THE National flag it is one of the national symbols as stipulated by the legislation of our country. The current Brazilian flag was created through a decree signed by the provisional president who took over after the Proclamation of the Republic. Each item on the Brazilian flag has a different meaning, and the last modification that the Brazilian flag underwent happened in 1992.
Also access:Discover the Anthem to the Flag, written by Olavo Bilac in 1906
History of the Brazilian Flag
Our country's flag was created right after the Proclamation of the Republic, an event that took place on November 15, 1889. With this fact, Brazil ceased to be a monarchy and became a republic, which caused a series of symbols of the country to be replaced, including the National Flag.
The Brazilian flag was officially unveiled on November 19, 1889 and was adopted through a decree signed by the provisional president of Brazil, who at the time was the marshal Deodoro da Fonseca. The decree determined the permanence of the colors, and the changes that would take place in the flag. Here is the decree (in the original spelling):
The Provisional Government of the Republic of the United States of Brazil:
Considering that the colors of our old flag recall the struggles and glorious victories of the army and the navy in the defense of the country;
Considering, therefore, that these colors, regardless of the form of government, symbolize the perpetuity and integrity of the motherland among other nations;
RULES:
Art. 1st The flag adopted by the Republic maintains the tradition of the old national colors - green and yellow - in the following way: a yellow diamond in a green field, with the sphere in the middle blue sky, crossed by a white zone, obliquely and descending from left to right, with the caption - Order and Progress - and dotted with twenty-one stars, among which those of the constellation of Cruzeiro, arranged in terms of their astronomical situation, in terms of relative distance and size, representing the twenty States of the Republic and the Municipality Neutral; all according to the model outlined in annex no. 1.
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Room of the sessions of the Provisional Government, November 19, 1889, 1st of the Republic|1|.
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The authors of the new Brazilian flag were Raimundo Teixeira Mendes, Miguelwe read, Manuel Pereira Reis and Décio Vilares. This new flag replaced the flag that had been proposed by Rui Barbosa, and which was hoisted from November 15th to November 19th. The great changes of the new Brazilian flag and the flag of the imperial period were as follows:
The yellow diamond has been resized.
The Empire Weapons symbol that was at the center of the imperial flag was replaced by the blue republican sphere.
In the center of the sphere, a positivist motto written “Order and Progress” was added. This motto was inspired by a phrase by Auguste Comte.
White stars were added to represent Brazilian states.
Currently, the flag and other national symbols (National Anthem, National Weapons and National Seal) are standardized in the Law No. 5,700 of September 1, 1971, and this law underwent some changes through the Law 8421 of May 11, 1992. This 1992 law was also responsible for adding new stars to the National Flag. These stars correspond to Amapá, Roraima, Rondônia and Tocantins.
Meaning of the stars of the Brazilian flag
Many people wonder about the meaning of the stars on the flag, but their meaning is quite simple. Each star on the flag corresponds to each of the Brazilian states and the Federal District, and their positions were defined according to the positions of the constellations as observed in the sky over the city of Rio de Janeiro, on November 15, 1889, at 8:30.
Later, many astronomers claimed that the position of the constellations on the flag was misplaced. To learn more about this subject, go to: the meaning of the stars on the Brazilian flag.
Brazil's first flag
The National Flag of the imperial period was deployed days after Brazil's independence.
The first Brazilian flag was created and presented a few days after the independence of Brazil, which took place on September 7, 1822. The creation of the Brazilian flag was ratified by the decree of d. Peter (not yet acclaimed and crowned emperor) on September 18, 1822. The flag colors were chosen by d. Pedro, and the design of the flag was the work of the French painter Jean-Baptiste Debret.
The inspiration of the French painter were flags used by French military troops during the period of French Revolution It's from Napoleonic period. The flag of the Brasil Império contained a yellow diamond (in a different dimension) and a green background. The center of the diamond was filled with the Empire Coat of Arms which was also created by Debret.
Also access:Discover the history of the National Anthem of Brazil
Origin of the colors of the Brazilian flag
During kindergarten, many of us learned that the colors on the flag represent the country's gold, flora and skies. This interpretation, however, is incorrect, since the colors of the flag have their meaning and origin based on relevant events in Portuguese history. How D. Pedro was the son of a Portuguese king, the heritage of Portuguese culture in the composition of our flag was undeniable. Understand the origin of colors:
Green: this color was used by the first peoples who inhabited the Lusitania, region corresponding to Portugal. This color came to symbolize freedom when the inhabitants of the region fought against the invasion of the Moors in the Middle Ages.
Yellow: this color was part of the coat of arms of Portugal and was added after the conquest of the Algarve, in 1249. Another important observation is that yellow was a symbol color of Hapsburg-Lorraine, dynasty of which d. Leopoldine (wife of the emperor) was a member.
Blue and white: these colors go back to Portuguese County, county from which Portugal emerged, and the colors of that county were chosen by d. Henry of Burgundy.
|1| Decree No. 4, of November 19, 1889. To access, click on here.
By Daniel Neves
Graduated in History
