Proposals for the new portuguese national flag (1910-1911)

Last modified: 2005-08-26 by antonio martins
Keywords: proposal: portugal | competition |
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• About the 1910 "flag wars"
• Project by A.P.S.
• Project by A. Rigaud Nogueira
• Proposals by Alexandre Fontes
• Project by Álvaro A. da Silva Foito
• Suggestion by Carvalho Neves
• Project by Delfim Guimarães and Roque Gameiro
• Suggestion by Duarte Alves G. Leal
• Proposal by J.A.E.S.
• Project by Guerra Junqueiro
• Conciliation humoristic project

• Origins of the current portuguese national flag
• Portugal

About the 1910 “flag wars”

Back in 1910, after the republican revolution in Portugal, a number of different designs where proposed for the flag of the new republic, and this originated a large and not always peaceful debate. The main question was weather to keep the liberal (and also traditional) colours of the monarchy (blue and white) or adopt the red and green of the republican party. A number of conciliation projects arose in the process.
Jorge Candeias, 15 Jun 1998

After the republican revolution in Portugal in 1910, many projects for the new flag were presented in newspapers and magazines. In 1994, a detailed (although not very careful) research was done on this subject, and the exibition organizers came up with dozens of those projects, published also in the exibition catalogue.
António Martins, 28 May 1997

A few years ago the magazine Público Magazine published an article called “The war of the flags” (“A Guerra das Bandeiras”) on the discussions about the new portuguese national flag in 1910 with pictures of some proposals. From what I remember, there where two fields: those that wanted to keep the traditional blue and white colours, and the ’hard line’ republicans that prevailed. In this last field I think that the proposals were mainly two: red-green flag with shields, armilla, and so on, and ’naked’ red-green flag. In the first field, there where monarchics, that wanted to keep the flag as was before, and a number of people that proposed white-blue flags with the addition of some republican devices.
Jorge Candeias, 13 Aug 1997

Another source is a book that was published as a series in the newspaper PÚBLICO, entitled Século XX (20th century). In the section devoted to the republican revolution in 1910 and the changes in symbolics it brought, it shows 26 flag projects, all seemingly reproductions of contemporary originals.
Jorge Candeias, 21 Mar 2001