribes.
Description of the coat of arms
As noted above, there are only two main elements on the coat of arms: palm; inscription with the name of the city. However, since the image itself for the official press of Miami was not chosen by chance, it contains some information about the past of this region.
The life of the Tekeste tribe, who lived here before the arrival of the conquistadors, largely depended on this plant. It served as a source of edible fruit, building material for Indian dwellings, and a natural supplier of durable fiber for making fishing tackle. Therefore, the image of a palm tree is traditional for this region and it is quite understandable why exactly it is on the official seal of the city.
Modern researchers classify the palm tree as a natural non-heraldic symbol that is widely known in some regions of the world. According to their interpretation, in addition to its classical meaning, the image of a palm tree can also be perceived as a symbol of wealth and longevity.
