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Flag of Brazil

society Maturity 11-13 Next article →

The flag of Brazil is a beautiful and complex symbol.

Flag of Brazil (folding)
Flag of Brazil (folding)

It features a green field with a yellow rhombus in the center. Inside that shape is a blue circle that looks like a starry sky. A white curved band crosses the blue circle with the words "Ordem e Progresso." This motto means "Order and Progress" in English. The flag is special because its design tells a story about the land and its sky.

Flag of Brazil (dimensions)
Flag of Brazil (dimensions)

Each part of the flag has a specific meaning. The green color and the yellow shape were kept from an older flag. Long ago, green represented the House of Braganza and yellow represented the House of Habsburg. The blue circle shows the sky as it appeared over Rio de Janeiro on November 15, 1889. The stars on the flag represent the different states of Brazil. Even the size of each star matters because it shows the size of its state.

Brazil flag stars
Brazil flag stars

Brazil's flags have changed many times throughout history.

Bandeiras do Brasil (1500 - atual)
Bandeiras do Brasil (1500 - atual)

In the early days, Portuguese ships used different symbols like the armillary sphere. In 1822, Pedro I became the first Emperor of Brazil. He used a flag with a yellow rhombus and an imperial coat of arms. When Brazil became a republic in 1889, the design changed again. A group of people led by Raimundo Teixeira Mendes created the new design. They replaced the royal arms with the blue celestial globe we see today.

Keeping the flag accurate is a big job.

Flag of Brazil (dimensions)
Flag of Brazil (dimensions)

When the flag was first adopted in 1889, it only had 21 stars. As new states were created, more stars had to be added. In 1960, one star was added for Guanabara. In 1968, another star was added for Acre. Finally, in 1992, four more stars were added for Amapá, Roraima, Rondônia, and Tocantins. This brought the total number of stars to 27. This ensures the flag always represents every part of the country.

Building the flag is actually quite difficult. The exact positions of the 27 stars make it a complex design to make. The flag must follow specific rules about its size and shape. It has a length of twenty modules and a width of fourteen modules. The stars are not all the same size. They come in five different sizes called magnitudes. This careful design helps people recognize the flag anywhere in the world.

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🖼️ Images & Media (8)
File:Flag Princes of Brazil.svg
Flag Princes of Brazil.svg
File:Pedro Bruno - A Pátria.jpg
Pedro Bruno - A Pátria.jpg
File:Flag of Brazil (dimensions).svg
Flag of Brazil (dimensions).svg
File:Brazil flag stars.svg
Brazil flag stars.svg
Proposta de alteração da Bandeira...
File:Bandeiras06052007.jpg
Bandeiras06052007.jpg
File:Flag of Brazil (folding).gif
Flag of Brazil (folding).gif
File:Bandeiras do Brasil (1500 - atual).jpg
Bandeiras do Brasil (1500 - atual).jpg
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