FLAG OF PORTUGAL: HISTORY AND MEANING (REVISED IMAGES) - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The current flag of Portugal has been in force since 1911. It consists of two striking colors: green, located on the left side of the flag, and red, located on the right. The red color represents the blood of the Portuguese patriots and, therefore, occupies more space on the banner given its relevance. It is divided by the coat of arms of Portugal in the middle of both colors.

Portugal's flag. By Columbano Bordalo Pinheiro (1910; generic design) Vítor Luís Rodrigues; António Martins-Tuválkin (2004; this specific vector set: see sources)

At the time, the officialization of the current flag of Portugal represented a very abrupt change in the country's tradition. Until then, and for more than 400 years, the Portuguese nation had used white and blue as the main colors of its flag. It is, therefore, one of the flags in force in Europe with less similarity to its predecessors.

The evolution of the Lusitanian flag is widely associated with the changes of government and monarchies in the country, as well as the influence of foreign forces on the sovereignty of the nation.

History

- First Flag (1095 - 1143)

The flags of European countries began to be used at the beginning of the 21st century. Originally, the national flags of these countries did not have the traditional shape that flags do today; they were derivations of the banners that his soldiers used in wars rather than representative insignia of the country.

Therefore, the first flag of Portugal had a design very similar to that of the current flag of Finland, because that was the shield that Henry of Burgundy had, the count in charge of managing the County of Portugal during medieval times.

Flag of Count D. Henrique (1095 - 1143). By Brian Boru. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 1.0 Generic license.

- Banner of Alfonso Henriques (1143 - 1185)

Alfonso Henriques, known as Alfonso I, was the son of Enrique de Borgoña. For this reason, when he obtained the title of Count of Portugal after the end of his father's mandate, the country inherited the banner of Alfonso I as its official flag.

It was Alfonso Henriques who fought against the Moorish troops and expelled them from the county of Portugal, becoming the first king of Portugal as an independent country.

The control of the Moors in the Iberian Peninsula lasted for several years. It is said that King Alfonso I destroyed the seven fortresses and the five Moorish kings that occupied the territory of present-day Portugal.

The independence of Portugal was recognized by León and the banner of Alfonso Henriques became his first flag as a sovereign nation. The Treaty of Zamora, through which León recognized Portuguese autonomy, was signed in 1143.

This version of the flag of Portugal was the first to adopt the five shields in its design, making reference to the Moorish kings that Alfonso I defeated in battle.

Banner of Alfonso Henriques (1143 - 1185). By Brian Boru. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 1.0 Generic license.

- Flag of Sancho I (1185 - 1248)

Sancho I was the son of Alfonso I. As the tradition that the flag was the king's coat of arms was still maintained, Sancho I used a design similar to his father's banner in honor of the liberation of Portugal. However, this time the blue cross disappeared from the design (but it was never used again), and the four shields were adopted on a white background.

Flag of Sancho I (1185 - 1248). By Brian Boru. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 1.0 Generic license.

- Designs with Influence of Castile (1248 - 1485)

Alfonso II was the one who inherited the throne from his brother in 1248. However, he could not use the same flag without modifications because, according to the laws of the time, whoever was not the son of the king needed to proclaim a new standard by making some modification to the previous one.

This is how Alfonso II created a new design that featured various castles around the coats of arms. According to the story, these castles represented the Castilian heritage of Alfonso II's mother. This is the most widely accepted theory of why castles were introduced to the Portuguese standard.

From this design the shield of the 1910 flag was created, the one that Portugal has today.

Flag of Alfonso II (1245–1248); (1383-1385). By Brian Boru. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 1.0 Generic license.

- Similar banners used for few years

After the creation of the banner of Alfonso II, other Portuguese kings also used similar designs based on this same banner. From them began to shape what is now the flag of Portugal. Each of these flags brought changes influenced by each king who ascended the throne of Portugal.

For example, one of the flags that was used for a short time was identical to that of Alfonso II, but had a green fleur-de-lis on each side. This flower represented the order to which John I of Portugal belonged.

Similarly, Portugal had a flag that included the lions and the coat of arms of the kingdom of Castile, since the then king of Portugal married whoever was the queen of the Spanish domain, Isabel I.

Flag of Juan I (1385 to 1475); (1479 to 1485). By Brian Boru. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 1.0 Generic license.

- The last armorial flag of Portugal (1485 - 1495)

In 1485, John II ordered the green fleur-de-lis removed from the flag, as it was not closely related to the country's history.

With this, the Portuguese banner that most closely resembles the country's current coat of arms was created. This pavilion consisted of the same shields that represented the Moorish kings that Alfonso I defeated and the fortresses that he took to reconquer Portugal.

The name of these quadrangular flags was “armorial flags”. The flag of Juan II was the last of its kind used officially in Portugal. The successor of Juan II was in charge of converting the flag of Portugal into the first rectangular-shaped flag that the Portuguese nation had in its history.

Flag of John II (1485 - 1495). By Brian Boru. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 1.0 Generic license

Flag of Juana la Beltraneja (1475 - 1479). By Brian Boru. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 1.0 Generic license.

- First rectangular flag (1495 - 1521

After having defined the rectangular format of the pavilion, it was no longer necessary to modify it extensively each time a new king ascended the throne, since the tradition of doing so was only for the armorial flags that represented each family.

The king of Portugal who inherited the throne after Manuel I was Juan III. The flag only had a few changes that were made for artistic purposes. The shield was better shaped to suit the art of the time and it was finally established that there would be a total of 7 castles around the shields.

Change to design in (1521 - 1578) By Brian Boru. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 1.0 Generic license.

In 1578 the crown located in the upper part of the shield was altered to turn it into a closed one. This meant a symbolic reinforcement of the authority of the kings of the country.

During the period from 1580 to 1640, the Habsburg family and the Crown of Spain once again exercised territorial dominion over Portugal. In fact, during these 60 years, Portugal became an official territory of Spain.

Change to the crown (1578 - 1580) By Brian Boru. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 1.0 Generic license.

However, although the House of Habsburg began to use a banner depicting the coat of arms of Portugal, the official flag of the country never changed. In fact, none of the Spanish dominions of this time (except the territories of the Americas) changed their national banner.

Thus, Portugal kept its same white flag with the shield in the center. In some cases - particularly during visits by the Spanish royalty - the flag of the House of Burgundy in Portugal was used. This was only done at special events.

- Alterations to the shield (1640–1816)

After the restoration of the independence of Portugal in 1640, the next kings of the country made some changes to the shield to symbolize, again, a reinforcement in the power of royalty in the country. Pedro II, for example, used a more elaborate crown than the one that had been used in previous centuries, precisely symbolizing a strengthening of royal power.

Other changes also occurred at the hand of Juan V, but these were mainly aesthetic and served to modernize the flag and shield itself.

Flag of Pedro II (1667 - 1707) By Brian Boru. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 1.0 Generic license.

Flag of Juan V (1707 - 1816) By Brian Boru. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 1.0 Generic license.

Shield used in the second half of the 18th century By Brian Boru. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 1.0 Generic license.

- United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarve (1816 - 1826)

Shortly before the independence of Brazil, Portugal changed its official name and flag to "United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarve". A yellow and blue sphere was added to the shield to represent Brazil. The flag still kept its traditional shield in the center along with the crown at the top of the dial.

Flag of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarve (1816 - 1826). By Crenelator

- Return to the previous design and incorporation of the blue stripe (1826 - 1910)

After the independence of Brazil and its separation from the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarve, Portugal eliminated from its flag the allusions made to the South American country and the first design that Juan V had made for the pavilion after his arrival to the throne was retaken.

After Maria II came to the throne of Portugal, a new change was made to the flag: a blue division was added to its left side, making the blue and white occupy the same amount of space on the banner, with the shield right in the middle of both colors.

Flag of Maria II of Portugal (1830 - 1910). By Tonyjeff, based on ancient national symbol.

- Adoption of the current flag (since 1911)

The flag that combined blue with white was the last banner of the monarchy. After the 1910 revolution, the national flag was removed and ideas to promote a new one began to be heard.

The current flag of Portugal was designed by three related members of the Portuguese Republican Party, so the flag presents green and red (the two colors associated with the party) as its main tones. Over time, these colors have been given a different meaning to disassociate them from a political party.

Current flag of Portugal (1911 - Present) Columbano Bordalo Pinheiro (1910; generic design) Vítor Luís Rodrigues; António Martins-Tuválkin (2004; this specific vector set: see sources)

Meaning

Colors

There are different interpretations of what the colors of the flag of Portugal really represent. According to some instances, the colors have no deep meaning in the story. However, both colors are often regarded as emblematic of the country and both are fervently believed to represent Portugal's sovereignty in the eyes of the world.

The green color of the flag represents the hope of the Portuguese inhabitants for a better future. It is believed that the color was established after obtaining its sovereignty. Red, on the other hand, represents the blood that has been shed during the various battles of history.

In particular, red is attributed to the revolution of 1910, with which the monarchy was abolished at the expense of the blood of many inhabitants of the country.

These are the two meanings that are given, officially, to the country's flag. However, originally, the meaning of the colors was imposed for propaganda purposes of the Portuguese Republican Party.

Even so, the propagandistic influence of the flag was mitigated over the decades and today all of Portugal openly accepts the use of both colors in the flag.

The sphere

The sphere surrounding the shield on the flag of Portugal has very close connections to the history of the country. The design of the sphere is based on a spherical astrolabe. This was a tool used by the ancient sailors of Portugal to be able to create graphical maps and navigate the oceans more easily.

The astrolabe relied on the position of the stars to determine the current location of the Earth, helping sailors determine their exact position at sea.

Portugal has been recognized as one of the countries with the greatest naval tradition in the history of the world. The symbolism of the sphere on the shield is an example of this. It honors the maritime tradition of the republic that gave rise to famous sailors such as Fernando de Magallanes and Vasco da Gama himself, who explored the coasts of Brazil.

The shield

The coat of arms of Portugal consists of seven castles and five blue shields. The shield of the flag honors the exploits of Alfonso Henriques, the first king that Portugal had as an independent nation. Henriques conquered seven fortresses that the Moors had established in Portugal, and the five shields represent the five Moorish kings that he defeated in battle.

References

1. Portugal's Flag, Enchanted Learning Website, (nd). Taken from enchantedlearning.com
2. Flag of Portugal, Encyclopedia Britannica, 2018. Taken from Britannica.com
3. The History of Portuguese Flag, Portuguese Language Website, (nd). Taken from portugueselanguageguide.com
4. Portugal - Historical Flags, Flags of the World Website, (nd). Taken from crwflags.com
5. Flag of Portugal, Wikipedia, 2019. Taken from Wikipedia.org