The Portuguese flag today known in Portugal as the Bandeira das Quinas is made up of an unequal bi-colour rectangle. Located on the line separating the two colours is something called an armillary sphere. On top of that armillary sphere is the national shield of Portugal.
Within the red rim are seven gold coloured castles. On the white inescutcheon are five smaller blue shields arranged in a Greek cross pattern. Within each of these blue shields lies five white dots officially called bezants.
After reading the description, you might be thinking it sounds rather complicated. Although it was officially adopted on 30 th June , the colours, the symbols and the meaning behind them are much much older than that. The three men commissioned with designing the flag were a painter, a journalist, and a writer. When the flag was first adopted, the colours especially the use of green, was not seen as a traditional choice for Portugal.
In the previous versions of the Portuguese flag the colour green had actually been rarely been used at all. Traditionally, blue and white had been a much more prominent colour and had featured on several of the flags of the past. Blue also had a religious meaning, its one of the main colours used in depictions of Mary and the Immaculate Conception.
Despite this, the republican-inspired push deliberately aimed to break the former flags bond with the monarchy and religion. The republicans wanted to emphasise the secularisation of Portugal and promote the republic. Several decades before this, red and green had been adopted as the colours of the Portuguese Republican Party and its associated movements across the country.
These movements would culminate with the Republican Revolution of 5 October overthrowing the monarchy. In the following decades, these colours were reported and popularised to represent the hope of the nation green and the blood red of those who died defending it. This was supposedly as means to reduce the flags political sentiment. On top of the red and green, and overlaid on the split between the two colours is an armillary sphere. Well, the armillary sphere was an important astronomical and navigational instrument for the Portuguese sailors during the Age of Discovery.
The coat of arms was used on a white field until the reign of Maria II in Her flag featured the coat of arms on a split field of blue and white, and it was used as the Portugal flag until the end of the monarchy.
The modern flag was adopted soon after as the symbol of the Portuguese republic. Items per page: 24 48 Items of 5. Flag of Portugal The nation of Portugal dates back to the medieval period, and its oldest flag comes from the same time. Capital of Portugal: Lisbon Area of Portugal: 91, sq. Languages used in Portugal: Portugese official , Mirandese official Religions in Portugal: Roman Catholic, Protestant Colors and Symbolism of the Portugal Flag The current Portugal flag consists of two uneven fields of green and red with the lesser Portuguese coat of arms centered on the division between the two fields.
There was another, maybe even bigger, reason that many people were opposed to the new colours and that was because the red and green were the colours of the Portuguese Republican Party. The armillary sphere also known as a spherical astrolabe, armilla, or armil is an astronomical device that was used to navigate the oceans during the Age of Discoveries or Age of Exploration. This shield has been part of pretty much every previous version of the Portuguese flag, with the exception of the flag under the reign of Afonso I.
There are 7 yellow castles on top of the red section, and a white interior with 5 smaller blue shields. On each of the blue shields, there are 5 white dots. What do you think of the Portuguese flag?
Do you like it? Do you like what it represents? Share your thoughts, reviews, and theories by leaving a comment below. Written by James Cave. The above explanation on the meaning of the Portuguese shield elements is just a myth. A correct explanation can be found in the wikipedia article about the Portuguese flag, not in the main body o, f that article which just repeats the same erroneous ideas, but in the evolution of the flag section of that article.
The following text is an adaptation of the wikipedia text. The shield of Henry of Burgundy, Count of Portugal since , consisted of a blue cross over a white field.
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