The national flag of

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

( pt, bandeira do Brasil), is a blue disc depicting a starry sky (which includes the

Southern Cross Crux () is a constellation of the southern sky that is centred on four bright stars in a cross-shaped asterism commonly known as the Southern Cross. It lies on the southern end of the Milky Way's visible band. The name ''Crux'' is Latin for ...

) spanned by a curved band inscribed with the national

motto A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. Mot ...

"''Ordem e Progresso''" ("Order and Progress"), 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 Empire of Brazil was a 19th-century state that broadly comprised the territories which form modern Brazil and (until 1828) Uruguay. Its government was a representative parliamentary constitutional monarchy under the rule of Emperors Dom ...

. The concept was the work of

Raimundo Teixeira Mendes Raimundo Teixeira Mendes (5 January 1855 – 28 June 1927) was a Brazilian philosopher and mathematician. He is credited with creating the national motto, "Order and Progress", as well as the national flag on which it appears. Teixeira M ...

, with the collaboration of Miguel Lemos, Manuel Pereira Reis and

Décio Villares Décio Rodrigues Villares (1 December 1851, in Rio de Janeiro – 21 June 1931, in Rio de Janeiro) was a Brazilian painter, sculptor, caricaturist, and graphic designer. He is best known for helping to design the blue disc on the Brazilian Flag an ...

. The green field and yellow rhombus from the previous imperial flag were preserved (though slightly modified in hue and shape). In the imperial flag, the green represented the House of Braganza of Pedro I, the first

Emperor of Brazil The monarchs of Brazil ( Portuguese: ''monarcas do Brasil'') were the imperial heads of state and hereditary rulers of Brazil from the House of Braganza that reigned from the creation of the Brazilian monarchy in 1815 as a constituent kingdom o ...

, while the yellow represented the

House of Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

of his wife, Empress Maria Leopoldina.The World Factbook: Brazil – Flag description

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

. Retrieved on 8 October 2010. A blue circle with white

five-pointed star A five-pointed star (☆), geometrically an equilateral concave decagon, is a common ideogram in modern culture. Comparatively rare in classical heraldry, it was notably introduced for the flag of the United States in the Flag Act of 1777 and s ...

s replaced the arms of the Empire of Brazil — its position in the flag reflects the sky over the city of

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...

on 15 November 1889. The motto ''Ordem e Progresso'' is derived from Auguste Comte's motto of positivism: ''"L'amour pour principe et l'ordre pour base; le progrès pour but"'' ("Love as a principle and order as the basis; progress as the goal").Bandeiras e significados
Historianet. Retrieved on 9 October 2010. . Each star, corresponding to a Brazilian Federal Unit, is sized in proportion relative to its geographic size, and, according to Brazilian Law, the flag must be updated in case of creation or extinction of a state. At the time the flag was first adopted in 1889, it had 21 stars. It then received one more star in 1960 (representing the state of Guanabara), then another in 1968 (representing Acre), and finally four more stars in 1992 (representing Amapá, Roraima, Rondônia and

Tocantins Tocantins () is one of the 26 states of Brazil. It is the newest state, formed in 1988 and encompassing what had formerly been the northern two-fifths of the state of Goiás. Tocantins covers and had an estimated population of 1,496,880 in 20 ...

), totalling 27 stars in its current version.

History

Empire of Brazil (1822–1889)

File:Flag of the Kingdom of Brazil (18 september - 1 december 1822).svg, Flag of the independent Kingdom of Brazil (18 September – 1 December 1822) File:Bandeira_do_Império_do_Brasil_com_nó_e_cores_corretos_versão_com_19_estrelas.png, First flag of the

with 19 stars (1822–1853). On 29 August 1853, Imperial Law No. 704 created the Province of Paraná, resulting in the addition of a 20th star. File:Bandeira_do_Império_do_Brasil_com_nó_e_cores_corretos.png, Second flag of the

with 20 stars (1853–1889) The imperial flag of Brazil was designed by

Jean-Baptiste Debret Jean-Baptiste Debret (; 18 April 1768 – 28 June 1848) was a French painter, who produced many valuable lithographs depicting the people of Brazil. Debret won the second prize at the 1798 Salon des Beaux Arts. Biography Debret studied at th ...

as the

Royal Standard In heraldry and vexillology, a heraldic flag is a flag containing coats of arms, heraldic badges, or other devices used for personal identification. Heraldic flags include banners, standards, pennons and their variants, gonfalons, guidons, and ...

of the Prince Royal of the

United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves The United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves was a pluricontinental monarchy formed by the elevation of the Portuguese colony named State of Brazil to the status of a kingdom and by the simultaneous union of that Kingdom of Brazil ...

, Pedro I. After the

Brazilian Declaration of Independence The Independence of Brazil comprised a series of political and military events that led to the independence of the Kingdom of Brazil from the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves as the Brazilian Empire. Most of the events occur ...

, and with the coronation of Pedro I as Emperor of Brazil, the Royal Standard was modified to become the flag of the Empire of Brazil. The new flag featured the imperial coat of arms within a yellow rhombus, on a green field. The green and yellow colors represented the dynastic houses of Pedro I and his consort Maria Leopoldina of Austria. The imperial flag was slightly modified during the reign of Pedro II, when an extra star was added to the imperial arms to conform to the new territorial organization of the country.

Republic of Brazil (1889–present)

File:Flag_of_Brazil_15-19_November.svg, Provisional flag of the Republic of the United States of Brazil (15–19 November 1889) File:Flag of Brazil (1889-1960).svg, First flag of the Republican Brazil with 21 stars (1889–1960) File:Flag of Brazil (1960-1968).svg, Second flag of the Republican Brazil with 22 stars (1960–1968) File:Flag of Brazil (1968-1992).svg, First flag of the

Federative Republic of Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area an ...

with 23 stars (1968–1992) File:Flag of Brazil.svg, Second flag of the

with 27 stars (1992–present) Upon the proclamation of the Republic, one of the civilian leaders of the movement, the jurist Ruy Barbosa, proposed a design for the nation's new flag strongly inspired by the flag of the United States. It was flown from 15 to 19 November 1889, when marshal

Deodoro da Fonseca Manuel Deodoro da Fonseca (; 5 August 1827 – 23 August 1892) was a Brazilian politician and military officer who served as the first president of Brazil. He was born in Alagoas in a military family, followed a military career, and became a n ...

(acting as provisional

president of Brazil The president of Brazil ( pt, Presidente do Brasil), officially the president of the Federative Republic of Brazil ( pt, Presidente da República Federativa do Brasil) or simply the ''President of the Republic'', is the head of state and head o ...

) vetoed the design, citing concerns that it looked too similar to the flag of another country.Um estudo histórico perceptual: A Bandeira Brasileira sem Brasil
Seysell, Ricardo. Universidade Estadual Paulista), 2006. Retrieved on 10 October 2010. . Fonseca suggested that the flag of the new republic should resemble the old imperial flag. This was intended to underscore continuity of national unity during the transition from a

constitutional monarchy A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies dif ...

to a republic. Raimundo Teixeira Mendes presented a project in which the imperial coat of arms was replaced by a blue

celestial globe Celestial globes show the apparent positions of the stars in the sky. They omit the Sun, Moon, and planets because the positions of these bodies vary relative to those of the stars, but the ecliptic, along which the Sun moves, is indicated. Th ...

and the positivist motto. It was presented to Fonseca, who promptly accepted. The flag was designed by a group formed by Raimundo Teixeira Mendes, Miguel Lemos, Manuel Pereira Reis and Décio Villares. It was officially adopted on 19 November 1889. The flag has been modified on three occasions to add additional stars intended to reflect newly created states: 1960 (22 stars), 1968 (23 stars) and 1992 (27 stars). In contrast to many other national flags with elements representing political subdivisions, modifications to the flag of Brazil were not always made promptly upon political reorganisation, resulting in multi-year periods of history where there was a mismatch between the number of stars and the number of states and federal districts.Brazil: Evolution of the Modern National Flag
Flags of the World. Retrieved on 11 July 2015. The most recent modification was made on 11 May 1992, with the addition of four stars to the celestial globe (representing states created between 1982 and 1991), and a slight change in the stars' positions was made to match the astronomical coordinates correctly.

Design

Decree No. 4, issued on 19 November 1889, legally replaced the flag used under the constitutional monarchy with the new national flag.Símbolos e Hinos: Bandeira Nacional
Brasil.gov.br. Retrieved on 9 October 2010. . On 11 May 1992, Law No. 8.421, altered the celestial globe with the addition of six stars.

Construction

The precise positions of the 27 in all stars on the globe make the Brazilian flag one of the most complicated national flags to construct. The official design is defined by Law No. 5,700, issued on 1 September 1971.
Flags of the World. Retrieved on 8 October 2010. The flag's length is twenty modules and the

width Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a base unit for length is chosen, from which all other units are derived. In the Intern ...

, fourteen, translating into an aspect ratio of 10:7. The distance of the vertices of the yellow rhombus to the outer frame is a module and seven-tenths (1.7 m). The blue circle in the middle of the yellow rhombus has a

radius In classical geometry, a radius ( : radii) of a circle or sphere is any of the line segments from its center to its perimeter, and in more modern usage, it is also their length. The name comes from the latin ''radius'', meaning ray but also the ...

of three and a half modules (3.5 m). The center of the arcs of the white band is two modules (2 m) to the left of the meeting point of the extended vertical diameter of the circle with the base of the outer frame. The radius of the lower arc of the white band is eight modules (8m) and the radius of the upper arc of the white band is eight and a half modules (8.5 m). The width of the white band is a half of a module (0.5 m). The caption "Ordem e Progresso" is written in green letters. The letter P lies on the vertical diameter of the circle. The letters of the word "Ordem" and the word "Progresso" are a third of a module (0.33 m) tall. The width of these letters is three-tenths of a module (0.30 m). The

conjunction Conjunction may refer to: * Conjunction (grammar), a part of speech * Logical conjunction, a mathematical operator ** Conjunction introduction, a rule of inference of propositional logic * Conjunction (astronomy), in which two astronomical bodies ...

E has a height of three-tenths of a module (0.30 m) and a width of a quarter of a module (0.25 m). The stars are of five different sizes: first, second, third, fourth and fifth magnitudes. They are drawn within circles whose diameters are: three-tenths of a module (0.30 m) for the first magnitude, a quarter of a module (0.25 m) for the second magnitude; a fifth of a module (0.20 m) for the third magnitude, a seventh of a module (0.14 m) for the fourth magnitude, and a tenth of a module (0.10 m) for the fifth magnitude.

Stars

Paulo Araújo Duarte of the Federal University of Santa Catarina claims that "the creators of our republican flag intended to represent the stars in the sky at Rio de Janeiro at 8:30 in the morning on 15 November 1889, the moment at which the constellation of the Southern Cross was on the meridian of Rio de Janeiro and the longer arm f the crosswas vertical". Another article, citing "O Céu da Bandeira (The Sky of the Flag)", by J. R. V. Costa, says the exact time was actually 08:37. This last article includes the flag's designer's explanation of his intentions regarding the stars. According to Brazil'
national act number 5,700
of 1 September 1971, the flag portrays the stars as they would be seen by an imaginary observer an infinite distance above Rio de Janeiro standing outside the firmament in which the stars are meant to be placed (i.e. as found on a

). Thus Beta Crucis appears to the right of the constellation and Delta Crucis to the left, in mirror image of the way they actually appear in the sky (and, coincidentally, the way they appear on the Brazilian coat of arms). The star

Spica Spica is the brightest object in the constellation of Virgo and one of the 20 brightest stars in the night sky. It has the Bayer designation α Virginis, which is Latinised to Alpha Virginis and abbreviated Alpha Vir or α Vir. Analys ...

is the only one above the white band; it symbolises part of Brazilian territory in the northern hemisphere (and the State of

Pará Pará is a state of Brazil, located in northern Brazil and traversed by the lower Amazon River. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas and Roraima. To the northwest are the borders of Guyana ...

). The Sigma Octantis (south pole star) is small, but all the other stars turn around it. Its unique position in the sky of the southern hemisphere represents the stability of the Federal District in the Brazilian union. The shining star in constellation represent the size of territory of the state in the Brazilian region (constellation). The flag of Brazil contains 27 stars, representing the

Brazilian states Brazilian commonly refers to: * Something of, from or relating to Brazil * Brazilian Portuguese, the dialect of the Portuguese language used mostly in Brazil * Brazilians, the people (citizens) of Brazil, or of Brazilian descent Brazilian may also ...

and the

Federal District A federal district is a type of administrative division of a federation, usually under the direct control of a federal government and organized sometimes with a single municipal body. Federal districts often include capital districts, and they ...

. The constellation of the

is on the meridian (indicated by the number 6 in the diagram). To the south of it is Polaris Australis (

Sigma Octantis Sigma Octantis is a solitary star in the Octans constellation that forms the pole star of the Southern Hemisphere. Its name is also written as σ Octantis, abbreviated as Sigma Oct or σ Oct, and it is officially named Polaris Australi ...

, numbered 7), representing the

. A single star lies above the band, representing the large northern state of Pará, which straddles the equator. The band with its motto appears roughly coincident with the

ecliptic The ecliptic or ecliptic plane is the orbital plane of the Earth around the Sun. From the perspective of an observer on Earth, the Sun's movement around the celestial sphere over the course of a year traces out a path along the ecliptic agains ...

, as in the armillary symbol of

Manuel I of Portugal Manuel I (; 31 May 146913 December 1521), known as the Fortunate ( pt, O Venturoso), was King of Portugal from 1495 to 1521. A member of the House of Aviz, Manuel was Duke of Beja and Viseu prior to succeeding his cousin, John II of Portuga ...

and colonial Brazil, or otherwise the

celestial equator The celestial equator is the great circle of the imaginary celestial sphere on the same plane as the equator of Earth. This plane of reference bases the equatorial coordinate system. In other words, the celestial equator is an abstract proj ...

, while none of the stars symbolized lie north of these lines. Some interpretations of the band also identify it with the Amazon river.

Stars and states

The stars depicted on the flag and the states they represent are: * Brazil's original Federal District was created in 1889 from the former Neutral Municipality covering the then-capital city of

, and represented on the flag by the star Sigma Octantis (Polaris Australis). In 1960, to correspond with the creation of the new capital,

Brasília Brasília (; ) is the federal capital of Brazil and seat of government of the Federal District. The city is located at the top of the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West region. It was founded by President Juscelino Kubitsche ...

, the Federal District was reconstituted on new territory carved out of the state of Goiás, bordering the Minas Gerais state; it continued to be represented on the flag by Sigma Octantis. The former Federal District became the new state of Guanabara and a new star, Alphard, was added to the flag to represent it. Guanabara was eliminated as a separate state in 1975; however, Alphard was not removed from the flag and from 1975 to 1979 it represented no state. When the new state of Mato Grosso do Sul was created in 1979, it was assigned Alphard.

Colours

The flag's colours are not accurately specified in any legal document. The CMYK and Pantone values, as found in the files available for download from the Brazilian Government website, are listed below:

Flag protocol

Federal Law Federal law is the body of law created by the federal government of a country. A federal government is formed when a group of political units, such as states or provinces join in a federation, delegating their individual sovereignty and many po ...

No. 5,700, issued on 1 September 1971, defines the

flag protocol A flag protocol defines the proper placement, handling, use, and disposal of flags. Some countries have added certain protocols into their legal system while others prefer to have "guidelines" without civil or criminal consequences attached. G ...

in Brazil.Lei no. 5,700 de 1 de Setembro de 1971
Presidência da República. Retrieved on 9 October 2010. . The flag must be permanently hoisted at the

Praça dos Três Poderes Praça dos Três Poderes (; ''Three Powers Plaza'') is a plaza in Brasília, the capital of Brazil. The name is derived from the presence of the three governmental powers around the plaza: the Executive, represented by the Palácio do Planalto (pr ...

. The flag must be raised and lowered daily at the presidential palaces (

Palácio do Planalto The Palácio do Planalto () in Brasília is the official workplace of the president of Brazil.Palácio da Alvorada The Palácio da Alvorada () is the official residence of the President of Brazil. It is located in the national capital of Brasília, on a peninsula at the margins of Paranoá Lake. The building was designed by Oscar Niemeyer and built between ...

); ministries; National Congress; Supreme Federal Tribunal;

Supreme Court of Justice A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

;

seats A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but also headquarters in a wider sense. Types of seat The following are examples of different kinds of seat: * Armchair, a chair eq ...

of the

Executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...

Legislative A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known ...

and

Judicial The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...

branches;

diplomatic missions A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually deno ...

; Federal, state and local institutions; and merchant navy units. When a flag is no longer fit to use, it must be delivered to a military facility to be burned during a special ceremony on 19 November ("Flag Day"). The flag must be flown at

half-staff Half-mast or half-staff (American English) refers to a flag flying below the summit of a ship mast, a pole on land, or a pole on a building. In many countries this is seen as a symbol of respect, mourning, distress, or, in some cases, a salu ...

when the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

decrees official mourning. In addition,

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

and

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-l ...

s may decree official mourning with the death of a

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

. When the flag is displayed at half-staff, prior to raising or lowering it, the flag must be raised to the top of the

flagpole A flagpole, flagmast, flagstaff, or staff is a pole designed to support a flag. If it is taller than can be easily reached to raise the flag, a cord is used, looping around a pulley at the top of the pole with the ends tied at the bottom. The fla ...

and then lowered to the halfway mark. When the flag is being carried in

procession A procession is an organized body of people walking in a formal or ceremonial manner. History Processions have in all peoples and at all times been a natural form of public celebration, as forming an orderly and impressive ceremony. Religious ...

, a black crape ribbon must be tied to the top of the mast. A foreign flag may only be flown with a Brazilian Flag along its right side. The only exceptions are when the foreign flag is displayed in an

embassy A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually den ...

consulate A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of diplomatic mission, it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy (or, only between two Commonwealth c ...

and in prize-giving ceremonies of sport competitions won by foreign athletes. When multiple flags are raised or lowered simultaneously, the Brazilian Flag must be the first to reach the top of the flagpole and the last to reach the bottom.

Folding

Flag anthem

The Brazilian Flag Anthem (''Hino à Bandeira Nacional'') is a

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetit ...

dedicated to the country's flag. It is performed on 19 November (Flag Day). The Portuguese lyrics were written by poet

Olavo Bilac Olavo Brás Martins dos Guimarães Bilac (16 December 1865 – 28 December 1918), known simply as Olavo Bilac (), was a Brazilian Parnassian poet, journalist and translator. Alongside Alberto de Oliveira and Raimundo Correia, he was a member o ...

, and the music composed by

Francisco Braga Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name '' Franciscus''. Nicknames In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed " Paco". San Francisco de Asís was known as ''Pater Comunitatis'' (father o ...

.Hino à Bandeira Nacional
Exército Brasileiro. Retrieved on 10 October 2010. .

Other flags

Governmental flags

The

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

and

vice president A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...

are also represented by their own flag. The is a dark green rectangle (ratio 2:3) holding the

national coat of arms A national coat of arms is a symbol which denotes an independent state in the form of a heraldic achievement. While a national flag is usually used by the population at large and is flown outside and on ships, a national coat of arms is normally ...

on its center. It is usually hoisted at the President's official residence, the

Palácio da Alvorada The Palácio da Alvorada () is the official residence of the President of Brazil. It is located in the national capital of Brasília, on a peninsula at the margins of Paranoá Lake. The building was designed by Oscar Niemeyer and built between ...

, and at the President's workplace, the

Palácio do Planalto The Palácio do Planalto () in Brasília is the official workplace of the president of Brazil. File:Coat of arms of the Brazilian Army (plan version).svg, alt=, Brazilian army flag (actual flag) File:Coat of arms of the Brazilian Air Force.svg, alt=, Brazilian Air Force flag File:Flag of the Brazilian Navy.svg, alt=The flag of the Brazilian Navy, Brazilian Navy flag File:Flag of the Brazilian Army.png, alt=The flag of the Brazilian Army, Brazilian Army (old flag) File:Flag of a Brazilian Navy admiral.png, alt=The flag of a Brazilian naval admiral, Brazilian naval admiral flag File:Emcfa.gif, Flag-insignia of the chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Brazilian Armed Forces.

=Naval jack

= The Brazilian

naval jack A jack is a flag flown from a short jackstaff at the bow (front) of a vessel, while the ensign is flown on the stern (rear). Jacks on bowsprits or foremasts appeared in the 17th century. A country may have different jacks for different p ...

(''jaque'') is a rectangular flag (ratio 3:4) bearing 21 white stars on a dark blue field – a horizontal row of 13 and a vertical column of 9, orthogonally displayed. Naval Jack of Brazil.svg, Naval jack.

Previous flags

The list below identifies previous flags used in Brazil. File:Bandeira do Brasil no padrão correto (1822 - 1853).svg, Flag of the Empire of Brazil, first version (1 December 1822 – 29 August 1853) File:Bandeira_do_Império_do_Brasil_com_nó_e_cores_corretos.png, Flag of the Empire of Brazil, second version (c.1870 – 15 November 1889) File:Flag of Brazil 15-19 November.svg, Provisional Flag of Republic of the United States of Brazil (15–19 November 1889) File:Flag of Brazil (1889-1960).svg, First Flag of the United States of Brazil (19 November 1889 – 1 June 1960) File:Flag of Brazil (1960-1968).svg, Second Flag of the United States of Brazil (1 June 1960 – 28 May 1968) File:Flag of Brazil (1968-1992).svg, First Flag of the Federative Republic of Brazil (28 May 1968 – 11 May 1992) File:Flag of Brazil.svg, Second Flag of the Federative Republic of Brazil (11 May 1992–present)

Rejected flags

The best-known rejected flags are listed below. Several projects were heavily inspired by the green-yellow Imperial Flag, while a black-white-red pattern was also proposed. Those colours would represent the major groups of Brazilian population, red being the natives, white the European settlers and immigrants and black the Africans.MARTIUS, p. 381 File:Flag-lopes-trovão.svg, Project of Lopes Trovão, 1888. It was raised, when the Republic took place, but has been changed by the similar proposal of Ruy Barbosa. File:Bandeira do estado de São Paulo.svg, Project of Júlio Ribeiro, 1888. Eventually became the flag of the

State of São Paulo State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

with the addition of Acre on the map Flag of Brazil (Deodoro_project).png, Project of

, 1889 File:Flag of Brazil (Jardim project).svg, Project of Antônio da Silva Jardim, 1890 File:Flag of Brazil (Paranhos project).svg, Project of José Maria da Silva Paranhos, Jr., 1890 File:Flag of Brazil (Valadão project).svg, Project of Oliveira Valadão, 1892 File:Flag of Brazil (Góis project).svg, Project of Eurico de Góis, 1908 File:Flag of Brazil (Escobar project).svg, Project of Wenceslau Escobar, 1908 File:Flag of Brazil (Góis project, 1933).svg, Second project of Eurico de Góis, 1933

Notes

References

External links

* *
Bandeira Nacional
at the Brazilian Government
Bandeira - Insígnia
at the Brazilian Government *
Brazil
at Flags Corner {{nationalflags

National symbols of Brazil Southern Cross flags