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Encyclopedia: Flag of Portugal, History of Portugal (1112-1279), Portugal

flag of the Portuguese Republic is a 2:3 green and red rectangle divided vertically into green at the hoist (2/5 of the flag’s length) and red at the fly (3/5). Centered in this partition a coat of arms consisting of an armillary sphere charged with the traditional Portuguese shield. It was officially adopted on June 30, 1911, but had in fact been in use since the Republican revolution of 5 October 1910.

Meaning of the Flag

Colors

The flag probably has a much more ambiguous meaning than the traditional, most popular explanations for its design. The most commonly held belief is that during the Estado Novo, the nationalist authoritarian regime, which lasted from 1933 until the 1974 Carnation Revolution, claims that the green represented hope and the red represented the blood of those who died serving the nation. This definition of the colors is currently the commonly accepted one, however the original meaning could be much more uncertain.

Some other theories claim that red represents the sunrise and sunset over the Portuguese ships during the Age of Exploration in the 16th century and the green represents the colour of the oceans which were sailed by the great Portuguese navigators. Other less nationalist theories allege that the green and red are the traditional colors of Iberic Federalism, a Republican-Socialist ideology very common at the beginning of the 20th century and which defended the political union of Portugal and Spain. Vexillologists and specialists advocate the latter as the most probable theorycite web| url=http://www.fotw.net/flags/pt_1910.html | title=Origins of the current Portuguese national flag | accessmonthday=10 June | accessyear=2006 | author=Antonio .

Other theory claims that the red means the blood spilled in the battles against the Moors of the 12th to 15th century and the green stands for the green fields where those battles were fought.

Portuguese shield

The traditional Portuguese shield (escudo) is present in almost every single Portuguese flag. It is the prime Portuguese symbol, as well as one of the oldest national symbols still used in the world and certainly one of the oldest in Europe. Used for more than 800 years, it appears on all of the Portuguese flags except for the first one. The shield is, in fact, an evolution whose roots are in the first flag (1143-1185) and first king of Portugal.

The five white points in the five shields in the centre of the flag refer to a legend concerning the first King of Portugal, Afonso I. The story tells that before the Battle of Ourique (26 July 1139), King Afonso was praying for the protection of the Portuguese people when a vision of Jesus on the cross appeared to him. King Afonso won the battle and, in gratitude, incorporated Christ's five wounds into his flag. This is said to be a myth, very similar to what occurred with the Roman Emperor Constantine I. Some suggest this was done in order to get the Holy See to recognize the Portuguese king. Still, others claim the shields represent the five Moorish kings defeated in the same battle.

The castles, which originally numbered nine, are a symbol of the Portuguese's victories over their enemies under King Afonso III's command. They could also relate to the nine Moorish castles defeated by Portugal in 1249; additionally, the castle was the symbol of the Kingdom of Algarve, the last one conquered by the Portuguese, when the definitive borders were settled. Later, King John II reduced the number of castles in the flag down to seven.

Armillary sphere

The circular design is an armillary sphere which replaced the crown in the old monarchist flag. It represented the Portuguese Colonial Empire at the time of the Revolution as well as the discoveries of Portuguese explorers throughout the world. It was the symbol of King Manuel I (1495-1521), the "fortunate king", who ruled during the time period generally regarded as the peak of Portuguese power. Also, lending to the sphere's significance, the sphere was commonly used in town and city pillories.

The sphere was initially emblazened onto the flag by John VI (1816-1826) as a symbol of the kingdom of Brazil when he declared Brazil a kingdom under the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarve. It was removed after the king's death, due to Brazil gaining its independence during his reign. The removal of the sphere was actually a request in the king's will, rather than his son Pedro I's doing (a common misconception), in order to keep the territory in the family.

Evolution of the Portuguese Flag

=== 1095 - 1139/1143===
thumb|1095 20px (1:1)">[Image:FIAV reconstructed.png 20px (1:1)]

===1139/1143 - 1185===
thumb|1143 20px (1:1)">[Image:FIAV reconstructed.png 20px (1:1)]
The first Portuguese flag was used by the first king of Portugal in his shield during the battles. It was a blue cross over a white background, these were also the symbols of his father, Count Henry of Portugal (1093-1112).

===1185 - 1245/1248===
thumb|1185 20px (1:1)">[Image:FIAV reconstructed.png 20px (1:1)]
The Royal arms were composed by five little shields (the escudetes) in a silver field, disposed in a cross, and pointing to the centre. The five shields represent the five wounds that King Alfonso I got in the Battle of Ourique or the five Moorish Kings defeated in that battle or even the five wounds of Christ.

More recent flags

Image:PortugueseFlag1095.svg 1095 Image:FIAV reconstructed.png 20px (1:1)
Image:PortugueseFlag1248.svg|1245/1248 - 1385 Image:FIAV reconstructed.png 20px (1:1)
Image:PortugueseFlag1385.svg|1385 - 1485 Image:FIAV historical.png 20px (1:1)
Image:PortugueseFlag1485.svg|1485 - 1495 Image:FIAV historical.png 20px (1:1)
Image:PortugueseFlag1495.png|1495 - 1521 Image:FIAV historical.png 20px (1:1 or 2:3)
Image:PortugueseFlag1521.png|1521 - 1578 Image:FIAV historical.png 20px (1:1 or 2:3)
Image:PortugueseFlag1578.png|1578 - 1640 Image:FIAV historical.png 20px (2:3)
Image:PortugueseFlag1580.png|1580 - 1640 (putative flag) Image:FIAV reconstructed.png 20px (2:3)
Image:PortugueseFlag1640.png|1640 - 1667 Image:FIAV historical.png 20px (2:3)
Image:PortugueseFlag1667.png|1667 - 1707 Image:FIAV historical.png 20px (2:3)
Image:PortugueseFlag1707.png|1707 - 1816 Image:FIAV historical.png 20px (2:3)
Image:PortugueseFlag1816.png|1816 - 1826 Image:FIAV historical.png 20px (2:3)
Image:PortugueseFlag1707.png|1826 - 1830/1834 Image:FIAV historical.png 20px (2:3)
Image:PortugueseFlag1830land.png|1830 - 1910 Image:FIAV historical.png 20px (2:3)
Image:Flag of Portugal.svg|1910

References

;Footnotes