Last modified: 2020-07-26 by ian macdonald
Keywords: lozenge (yellow) | stars (white) | sphere (blue) | states |
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Flag with 21 stars adopted by Decree Number 4 of 19 November 1889:
(From the booklet "Os Símbolos Nacionais", published by the Presidência da República, Brasília, 1986, on the 165th year since independence and 98th since establishment of the republic) Pier Paolo Lugli, 19 January 1998, decree retranslated by Joseph McMillan, 12 April 2001
Flag with 22 stars adopted in June 1960, according to the UK Admiralty Flags of All Nations, 1960 correction attached to the 1955 edition.
I have a color photocopy of a 22-star flag from the UK Admiralty flag book
in 1969 which was made in the local library. The 22nd star is placed below the letters,
between M and E in the scroll. I think this star must be Alpha Hydrae.
Nozomi Kariyasu, 4 April 1998
This is now the star for Mato Grosso do Sul, so it was then intended for
Guanabara! Very interesting.
Herman De Wael
Flag with 23 stars.
Adopted by Law nr 5443 of 28 May 1968:
The 23rd star is placed between the letters O and G in the scroll.
Nozomi Kariyasu, 4 April 1998
Unlike the stars on the American flag, each particular star on the Brazilian flag represents one particular state. The following are the stars added since adoption of the basic design of the Brazilian flag in 1889, with the dates of creation of the states and territories:
date | state | nr of states |
nr of stars |
adoption of flag |
---|---|---|---|---|
1889 | 20 original states + federal district (within Rio de Janeiro) | 20 | 21 | Flag of 19 November 1889 |
1903 | regaining of Acre territory | 20 | 21 | no change |
1943 | creation of 3 new territories : Amapá, Rio Branco, Guaporé | 20 | 21 | no change |
1960 | moving of federal district from Rio de Janeiro to Brasilia creation of new State - Guanabara - out of former capital territory |
21 | 22 | Flag of June 1960 |
1962 | statehood of Acre | 22 | 23 | Flag of 28 May 1968 |
1975 | merging of states of Guanabara and Rio de Janeiro (as RdJ) | 21 | 22 | never |
1979 | creation of Mato Grosso do Sul out of Mato Grosso | 22 | 23 | no change |
1982 | statehood of Rondônia | 23 | 24 | never |
1989 | creation of Tocantins out of Goiás | 24 | 25 | never |
1991 | statehood for Amapa and Roraima | 26 | 27 | Flag of 11 May 1992 |
Herman De Wael, 20 January 1998
It turns out that the Brazilians were not very vigilant in changing their
flag to account for the creation of new states. Between 1975 and 1979, there
was even one star too many! Upon the creation of Mato Grosso do Sul, this
surplus star must have been reassigned. This may seem strange, but the article
in the Brazilian Law that states that, upon the disappearance of a state, its star
should also be removed, was apparently only added in 1992. Nevertheless, the
place and size of the 23rd star (under the EM of ORDEM) seems strangely
appropriate for Mato Grosso do Sul (a large state in the interior) and
absolutely inappropriate for Guanabara (a very small state on the coast). However,
no amount of research has been able to track down an alternate
design for a 23-star flag. Maybe even two reassignments have occurred and the star now
symbolizing Acre
(the small one under the O of prOgresso) was the one originally intended for
Guanabara.
Herman De Wael, 26 February 1998
This second (first?) reassignment did not take place. New evidence
provided by Nozomi Kariyasu reveals that there was indeed a 23-star version in
use after 1960, and the 23rd star (for Guanabara) may indeed correspond to the
one now intended to represent Mato Grosso do Sul.
Herman De Wael, 30 April 1998