Flag of Brazil

Federative Republic of Brazil
Flag of Brazil
  • A Auriverde
  • Verde e amarela
UseNational flag and ensign Small vexillological symbol or pictogram in black and white showing the different uses of the flagSmall vexillological symbol or pictogram in black and white showing the different uses of the flagReverse side is congruent with obverse side
Proportion7:10
Adopted
  • 19 November 1889 (1889-11-19) (21-star version)
  • 11 May 1992 (1992-05-11) (current 27-star version)
DesignA green field with the large yellow rhombus in the center bearing the blue disk, which is formed the celestial globe, depicted the starry sky of twenty-seven small white five-pointed stars spanned by the white equatorial curved band with the National Motto: "Ordem E Progresso" (Portuguese for "Order and Progress"), written in green.
Designed byRaimundo Teixeira Mendes

The national flag of Brazil (Portuguese: bandeira do Brasil), is a blue disc depicting a starry sky (which includes the Southern Cross) spanned by a curved band inscribed with the national motto "Ordem e Progresso" ("Order and Progress"), within a yellow rhombus, on a green field. It was officially adopted on 19 November 1889 — four days after the Proclamation of the Republic, to replace the flag of the Empire of Brazil. The concept was the work of Raimundo Teixeira Mendes, with the collaboration of Miguel Lemos, Manuel Pereira Reis and Décio Villares.

The green field and yellow rhombus from the previous imperial flag were preserved (though slightly modified in hue and shape). In the imperial flag, the green represented the House of Braganza of Pedro I, the first Emperor of Brazil, while the yellow represented the House of Habsburg of his wife, Empress Maria Leopoldina.[1] A blue circle with white five-pointed stars replaced the arms of the Empire of Brazil — its position in the flag reflects the sky over the city of Rio de Janeiro on 15 November 1889. The motto Ordem e Progresso is derived from Auguste Comte's motto of positivism: "L'amour pour principe et l'ordre pour base; le progrès pour but" ("Love as a principle and order as the basis; progress as the goal").[2]

Each star, corresponding to a Brazilian Federal Unit, is sized in proportion relative to its geographic size, and, according to Brazilian Law, the flag must be updated in case of the creation or extinction of a state. At the time the flag was first adopted in 1889, it had 21 stars. It then received one more star in 1960 (representing the state of Guanabara), then another in 1968 (representing Acre), and finally four more stars in 1992 (representing Amapá, Roraima, Rondônia and Tocantins), totaling 27 stars in its current version.

  1. ^ The World Factbook: Brazil – Flag description CIA. Retrieved on 8 October 2010.
  2. ^ Bandeiras e significados Historianet. Retrieved on 9 October 2010. (in Portuguese).