Portugal Flag

The official flag of Portugal was finally adopted on the 30th of June in the year 1911 and is therefore considered an old flag. However even it was adopted on 30th June 1911 but it had been in use as the national flag of Portugal since the revolution overthrew the monarchy that took place on 5th October 1910. Portugal originally declared its independence from Kingdom of Leon in the year 1128 and it was officially recognized as being an independent state in the year 1170. The emblems on the Portuguese flag actually date far back to the time of the late 12th century. The white shield with five blue shields is the arms approved by Alfonso Henriques I, after he defeated the Moors to set up the Christian kingdom of Portugal in the year 1139.

The design and description of the flag of Portugal is very unique but it is not difficult to explain if someone wants to ask that what are the colors of the flag of Portugal then the answer would be simple, only two colors. There are only two colors green and red. The green stripe is takes up about the size of two fifths on the flag and the red stripe is the one that takes up the remaining three fifths on the flag and that is the reason that the distribution on the flag is not even. The center portion where the two stripes come and unite is where the emblem of the coat of arms is placed.

The coat of arms is with the traditional shield and is in the place where the two colors meet. The meaning of the red color is that it represents the Portuguese revolution that was in the year 1910 and the green color is said to represent the peace. The white shield that is in the center, where the two colors meet, is said to have five blue shields with white dots on it and is said to represent the King of Portugal. The red color featuring seven castles is also said to represent extensions of Portugal’s territory in order to include Algarve. There is a navigations instrument behind the shield which is an armillary sphere. The blue shields symbolize the victory of the first king of Portugal, Alfonso Henriques I, over the Moorish kings and the divine help he received to do so is also represented by the five dots. These dots are there to show the five wounds of Christ.

These dots are arranged in a cross and the shields represent the Christianity. An interesting factor to keep in mind here is that after the republican revolution in the year 1910 there were proposed a number of different designs for the Portuguese Flags and that also gave rise to a very large long yet peaceful debate. The main query or the main confusion of that changing of the design of the Portuguese Flag basically was to whether or not keep the traditional liberal colors of the monarchy that were blue and white which as mentioned earlier was the traditional colors of the monarchy or to adopt the green color which was that of the Republican Party. And the decision was taken and the Portuguese flag is as we know it today. One can find lots of information on internet about the Portugal and one can easily download the information with out any cost.