A national flag is a flag that represents and symbolizes a given nation. It is flown by the government of that nation, but can also be flown by its citizens. A national flag is typically designed with specific meanings for its colours and symbols, which may also be used separately from the flag as a symbol of the nation. The design of a national flag is sometimes altered after the occurrence of important historical events.
"A Portuguesa" is the national anthem of Portugal. It was composed by Alfredo Keil and written by Henrique Lopes de Mendonça during the resurgent nationalist movement ignited by the 1890 British Ultimatum to Portugal concerning its African colonies. Used as the marching song of the failed republican revolt of 31 January 1891, in Porto, it was adopted as the national anthem of the newborn Portuguese Republic in 1911, replacing "Hino da Carta", the anthem of the deposed constitutional monarchy.
The national flag of Brazil is a blue disc depicting a starry sky spanned by a curved band inscribed with the national motto Ordem e Progresso, within a yellow rhombus, on a green field. It was officially adopted on 19 November 1889, four days after the Proclamation of the Republic, to replace the flag of the Empire of Brazil. The concept was the work of Raimundo Teixeira Mendes, with the collaboration of Miguel Lemos, Manuel Pereira Reis and Décio Villares.
The national flag of Angola came into use when the nation gained independence from Portugal on 11 November 1975. It is split horizontally into an upper red half and a lower black half with an emblem resting at the center. It features a yellow half gear wheel crossed by a machete and crowned with a star.
The national flag of Cape Verde was adopted on 22 September 1992, replacing the flag adopted during independence.
The national flag of the Portuguese Republic, often referred to as the Portuguese flag consists of a rectangular bicolour with a field divided into green on the hoist, and red on the fly. A lesser version of the country’s national coat of arms stands in the middle of the Portuguese armillary sphere and shield, centered over the colour boundary at equal distance. The flag was announced in 1910, following the 5 October 1910 revolution, inspired by the colours of the Republican Party and the design of radical conspiratorial society Carbonária.
The national flag of East Timor consists of a red field with the black isosceles triangle based on the hoist-side bearing a white five-pointed star in the center superimposed on the larger yellow triangle, also based on the hoist-side, that extends to the center of the flag.
The flag of Equatorial Guinea was adopted on August 21, 1979. The six stars on the flag represent Equatorial Guinea's mainland and five islands. Under the rule of dictator Francisco Nguema the flag was modified and a different national emblem was used in it. After he was deposed the original flag was restored.
The national flag of Mozambique is a horizontal tricolour of green, black, and gold with white fimbriations and a red isosceles triangle at the hoist. The triangle is charged with a five-pointed gold star in its center, above which there is a bayonet-equipped AK-47 crossed by a hoe, superimposed on an open book. The colours and symbols of the flag represent different aspects of the Mozambican people and their war of independence. The current design, adopted on 1 May 1983, is defined in Mozambique's constitution, and regulations regarding the flag's use are outlined in decree no. 47/2006, titled State Protocol Standards. The current Mozambican flag is a modified version of the first flag of FRELIMO, which has governed the country since its independence from Portugal on 25 June 1975. Since the democratisation of Mozambique in 1990, there have been calls to change the flag, particularly to remove the AK-47.
The national flag of São Tomé and Príncipe is a horizontal triband of green, yellow, and green, with a red isosceles triangle at the hoist and two five-pointed black stars on the yellow band. The flag's aspect ratio is 1:2 and the ratio of the bands are 2:3:2. The flag was adopted upon São Tomé and Príncipe's independence from Portugal on 12 July 1975. The design is based on, and nearly identical to, the first flag of the Movement for the Liberation of São Tomé and Príncipe (MLSTP), which led the country to its independence.
In military organizations, the practice of carrying colours, standards, flags, or guidons, both to act as a rallying point for troops and to mark the location of the commander, is thought to have originated in Ancient Egypt some 5,000 years ago. The Roman Empire also made battle standards reading SPQR a part of their vast armies. It was formalized in the armies of Europe in the High Middle Ages, with standards being emblazoned with the commander's coat of arms.
5 October 1910 Revolution was the overthrow of the centuries-old Portuguese monarchy and its replacement by the First Portuguese Republic. It was the result of a coup d'état organized by the Portuguese Republican Party.
The national emblem of East Timor is one of the national symbols of East Timor.
The Flag of the Azores is the regional flag of the Portuguese Autonomous Region of the Azores. It is a rectangular bicolour with a field unevenly divided into blue on the hoist, and white on the fly.
The Newfoundland Tricolour, or the Pink, White and Green, is an unofficial flag seen in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, and is mistakenly believed to have been an official Flag of Newfoundland and Labrador, or more commonly, of the island of Newfoundland specifically.
The Efígie da República is used as a national personification, both in Brazil and in Portugal, symbolizing the Republic.
The flag of the Second Spanish Republic, known in Spanish as la tricolor, was the official flag of Spain between 1931 and 1939 and the flag of the Spanish Republican government in exile until 1977. Its present-day use in Spain is associated with the modern republican movement, different trade unions and various left-wing political movements.
The flag of Roraima is one of the official symbols of the state of Roraima in Brazil.
The flag of Pernambuco is one of the official symbols of the Brazilian state of Pernambuco. It is a bicolor pennant, blue and white, with the colors broken horizontally into two unequal sections, with blue in the upper and larger rectangle, the rainbow composed of three colors, red, yellow and green, with a star in above and below the sun, inside the semicircle, both in yellow, and, in the lower and smaller white rectangle, a red cross.
