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Republica Federativa do Brasil, Federative Republic of Brazil
Flag adopted by Law No 8421 of 11 May 1992; basic design by Decree No 4 of 19 November 1889
Legal Description of the Brazilian Flag
From Law No 5700 of 1 September 1971:
Section II. About the national flag
Art. 3 - According to the constitutional dispositions, the national flag was adopted by Decree No 4, of 19 November 1889, later modified by Law No 5443 (Annex No 1) of 28 May 1968.
Sole paragraph. On the National flag is represented, rendered artistically, a view of the sky over Rio de Janeiro, with the constellation "Cruzeiro do Sul" [Southern Cross] at the meridian, imagined as seen by an observer placed on the vertical line including the zenith of that city, from outside the sphere seen on the flag.
(From the booklet "Os Simbolos Nacionais", published by the Presidencia da Republica, Brasilia, 1986, on the 165th year since independence and 98th since establishment of the republic)
Pier Paolo Lugli, 19 January 1998
In the Brazilian Government's website is the full text of the law on the Brazilian flag and other symbols.
Guilherme Simoes Reis, 6 October 1999
In Album des Pavillons, 2000 the construction details are given as (51+54+210+54+51):(51+144+210+144+51) which looks correct.
Zeljko Heimer, 21 March 2001
Ratio of the Flag
I borrowed an original 1939 Flaggenbuch recently, and I read 96:132 (=24:33, or 7.27:10) as the ratio for the Brazilian flag. Looking more closely at the construction scheme, it started from the lozenge in the center, which had a proportion of 2:3 (72:108). The distance to the upper and lower edges and to the hoist and fly was equal all around (12 units each), resulting in the unusual ratio of 7.27:10.
Marcus Schmoger, 20 March 2003
Federal Decree-Law no. 4545, of 31 July 1942, provided for the 7:10 ratio, stipulating that (a) the desired width of the flag should be divided into 14 equal parts, each of the parts being considered one module; and (b) the length would be 20 (twenty) modules.
Joseph McMillan, 3 April 2003
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Symbolism of the Flag
The Colors
The colors green and yellow refer to the Royal Houses of Braganca (Emperor Pedro I) and Habsburg (Empress Leopoldina). The celestial sphere on the republican standard is a portrait of the sky of Rio de Janeiro on the night of 15 November 1889.
Felipe Flores Pinto, 23 February 1998
According to the Piraque Club website (www.piraque.org.br), no longer on line, on 7 September 1822, after demanding "Independence or Death," Prince Regent Pedro (later Emperor Dom Pedro I) removed the Portuguese blue-and-white cockade from his hat and exclaimed, "From now on we will have another ribbon-knot (laco), green and yellow. These will be the national colors." On 18 September, Pedro signed three decrees that were the first acts of independent Brazil. The second decree created a new national cockade: "The Brazilian national bow-knot (laco), or cockade (tope) will be composed of the emblematic colors: green for spring and yellow for gold...."
Joseph McMillan, 15 April 2001
A site called Bandeiras do Brasil says that the Ministry of Culture specifies Pantone 356 CV (green), 3945CV (yellow), and 286CV (blue) as the official colors of the Brazilian flag. The problem is that the webmaster seems to cite Flags of the World as the source of this, and we have no such information.
Among official sites, there are a couple that give Pantone and/or CMYK values for the "mark" of the Federal Government, used on publications and websites, stating that the colors are to be the same as those used in the national flag. These sources do not agree completely, so I'll cite that of the Presidency for the Pantones. The Ministry of Development, Industry, and External Commerce (MDIC) uses the same Pantone values and gives CMYK equivalencies.
PMS CMYK
Green 355 100-0-100-0
Yellow Yellow 0-10-100-0
Blue 280 100-70-0-20
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Celestial Sphere
I think it interesting that the Brazilian flag has a celestial globe while the Portuguese one has a flag with an instrument on it used to represent the celestial sphere. Could the Portuguese flag have influenced Brazil's choice of flag design?
James Dignan, 6 October 2003
According to Christian Fogd Pedersen, The International Flag Book, (1979), pp 217-8, "The symbol of the scroll and the celestial globe were inspired by the armillary sphere in the Arms of Portugal". I am not sure about this reference to the "arms" since I'm not familiar with the pre-1910 arms of Portugal (other than those used on the 1830 flag). The armillary sphere has, however and of course, been a symbol used on Portuguese flags since at least the 17th Century.
Christopher Southworth, 6 October 2003
Yes. They both trace their common ancestry to the flag of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarve, which featured an armilliary sphere as supporter for the Portuguese coat of arms of the time, and which in turn was apparently used earlier as a symbol of the caravelles that sailed for Brazil. So yes, our [Portuguese and Brazilian] common history is reflected in our flags.
Jorge Candeias, 7 October 2003
The influence is not direct but via the pre-republican Brazilian flag. Like the modern Portuguese flag, the imperial Brazilian flag also had an armillary sphere on it as the central charge in the imperial coat of arms. One Brazilian astronomer Joseph McMillan, 7 October 2003
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White Band
According to www.piraque.org.br (page no longer available), the white band across the celestial sphere has been the object of much speculation, with some saying it represents the ecliptic, others the celestial equator, and others the belt of the zodiac. In fact, the white band has nothing to do with the celestial sphere, but merely provides a place to inscribe the motto, Order and Progress, which is attributed to the French positivist philosopher Auguste Comte, who had many followers in Brazil, including Professor Teixeira Mendes, who conceived the basic design of the flag.
Joseph McMillan, 12 April 2001
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The Stars
Unlike the stars on the American flag, each particular star on the Brazilian flag represents one particular state.
Herman De Wael, 20 January 1998
For details on the constellations on the flag and the correspondence between the stars and the states, see Astronomy of the Brazilian Flag.
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