Flag of Brazil
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Name | Auriverde |
|---|---|
| Use | National flag and ensign   |
| Proportion | 7:10 |
| Adopted | November 19, 1889 (21-star version) May 11, 1992 (27-star version) |
| Design | A blue disc depicting a starry sky spanned by a curved band inscribed with the national motto, within a yellow rhombus, on a green field. |
| Designed by | Raimundo Teixeira Mendes |
The flag of Brazil has a green field on which a large yellow rhombus is centered. A blue circle is placed within the rhombus, with white stars of five different sizes arranged in the shapes of various constellations of the Southern Hemisphere. A curved white band also runs through the blue circle, inscribed in green capital letters with the motto Ordem e Progresso ("Order and Progress").
This flag is sometimes called Auriverde which means "(of) gold and green". The next-to-last stanza of Castro Alves's Navio Negreiro, for example, uses that term.[1]
The modern flag was officially adopted on November 19, 1889. The concept was the work of Raimundo Teixeira Mendes, with the collaboration of Miguel Lemos and Manuel Pereira Reis. The design was executed by Décio Vilares.
The current national flag and ensign maintains the same design with some minor changes. This 27-star version was adopted on May 12, 1992 (Law 8.421, May 11, 1992).
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[edit] History
Upon the proclamation of the First Republic, one of the leading figures in the process, lawyer and recently-appointed Minister of Finances and Taxation Ruy Barbosa, proposed a design for the national flag that was strongly inspired by the flag of the United States. This flag was used only for 4 days beginning November 15, 1889.
On November 19, 1889 the "Father of the Republic" and an acting president, field marshal Deodoro da Fonseca, vetoed the design, claiming that it was too much of a copy of another country's flag. Fonseca, who had been a royalist all his life and only led the coup that resulted in the proclamation of the Republic because he felt that the Emperor's actions were putting the country's stability in jeopardy, then suggested that the new Republican Flag should resemble the Imperial Flag. The decision was then made to replace only the royal crest with a new design (eventually decided to be the blue globe with the stars and the positivist motto). The objective in doing so was to reassert the continuity of the national unity during the transition from a Constitutional Monarchy to the Republican model. Raimundo Teixeira Mendes' design was presented to president Fonseca and promptly accepted.
Barbosa's design, however, was the basis for the state flags of Goiás, Piauí and Sergipe.
The largest flag regularly hoisted in the world is the Brazilian national flag flown in the Square of the Three Powers in the capital Brasilia. This flag weighs about 600 kilograms (1300 pounds) and has 7,000 square meters (70×100 m = 230×330 feet).[2]
[edit] Colors
| Green | Yellow | Blue | White | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RGB | 0/146/62 |
248/193/0 |
40/22/111 |
255/255/255 |
| Hexadecimal | 00923E |
F8C100 |
28166F |
FFFFFF |
| CMYK[3] | 100/0/100/0 |
0/10/100/0 |
100/70/0/20 |
0/0/0/0 |
| Pantone | PMS 355 |
PMS Yellow |
PMS 280 |
none |
[edit] Symbolism
Brazil's current flag was inspired by the flag of the former Brazilian Empire. On the imperial flag, the green represented the Imperial House of Braganza of Pedro I, the first Emperor of Brazil, and the yellow represented the Habsburg Imperial Family of Empress Leopoldina, Pedro I's first wife. Thus, green and yellow are the colours of the Families of origin of the first imperial couple, founders of the Brazilian monarchy. The centre of the old imperial flag bore the Imperial Coat of Arms.
On the modern republican flag, the green background represents the forests, the yellow rhombus stands for the mineral wealth, and the blue circle, which replaced the coat of arms of the original flag, depicts the sky over Rio de Janeiro on the morning of November 15, 1889 – the day the Republic of Brazil was declared. It is shown as seen from outside of the celestial sphere (i.e. the view is mirrored).
The stars, whose position in the flag reflect the sky above Rio de Janeiro on November 15, 1889, represent the union's member-states - each star representing a specific state (which is not the case of the stars in the flag of the United States). The number of stars changes with the creation of new states and, since the early days of the republic, has risen from an original 21 stars to the current 27, standing for the 26 states and the Federal District.
The star that represents the Federal District is Sigma Octantis, a star whose position near the south celestial pole makes it visible across almost the whole country, all year round. In addition, given its polar position, all the other stars depicted on the flag trace appear to rotate around Sigma Octantis. Choosing this star to represent Brazil's capital is therefore particularly apt (although it is a much fainter star than any of the others).
The motto Ordem e Progresso ("Order and Progress") is inspired by 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"). It was inserted because several of the people involved in the military coup d'état that deposed the monarchy and proclaimed Brazil a republic were followers of the ideas of Comte's thought.
[edit] Protocol
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Federal law 5.700, issued on September 1, 1971, defines the flag protocol in Brazil.
The flag must be permanently flown at the Praça dos Três Poderes in Brasília. The flag must be raised and lowered daily at the Presidential Palaces (Palácio do Planalto and Palácio da Alvorada); Ministries; the National Congress; the Supreme Federal Tribunal; superior and Federal courts; seats of the Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches; diplomatic missions; Federal, state and local institutions; and merchant navy units.[4]
At private and public schools, a special flag ceremony must be held, at least once a week, during the academic year.
The flag must have proper illumination when displayed at night.
[edit] Half-staff
The flag must be flown at half-staff when the President decrees official mourning. In addition, state and local governments may decree official mourning with the death of a Mayor or Governor. When the flag is displayed at half-staff, prior to raising or lowering it, the flag must be raised to the top of the flagpole and then lowered to the halfway mark. When the flag is being carried in procession, a black crape ribbon must be tied to the top of the mast.[5]
[edit] Foreign flags
Foreign flags may only be flown with a Brazilian Flag along its right side. The only exception is when the foreign flag is displayed in an embassy or consulate.
When multiple flags are raised or lowered simultaneously, the Brazilian Flag must be the first to reach the top of the flagpole and the last to reach the bottom.
[edit] Flag retirement
When a flag is no longer fit to use, it must be delivered to a military facility to be burned during a special ceremony on November 19 (Flag Day).
[edit] Stars
The flag of Brazil contains 27 stars. The constellation of the Southern Cross is on the meridian (indicated by the number 6 in the diagram). To the south of it is Polaris Australis (Sigma Octantis, numbered 7), representing the Federal District. The motto appears on a band roughly coincident with the ecliptic. A single star lies above the band, representing the large northern state of Para, which straddles the Equator.
There is, more or less, a grouping of neighbour states within other constellations:
- Crux represent the four southeastern states of São Paulo, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, Espírito Santo, plus the northeastern state of Bahia.
- Scorpius represent the eight other states of Northeastern Brazil; Sergipe, Alagoas, Pernambuco, Paraíba, Rio Grande do Norte, Ceará, Maranhão and Piauí.
- Triangulum Australe represents the three states of Southern Brazil; Rio Grande do Sul, Parana and Santa Catarina.
- The four lone stars of Procyon,Spica, Canopus and Sigma Octantis, represent Amazonas, Pará, Goiás and the Brazilian Federal District respectively.
- The two stars of Hydra were added when Mato Grosso do Sul and Acre achieved statehood,
- while Canis Major, originally just Sirius representing Mato Grosso, now represents the new Northern states of the Amazon basin also; Rondônia, Tocantins, Roraima and Amapá.
A list of constellations and stars on the map:
- Procyon (α Canis Minoris),
- Canis Major, with the largest star depicting Sirius,
- Canopus (α Carinae),
- Spica (α Virginis)
- Hydra
- Crux
- Sigma Octantis (σ Octantis; south pole star)
- Triangulum Australe
- Scorpius, with the largest star depicting Antares
The stars representing the Brazilian states (except Sigma Octantis which represents the capital or Federal District):
| State | Star | Constellation | Size (1=largest) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazonas | Alpha Canis Minoris (Procyon) | Canis Minor, the Little Dog | 1 |
| Mato Grosso | Alpha Canis Majoris (Sirius) | Canis Major, the Great Dog | 1 |
| Amapá | Beta Canis Majoris (Mirzam) | Canis Major, the Great Dog | 3 |
| Rondônia | Gamma Canis Majoris (Muliphen) | Canis Major, the Great Dog | 4 |
| Roraima | Delta Canis Majoris (Wezen) | Canis Major, the Great Dog | 2 |
| Tocantins | Epsilon Canis Majoris (Adhara) | Canis Major, the Great Dog | 2 |
| Pará | Alpha Virginis (Spica) | Virgo, the Virgin | 1 |
| Piauí | Alpha Scorpii (Antares) | Scorpius, the Scorpion | 1 |
| Maranhão | Beta Scorpii (Graffias) | Scorpius, the Scorpion | 3 |
| Ceará | Epsilon Scorpii | Scorpius, the Scorpion | 2 |
| Alagoas | Theta Scorpii (Sargas) | Scorpius, the Scorpion | 2 |
| Sergipe | Iota Scorpii | Scorpius, the Scorpion | 3 |
| Paraíba | Kappa Scorpii | Scorpius, the Scorpion | 3 |
| Rio Grande do Norte | Lambda Scorpii (Shaula) | Scorpius, the Scorpion | 2 |
| Pernambuco | Mu Scorpii | Scorpius, the Scorpion | 3 |
| Mato Grosso do Sul | Alpha Hydrae (Alphard) | Hydra, the Water Serpent | 2 |
| Acre | Gamma Hydrae | Hydra, the Water Serpent | 3 |
| São Paulo | Alpha Crucis (Acrux) | Crux, the Southern Cross | 1 |
| Rio de Janeiro | Beta Crucis (Mimosa) | Crux, the Southern Cross | 2 |
| Bahia | Gamma Crucis (Gacrux) | Crux, the Southern Cross | 2 |
| Minas Gerais | Delta Crucis | Crux, the Southern Cross | 3 |
| Espírito Santo | Epsilon Crucis | Crux, the Southern Cross | 4 |
| Rio Grande do Sul | Alpha Trianguli Australis | Triangulum Australe, the Southern Triangle | 2 |
| Santa Catarina | Beta Trianguli Australis | Triangulum Australe, the Southern Triangle | 3 |
| Paraná | Gamma Trianguli Australis | Triangulum Australe, the Southern Triangle | 3 |
| Goiás | Alpha Carinae (Canopus) | Carina, the Keel of Argo | 1 |
| Distrito Federal | Sigma Octantis (Polaris Australis) | Octans, the Octant | 5 |
[edit] Historical flags
The list below identifies other flags also used in Brazil prior to the foundation of the Republic.[6] Until 1822, the flags are all Portuguese.
 Flag of the Military Order of Christ (1332–1651) |
.svg) Flag of the Royal Family (1500–1521) |
.svg) Flag of Dom John III (1521–1616) |
.svg) Flag of the Iberian Union (1616–1640) |
.svg) Flag of the Restoration (1640–1683) |
 Flag of the Principality of Brazil (1645–1816) |
 Flag of Dom Peter II (1683–1706) |
 Flag of Dom John V (1707–1750) |
 Flag of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and Algarve (1816–1821) |
.svg) Flag of Constitutional Regime (1821–September 18, 1822) |
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 Flag of the Brazilian Kingdom (September 18–December 1, 1822) |
 Flag of the First Empire of Brazil (December 1, 1822–c.1870) |
 Flag of the Second Empire of Brazil (c.1870–November 15, 1889) |
 First Flag of Republic of the United States of Brazil (November 15–19, 1889) |
.svg) Second Flag of Republic of the United States of Brazil (November 19, 1889–April 14, 1960). |
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[edit] Rejected flags
Many projects were created for the national flag, which is listed here the best known. It can be noted that existed among the first alternatives to the combination imperial tricolor flag, inspired by historical thesis of Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius that the people of Brazil would be the founders of ethnic indigenous, European and African.[7]
.svg) Project of Júlio Ribeiro, 1888. |
.svg) Project of Antônio da Silva Jardim, 1890. |
.svg) Project of José Maria da Silva Paranhos Júnior, 1890. |
.svg) Project of Oliveira Valadão, 1892. |
.svg) Project of Eurico de Góis, 1908. |
.svg) Project of Wenceslau Escobar, 1908. |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Navio Negreiro
- ^ Where is the biggest flag in the world and how big is it? World Flags 101. Retrieved on 2009-06-15.
- ^ CMYK and Pantone values Brazilian Government. Retrieved on 2008-02-11.
- ^ Uso da Bandeira Nacional Brasil República. Retrieved on 2009-06-15. (Portuguese)
- ^ Lei 5.700 de 1 de Dezembro de 1971 Presidência da República. Retrieved on 2009-06-15. (Portuguese)
- ^ "Historical flags". Brazilian Army. http://www.exercito.gov.br/01inst/Historia/bandhist/bandhist.htm.
- ^ Martius, Carl Friedrich Philipp von Como escrever a história do Brasil. page 381, 1844
[edit] External links
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