Portugal .pt

Meaning of the Flag

The national flag of the Portuguese Republic, often referred to as the Portuguese flag, consists of a rectangular bicolour with a field divided into green on the hoist, and red on the fly. The version without laurels of the country’s national coat of arms stands in the middle of the Portuguese armillary sphere and shield, centered over the colour boundary at equal distance. The flag was announced in 1910, following the 5 October 1910 revolution, inspired by the colours of the Republican Party and the design of radical conspiratorial society the Carbonária. The great circles represent the ecliptic (wider oblique arc), the equator, and two meridians. The 1891 flag-inherited red stands for the colour of the republican-inspired masonry-backed revolutionaries, whereas green was the colour Auguste Comte had destined to be present in the flags of positivist nations, an ideal incorporated into the republican political matrix.

Meaning of Flag Colors

Red, Green

Flag History

1. 1521
   

   In 1521, John III made minor changes to the flag by adopting a coat of arms (bearing only seven castles) with a round shaped shield.
2. 1578
   

   In 1578, during the reign of Sebastian and on the eve of the fatal Battle of Alcácer Quibir, the flag was again modified.
3. 1640
   

   A green background version was a popular standard of the rebellious during the 1640 revolution that restored Portugal's independence from Spain.
4. 1667–1830
   When Afonso VI's younger brother Peter II replaced him on the throne, in 1667, he adapted the flag's crown to fit the contemporary trends by transforming it into a five-arched crown.
5. 1707
   

   The new flag did not remain unchanged for too long, as it was refurbished by Peter's son John V, after he took the throne, in 1707.
6. Present
   

   Current national flag.

Location