Flag

On September 7, 1822, Dom Pedro, the king of Portugal’s son, proclaimed independence and with that came a new flag. This flag consisted of a green background, a yellow diamond in the middle, and the imperial coat of arms in the center. There were also stars that each represent a state in Brazil. The colors were suggested by the prince’s wife, a descendant of the house of Habsburg. The colors of house of Habsburg were black and yellow and Dom Pedro's house, house of Bragança, was green. They combined these colors to make the flag. People adopted yellow and black as the Brazilian colors. They were also associated with the land and its mineral wealth, especially in gold. In 1889, a republic in Brazil was formed. This resulted in slight changes to the flag. Instead of the imperial arms, they replaced it with a blue disk in the center. They moved the stars into the blue disc and added a band that read “Ordem e progresso,” which translates to “Order and progress,”written in blue. White and blue was a reflection of the Portuguese roots because white and blue are found in Portugal's coat of arms. Over the years, the number of states in Brazil have shifted causing changes to the flag in 1960, 1968, and 1971. The final form of the flag was made on May 12,1992. There are 27 stars on the flag symbolizing the 26 states and the federal district. They are arranged in a way to correspond to constellations visible in the Southern Hemisphere.