Flag of Brazil

Flag ratio: 10:17

The modern Brazilian Republican 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. It is a green flag with a large yellow rhombus in the center. Within the rhombus there is a blue circle, with white stars of five different sizes and a white band running through it. The motto Ordem e Progresso ("Order and Progress") is inscribed in the band. The current Brazilian flag is this same November 19 1889 flag with some minor changes.

There was a previous flag designed by the Republicans, inspired by the flag of the United States of America. This flag was almost never used except November 15-19 1889.

The temporary Republican Brazilian Flag, November 15 -19 1889.

Contents

1 Symbology

2 The Stars

3 Other Brazilian Flags

4 External References

Symbology

It is often said that Brazil's national colors (green and yellow) represent the country's natural richness. Green would represent the exuberant forests of the Amazon Rainforest, the Atlantic Jungle, and the Pantanal, while the yellow rhombus would represent the country's gold reserves: Brazil had once the largest gold mines in world and, between 1500 to 1900, more gold was extracted from Brazilian territory than had previously existed in the whole world.

Actually, Brazil's current flag was inspired by the flag of the former Brazilian Empire:

The Empire Flag, September 18 1822 - November 15 1889

On the imperial flag, the green represents the Bragança Royal Family of Pedro I, the first Emperor of Brazil; and the yellow represents the Castela e Lorena Royal Family of Leopoldina, Pedro's wife. In the centre the old imperial flag bore the Royal Coat of Arms.

On the modern republican flag, the coat of arms has been replaced by the blue circle, which depicts the sky over Rio de Janeiro on the morning of November 15, 1889 – the day the Republic of Brazil was declared.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). Each of the 27 stars represents a different state and the Federal District. The number of stars changes within the creation of new states and, since the founding of the republic, has risen from 21 stars.

The star that represents the Federal District is Sigma Octantis, and its position near the south celestial pole makes it visible across almost the whole country, year round. Also, 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 the Principle and Order the Basis; Progress the Aim").

The current national flag and ensign of Brazil were adopted on May 12, 1992 (Law number 8.421 May 11, 1992).

The 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 Star of Pará stays on top as Pará is the only state on the north of the equator.

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
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
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 (Becrux)	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 Australe	Triangulum Australe, the Southern Triangle	2
Santa Catarina	Beta Trianguli Australe	Triangulum Australe, the Southern Triangle	3
Paraná	Gamma Trianguli Australe	Triangulum Australe, the Southern Triangle	3
Goiás	Alpha Carinae (Canopus)	Carina, the Keel of Argo
CAPITAL	STAR	CONSTELLATION	SIZE
Brasília, DF (Federal District)	Sigma Octantis (Polaris Australis)	Octans, the Octant	5