HISTORICAL FLAGS

Historic flags of Portugal and Spain

Portugal and Spain also changed their flags with political upheavals. The Portuguese monarchy introduced blue and white with a crowned coat of arms. The Second Spanish Republic used red, yellow and violet. Both historical designs differ significantly from today’s national flags. The comparison shows how colors and crowns of arms can make a change in the form of government visible.

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Historic flags of Portugal and Spain · supplied learning collection

Key facts and distinctions

Article focus: Historical flag variants
Date convention: Periods describe the illustrated variant
Scope: Selected designs; no Nazi flags or symbols
Portugal: model shown: 1830–1910
Portuguese colour arrangement: Blue and white vertical
Portuguese additional symbol: Crowned royal coat of arms
The Portuguese Republic proclaimed: 5 October 1910
Parliamentary Flag Confirmation: 19 June 1911
Spain: Republican phase: 1931–1939
Spanish color order: Red–yellow–violet
Breadth of Republican Railways: Three equally wide strips

Portugal's blue-and-white monarchy flag

The Portuguese flag in the collection shows a vertically divided blue-white field with the royal coat of arms above it. The crown makes the monarchical connection recognizable. The assignment 1830 to 1910 denotes this late execution of the Kingdom flag; the Kingdom itself existed long before this color division. Such a date should therefore not be read as the founding time of Portugal.

The Municipal Museum of Maia refers to the decree of 18 October 1830 and the use of blue and white by the Liberals. The depiction of the royal house adds that the pattern prevailed nationwide after the victory of the liberal side in 1834. So there can be a political conflict between the decision of a design and its general validity.

1910: A new republic seeks new signs

On October 5, 1910, the Republic was proclaimed in Portugal. The Presidential Museum describes the recasting of the state symbols as one of the early tasks of the new order. Green and red replaced the monarchical color combination. The government decision was made in November 1910; the Constituent Assembly confirmed the flag on June 19, 1911.

The change was by no means just a technical change. Letters received in the archives of the museum show approval for the new color choice, but also the desire to keep blue and white. These documents show that state signs trigger personal ties. Anyone describing an old flag cloth should therefore distinguish between its official role and the different feelings of its viewers.

Spain's Republican Tricolor 1931–1939

The flag of the Second Spanish Republic consists of three equally wide horizontal paths: red above, yellow in the middle and dark violet below. The embodiment shown here bears a republican coat of arms. Article 1 of the 1931 Constitution explicitly mentions the three colors. The violet is the fastest differentiator compared to today’s red-yellow-red flag.

The Spanish Congress describes the new symbols as a visible expression of the regime change of 1931. The republic existed until 1939; during the civil war, however, different dominions stood side by side. The period thus denotes the republican context and no flag sovereignty enforced everywhere at the same time. Unlike in Portugal, the particularly striking change here lies in the third horizontal color track.

Details Worth Remembering

Crown is not the same as coat of arms

In Portugal, the crown carried a clear statement about the form of state at that time. The rest of the coat of arms also contained older national elements. In a political change, therefore, individual parts of a sign can disappear, while others are reused in an altered arrangement.

Confirmation follows decision

Portuguese history combines revolution, decision of the provisional government and later parliamentary confirmation. These steps explain why representations show up in both 1910 and 1911. Different data can name different legal and political events without contradicting each other.

Violet targeted

In Spain, the view of the lower railway is often enough to classify the historical republican variant. For a full description, strip width and coats of arms should then be tested. Thus, a quick recognition becomes an exact distinction between related designs.