Flag of Portugal

The national flag of Portugal was officially adopted on the 30th day of June, 1911. It is known to be a rectangular bicolor, with red and green for its national color combination. The colors are divided unevenly, with red on the fly and green on the hoist. The boundary between the two colors is designed with the Portuguese coat of arms.

The designs have been done on the earlier years but it was only in June 1911 when the flag was officially adopted. The official adaptation of the flag was done after the constitutional monarchy’s downfall. The design was also selected by a special commission which included Joao Chagas, Abel Botelho and Columbano Bordalo Pinheiro in its members.

The choice of red and green as the colors of the Portuguese flag can be associated to the many major events that happened in Portugal. The colors were said to represent a change which is inspired by the radical republic especially after they broke their bond with their former religious monarchial flag. After failing to establish a republican insurrection in 1891, the red and green color had been made as the official colors of the Republican Party of Portugal. These colors are even used to symbolize the Republic’s associated movements.

After decades of using the flag, the colors are finally known to have a lot of representation for the Portuguese. But among its most popular representations are hope for the nation which is represented by green and the blood of those people who died while defending the nation, which is represented by red.

The coat of arms of Portugal, which is imprinted on the place where both colors meet, also symbolizes the bravery of the Portuguese. The coat of arms is composed of a white shield that contains five small blue shields. The blue shields also have dots in them. The white shield is also seen to be within a red shield which is surrounded by straps of yellow. It also has seven small yellow castles in it. The five blue shields within the coat of arms of Portugal are known to signify the defeat of five Moorish kings. These kings were conquered by the very first King of Portugal.