Portugal Flag

Portugal Flag

Portugal Flag

In 1139, Portugal became an independent monarchy under King Alfonso Henriques, who, in 1147, captured Lisbon from the Moors, who were then expelled from Portugal during the following century. By the 15th century, Portugal had grown into a dynamic trading nation which, encouraged by Prince Henry the Navigator, played a leading role in sea exploration beyond Europe's shores, so that, by the mid-16th century, Portugal claimed a vast empire in Brazil, Africa and Asia. Crippled by civil war from 1832 to 1834, however, Portugal's political instability continued throughout the 19th century.

The monarchy having been overthrown in 1910. with the declaration of the new Republic of Portugal came a new Portugal flag. The field of red and green, chosen to symbolize both revolution (red) and Portugal's tradition of exploration (green, for 'new lands'), was charged with an emblem that symbolizes Portugal's imperial past: a shield superimposed on a gold armillary sphere (an early navigational device). The central white shield charged with five blue shields represents Alfonso Henriques's victory over five Moorish princes in 1139, their white markings denoting the five wounds of Christ, while the seven gold castles in the red orle (the shield's border) signify Portugal's expansion as a result of Alfonso Henriques's marriage in 1146.