THE PORTUGUESE SEABORNE EMPIRE
|
1 INTRODUCTION |
|||
|
2 HERALDRY |
|||
Back to Portugal
|
Introduction |
||||||||
|
The
Portuguese Seaborne Empire was the first global commercial empire in history.
It was the earliest and longest lived of the European colonial empires,
spanning almost six centuries, from the capture of Ceuta in 1415 to the
handover of Macau in 1999. Portuguese
explorers began exploring the coast of Africa in 1419, leveraging the latest
developments in navigation, cartography and maritime technology such as the
caravel, in order that they might find a sea route to the source of the
lucrative spice trade. In 1488, Bartolomeu Dias rounded the Cape of Good
Hope, and in 1498, Vasco da Gama reached India. In 1500, an accidental
landfall on the South American coast by Pedro Álvares Cabral would lead to
the establishment of the colony of Brazil. Over the following decades,
Portuguese sailors continued to explore the coasts and islands of East Asia,
establishing forts and trading posts as they went. By 1571, a string of
outposts connected Lisbon to Nagasaki: the empire had become truly global,
and in the process brought great wealth to Portugal. The
Dutch, at war with the Spaniards and consequently also with the Portuguese
after 1580, were the first to challenge Portuguese hegemony. They were joined
by the English and French during the 17th century. Less organised, and with a
smaller population to draw on, Portugal was unable to defend its position,
and so the empire began its long and gradual decline. The loss of Brazil in
1822, by then Portugal's largest and most profitable colony, at a time when
independence movements were sweeping the Americas, was a blow from which
Portugal and its empire would never recover. The
Scramble for Africa which began in the late 19th century left Portugal with a
handful of colonies on the continent. After World War II, Portugal's
right-wing military dictator, Salazar, desperately tried to keep the
Portuguese Empire intact at a time when other European countries were
beginning to withdraw from their colonies. In 1961 the handful of Portuguese
troops garrisoned in Goa were unable to prevent Indian troops marching into
the colony, but Salazar began a long and bloody war to quell anticolonialist
forces in the African colonies. The unpopular war lasted until the overthrow
of the Portuguese regime in 1974. The new government immediately changed
policy and recognised the independence of all its colonies, including East
Timor, save for Macau, which was eventually returned to China in 1999,
marking the end of the Portuguese overseas empire. The
Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) is the cultural successor
of the Empire.[1]) |
||||||||
|
The Order of Christ In the Portuguese Seaborne Empire the Order
of Christ exercized certain sovereign rights under the patronage of the king
of Portugal. Thus, civil and ecclesiastical power were indissolubily united
in its administration. The Portuguese patronage or Padroado
can be loosely defined as a combination of the rights, privileges and duties
granted by the Papacy to the Crown of Portugal as patron of the Roman
Catholic missions and ecclesiastical establishments in vast regions of
Africa, of Asia, and in Brazil. These rights and duties derived from a series
of Papal Bulls and Briefs, beginning with the Bull Inter cætera of
Calixtus III in 1456 and culminating in the Bull Præcelsæ devotionis
of 1514. In fact, the Portuguese
Padroado Real in the non European world was for long only limited by the similar
rights and duties conferred on the Patronato Real of the Castilian Crown by a
parallel series of Papal Bulls and Briefs promulgated in favour of the
Catholic Kings between 1493 and 1512. In so far as Portugal was concerned, many
of these ecclesiastical privileges had originally been granted to the Order
of Christ. In 1420 the master of the Order of Christ,
Dom Lopo Dias de Sousa, died. On 25 May 1420, Pope Martin V issued a bull
"In Apostolice dignitatis specula", in response to a
petition from King João, naming Prince Henry the administrator of the Order
of Christ. The Order
of Christ was involved with Henry's expeditions of discovery. Henry invested
a considerable part of the Order's revenue in the Discoveries. The
implications are that brothers of the Order colonised Madeira and the
Canaries in 1425, and then the Azores in 1445. After the
first profitable expeditions - from 1441 onwards - African goods filled
Lisbon's markets and swelled the coffers of the order of Christ. Trading
posts were established, defended by the brethren, while the Templar's red
cross continued to sail south. The Order of Christ grew steadily richer.
Henry obtained the Cape Verde islands, and his brethren introduced sugar to
their Madeira estates. In 1454
Pope Nicholas V recognised the claims of Afonso V to all newly discovered
lands on or near the west coast of Africa and forbade all Christians to visit
them without the permission of the King of Portugal. In 1456, Calixtus III
confirmed this in the bull Inter Caetera, and granted to the Order of
Christ spiritual jurisdiction over all the 'islands, towns, ports,
countries and states, from the Capes of Bojador and Nao, throughout all
Guinea, and beyond that southern region as far as the Indies.' The Grand
Prior of the Order would be empowered to nominate incumbents to all benefices
both of secular and of regular clergy, to impose censures and other
ecclesiastical penalties, and to exercise the powers of an Ordinary within
the limits of his jurisdiction. All these regions were declared nullius
diocesis (belonging to no diocese). After
Henry’s death in 1460, governorship of the Order remained in the hands of the
royal family until João III incorporated Mastership of the three Portuguese
Orders (Christ, Avis and Santiago) into the crown. The governors
and directors of the order immediately after Henry's death were:
|
||||||||
|
Dom
Manuel *1469-†1521 Dom Diogo
was stabbed to death by King João II in 1484 for conspiring to overthrow him.
João's cousin D. Manuel, Duke of Beja (soon to become King Manuel I) then
became governor of the order. When
Manuel came to the throne in 1495, he refused to follow João II's will in
passing the mastership of the order to D. Jorge (João's illegitimate son, who
already was master of Santiago and Avis). Instead Manuel sought the other two
masterships for himself. He obtained in 1516 the patronage of the masterships
of all three orders as soon as the masterships became vacant. In 1503 Manuel called a general chapter of
the order to reform the order's rule. Manuel created 37 new commanderies for
those living and serving in North Africa. In a series of bulls beginning in
1514 and ending in 1518, Pope Leo X granted permission to fund many more
commanderies. By the end of King Manuel's reign (1521) the order possessed
454 commanderies, in Portugal, Africa and the Indies |
||||||||
|
|
||||||||
|
. João III
was the successor to King Manuel, both as king and governor of the Order of
Christ. The Order was
divided into two branches, probably in 1522 - one religious under the Pope,
and one civil, under the king, as they remain today. The governors
and directors of the order after João III's death in 1557 were the reigning
monarchs:
In their
dual capacity as kings of Portugal and as ‘perpetual governors and
administrators’of the Order of Christ, Dom Manuel and his successors had the
right of patronage over all ecclesiastical posts, offices, benefices and
livings in the overseas territories confided to the Padroado. They
acted as if the overseas bishops and clergy were, in many ways, simple
functionaries of the state, like viceroyas or governors. They gave them
orders without reference to Rome which was their nominal overlord, controlled
their activities, and often legislated in matters ecclesiastical. They did
the same with their provincials or acting heads of the religious orders
working in the territories of the Padroado. They refused to recognize the
validity of any Papal Briefs, Bulls or Provisions which had not been approved
by the Portuguese Crown and registered with the Regium Placet in the
royal chancery. |
||||||||
|
The
Colonial Empire after 1822 The Constitution
of 29 of Aprtil 1826 stipulates that the territory of the Kingdom of Portugal
and Algarves consists of ARTIGO 2.° O seu
Território o Reino de Portugal e Algarves, e compreende: §1.° - Na
Europa, o Reino de Portugal, que se compõe das Provinciasd do Minho,
Trás-os-Montes, Beira, Estremadura, Alentejo, e Reino do Algarve e das Ilhas
Adjacentes, Madeira, Porto e Açores. § 2.° -
Na África Occidental, Bissau e Cacheu;
na Costa da Mina, o Forte de S. João Baptista de Ajudá, Angola, Benguela, e
suas dependências, Cabinda e Molembo, as Ilhas de Cabo Verde, e as de S. Tomé
e Principe, e suas dependências; na Costa Oriental, Moçambique, Rio Sena,
Sofala, Inhambane, Quelimane, e as Ilhas de Cabo Delagado. § 3.° -
Na Ásia, Salsete, Bardez, Goa, Dão, Diu e os Estabelecimentos de Macau e das
Ilhas Solor e Timor. and in
Chapter I: CAPÍTULO I DA ADMINISTRAÇÃO ARTIGO 132.° A
Administração das Provincias ficará existindo do mesmo modo, que actualmente
se acha, enquanto por Lei não for alterada. The amendment
on the Constitution of 5 of July 1852, provides for a special legislative
status to the provinces overseas: ARTIGO 15.° As
Províncias Ultramarinas poderão ser governadas por Leis especiais, segundo o
erigir a conveniência de cada uma delas. § 1º -
Não estando reunidas as Cortes, o Governo, ouvidas e consultadas as estações
competentes, poderá decretar em Conselho as providência legislativas que
forem julgadas urgentes. § 2° -
Igualmente poderá o Governador Geral de uma Província Ultramarina tomar,
ouvido o seu Conselho de Governo, as providência indispensáveis para acudir a
alguma necessidade tão urgente que não possa esperar pela decisão das Cortes,
ou do Governo. § 3.° -
Em ambos os casos o Governo submeterá às Cortes, logo que se reunirem, as
providências tomadas. § 4.° -
Fica deste modo determinada a disposição do artigo cento e trinta e dois da
Carta Constitucional, relativamente às Províncias Ultramarinas. |
||||||||
|
In
the Portuguese Seaborne Empire we meet insignia of different kinds: First:
The royal coat of arms Second:
The cross of the Order of Christ Third:
The emblem of the Portuguese Empire. These
insignia were combined in different ways which will be described in the
following sections. |
||||||||
|
The royal arms in
the 15th century were the well known arms with the five escutcheons, the
cross of the Order of Aviso and the bordure with the castles. They were
crowned with a crown of five leaves and four pearls. In 1485 the cross
of the order of Aviso was left out. A main change
occurred in 1580 when the coat of arms of Portugal was incorporated into the
royal coat of arms of the spanish Habsburg kings. After the
regaining of sovereignty in 1640 the ancient royal coat of arms was readopted
unchanged. The crown on top was augmented into a modern royal crown with five
leaves, four pearls and five hoops. The royal arms
were changed by royal decree of 13th of May 1816. This version consisted of
an armillary-sphere for Brazil, charged with the ancient arms of Portugal and
crowned with the royal crown. These arms were abandoned in 1822. The royal arms
disappeared after the revolution of 1910. They were replaced by the coat of
arms of the republic of Portugal. |
||||||||
|
|
THE CONGOLESE PADRÃO OF 1482 For the purpose of the exploration and annexation
of the African Westcoast by the Portuguese in the 15th century, Dom João II
gave order to the navigator Diogo Cão to erect a padrão
or boundary-post at certain places. This boundary-post is a reconstruction made
after fragments preserved by the Sociedade
de Geografia de Lisboa, of the
padrão erected on the southern
bank of the river-mouth of the Zaire, called Punto Padrão and today the
northwesternmost point of Angola. The inscription in Portuguese on the
monument reads: IN
THE YEAR 1681 AFTER THE CREATION OF THE WORLD, THE YEAR 1482 AFTER THE BIRTH
OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, THE EXALTED, ILLUSTRIOUS AND POWERFUL KING DOM JOÃO OF PORTUGAL GAVE ORDER TO
DIOGO CÃO, KNIGHT OF HIS HOUSE, TO DISCOVER THIS LAND AND TO ERECT THESE
MEMORIAL PILES. On the die is the crowned coat of arms of King
João II, borne until 1485. It is: Argent, a cross of five escutcheons Azure,
each charged with five roundles Argent in saltire, placed on the cross of the
Order of Aviso andd surrounded by a bordure Gules, charged with seven castles
Or. The crown is a royal crown of five fleurons and four pearls. The die is
surmounted by the latin cross patonce which is the symbol of the religious
branch of the Order of Christ. Å The Padrão
in the Afrika Museum, Tervuren (Belgium). (Foto H.d.V.VI.2000) |
|||||||
|
The Order of Christ The knights of
the predecessor of the Order of Christ, the Order of the Temple, wore after
1130 a white cloak, from 1148 for the noble knights stitched with a red
cross. Certain sources show the cross as a greek cross or crux quadrata,
others show it as a latin cross. On a map of Jerusalem, now in the Royal
Library in The Hague, a knight of the Order is shown with a greek cross on
his pennon and a latin cross on his shield. [2]
The two crosses,
the latin cross symbolizing the religious power of the Order and the greek
cross its temporal power, were maintained for its successor, the Portuguese
Order of Christ. The Order
of Christ was founded in 1317 by King Denis as the successor of the Order of
the Temple, which was dissolved in 1312. The new order received the same
statutes and management of the goods and vassals of this order. In 1319 the
Order of Christ was recognized by Pope John XXII on condition that the Holy
See could also appoint knights. The originally purely spiritual order
gradually became more secular. The grandmasterhood was united under John III
by pope Hadrian VI (1522-'23) with the Portuguese crown. [3] Both crosses were
charged with another, white, cross for difference with the imperial arms of
Portugal. This last was a red cross on a white field because Portugal was
since 1179 de jure a vassal of the Holy See.
Foto NN, Internet The tomb of
Henry the Navigator in the monastery church of Batalha. From
left to right: The arms of the Order of Christ, The arms and strap of the
Order of the Garter, the arms of Henry
the Navigator being Portugal-Aviso with a label of three Azure, each label charged
with three fleurs-de-lys Or. Henry,
who was duke of Viseu and 3rd son of Philippa of Lancaster, was made the
160th Knight of the Garter in 1442. |
||||||||
|
|
The coat of arms
of the Order of Christ is carved on the tomb of Henry the Navigator (†1460),
in the monastery Church of Batalha. In this case the arms are: Argent, a
greek cross patée Gules, charged with a cross Argent. On the arms of the
Order of Christ is a crown similar to the crown on the personal arms of
Prince Henry, duke of Viseu. This means that the arms on the tomb are the
professional arms of the Grandmaster or Governor of the Order who had the
rank of a duke. Towards the end of the 15th century the form of the cross had evoluated
to a very pronounced cross potent with triangular crossbeams. In this form
the cross was depicted on the sails of the caravels of Cabral and Vasco da
Gama on their expeditions to Brazil and the Indies. On flags the cross was
depicted on a square white cloth.[4])
Afterwards the cross of the Order was always depicted in this form. From
about 1522 the equilateral version of the cross was reserved for the royal
branch of the Order. |
|||||||
|
Dom Manuel I With the
grandmastership of Dom Manuel a new coat of arms appears in close association
with the Portuguese possessions in Africa and the Indies. Maybe this coat of
arms replaced the Grandmasters coat of arms with the cross of the Order. It
is for example carved on a padrão erected at Cape Cross in 1485 and it
consists of the centerpiece of the royal coat of arms of Portugal only, that
is to say of the quinas consisting of the five blue shields on a white
field. It is very likely that Dom Manuel used this coat of arms as his arms
in his quality of a Grandmaster of the Order. |
||||||||
|
|
|
|||||||
|
The Padrão of Kaap Kruis. Deutsches Historisches Museum, Berlin. This limestone
pillar was placed by Diogo Cão on Cabo Padrão, now Kaap Kruis, in south west
Africa during his voyage of 1485-1486. On the front-side is a crowned coat of
arms with the Portuguese quinas: a cross of five blue escutcheons
charged with a saltire of five white roundels. On the back is an inscription
in latin, mentioning King Joao III. If the pillar was ever crowned with the
cross of the Order of Christ, this has now disappeared. The coat of arms on the pillar poses some problems
because they are not the royal arms. Very likely it is the coat of arms of D.
Manuel, Duke of Beja, made governor of the Order of Christ in 1484, eleven
years before his accession to the throne, The
Order of Christ had been granted the spiritual jurisdiction over all the 'islands,
towns, ports, countries and states, from the Capes of Bojador and Nao,
throughout all Guinea, and beyond that southern region as far as the Indies'
by pope Calixtus III, in the bull Inter Caetera of 1456. As such the
pillar would be a confirmation of the privileges of the Order in Africa
behind Cape Cross. It makes it probable that the expedition was under the
auspices of the grandmaster of the Order of Christ instead of the king of
Portugal. |
||||||||
|
|
1. On
a picture of D. Manuel from 1515 his ensign bears this symbol on his banner.
As the other symbols the ensign is bearing are the cross of the Order and, as
a crest, the armillary sphere of D. Manuel, we can safely suppose that these
symbols are the symbols of the Grandmaster of the Order. |
|||||||
|
Gallica BNF Manuel I on Horseback,
showing him as a Governor of the Order of Christ, about 1515. The insignia of the Order are carried by his
ensign: the banner, the crest consisting of the armillary-sphere, and the
cross of the Order on two round shields: Argent, a cross patée Gules, voided
Argent.
Lid of a pill- or
ointment box Æ 5,5 cm Showing the achievement of Dom Mauuel as a grandmaster of the Ordem de Cristo, the cross a latin cross Private property |
||||||||
|
2. Some governors of (Portuguese) India of the
sixteenth century quartered or augmented their personal arms with the quinas.
Known are the arms of Francisco de Almeida (1505-1509), Alfonso de Albuquerque (1515-1519) and Martim
Afonso de Sousa (1542-1545). 3. Diogo Homem, on his maps of America, Africa and
the Indies of 1558, depicts a gonfanon of the quinas and the cross of
the Order in Mombasa and the Terra Incognita of the later Rio de la Plata
region in America. This gonfanon is to be considered the gonfanon of the
Grandmaster of the Order of Christ. A quinas on an orange cloth is
ascribed to the Portuguese posessions in Brasil. |
||||||||
|
|
||||||||
|
|
|
|||||||
|
Gonfanon of Mombasa and Argentina, and below, the flags of Brasil and Congo.
After Diogo Homem, 1558. After the assignment of Portuguese
sovereignty to the Spanish king in 1580 these emblems became obsolete. |
||||||||
|
Lower margin
of ‘The Port of Lisbon in the Early
16th Century’ Crónica do rei D. Afonso
Henriques. Duarte Calvão Illuminated Manuscript on parchment
Frontispiece, early 16th century 41.5 x 29.5 x 9 cm.Cascais, M.B.C.C.G. Inv.
14 |
||||||||
|
Portuguese Triumphal Arch. In the time of Archduke
Ernst of Austria (†1595) by Pieter van der Borcht 1594-‘95 From: Joannes Bochius, Descriptio publicae gratulationis,
spectaculorum et ludorum, in adventu Sereniss. Principis Ernesti Archiducis
Austriae, Ex Officina Plantiniana, Antwerpen 1595, p. 75. Collection of
the Rijksmuseum Research Library,
signature: 325 A 9.[5]
|
||||||||
|
The Orb and the Armillary Sphere
The armillarysphere in the Boerhaave Museum, Leiden
(NL) In the
Roman Empire of the Carolingians and their successors of the Holy Roman
Empire an orb was one of the imperial regalia symbolizing the dominion over
the world. When crested with a latin cross the religious dominion was meant
and crested with a square cross the secular dominion of the world. As most of
the rulers in Europe could not pretend to rule the world in any sense, the
use of the globus cruciger was restricted to the successors of the Roman emperor. In the
late 12th century King Alfonso I was represented with a sword and an orb and
in the early14th century the kings of Portugal were represented in a Spanish
manuscript with crown, sword or sceptre and a golden orb carried in the same
way as the Holy Roman emperor did. [6] Certainly
from the end of the 15th century, after the discoveries of parts of the world
by Portuguese seamen exploring the adjoining ocean and African continent
thought to be a potential new Portuguese Empire, the orb was replaced in
Portugal by an armillary sphere, a quasi orb or globus that relates to
Portugal itself and its trade empire that was built up during that period.
The symbol of this empire became a armillary-sphere, consisting of a
Ptolemeic model of the Universe, with: The equinoctial, the ecliptic, the
tropic of Cancer, the tropic of Capricorn, the Arctic Circle, the Antarctic
Circle, the equinoctial colure and the solstitial colure. The earth in the
centre and the sun and moon circling around it.
Tapestry with the Portuguese
Royal Coat of Arms before 1485 Brussels, late 15th century,
Cotton, wool and silk Over all measures: H. 155 Î W. 530 cm Location: Sintra Castle,
Corridor of the Coat of Arms Room [7] A
tapestry of the verdure or millefleurs type, with a dark blue
background, decorated with floral features covering the entire field and
interlaced with ribbons. A royal commission, at the centre is the (ancient)
Portuguese royal coat of arms with the shield topped by the crest with the
winged serpent (dragon) of the House of Avis. The four corners contain a
depiction of the armillary sphere, the symbol of King Manuel I.
Left part
of the tapestry with armillary spheres Æ As the coat of arms in the middle
of the tapestry is of the model with the cross of Avis abolished in 1485, the
armillary spheres on the tapestry may be an impresa of John II, probably meant to be the symbol of the
department of the crown managing the commerce and exploration in Africa
(since 1482) or of the explorations of Henry the Navigator in the Atlantic
and the West-African coast. The Armillary-sphere was or became the
personal emblem (Impresa) of King
Manuel I which he presumably introduced in connection with the voyage of
Vasco da Gama to India in the years 1497-'98, This voyage in a certain sense
constituted the final piece of the Portuguese expansion on the African coast
in the years 1416 until 1488. On a picture of the Armillary-sphere of Manuel from
the beginning of the sixteenth century there is a celestial globe on which
the equator and the tropics are indicated around the earth and a band
representing the path of the sun. On this are the words "O SPERA MVMDI" ("The World
Globe", perhaps a wordplay with "The Hope of the World"). The
whole is mounted on an axis through the poles, which stands on a turned foot. From the
beginning of the 16th century, a white and red shield can be considered as a
national arm, with an armillary sphere in the middle. This weapon can be
found in the Crónica do rei D. Afonso V de Portugal but this seems to be the
only place where it can be found. It can therefore also be the personal
weapon of Manuel I during whose government the chronicle originated. Afterwards,
the armillary sphere placed on a white flag can be regarded as a national
arms. Certainty in this respect can only be found in flag books from the 18th
century in which the Armillary sphere is depicted alternately in gold and
blue on a white canvas.
The coat of arms of Portugal
consisting of the crowned royal coat of arms and angels for supporters,
between two coats of arms that can be regarded as the national coat of arms:
parted per pale of silver and red with over all a golden armillary sphere. From
the Crónica do rei D. Afonso V de
Portugal. At the top of this sheet ships with a red christ cross on a
white flag. The (celestial) globe was placed on the
reverse side of coins after the restoration of Portuguese independence. The
number of rings was extended with both polar circles and a number of
meridians. Instead of the sphere standing on a pedestal, it was placed on the
cross of the Order of Christ. This cross is a red, claw cross, voided white.
The
armillary-sphere was depicted as a globe with meridians and parallels of
latitude, the equinox and the world-globe in the middle, standing on a
pedestal. This symbol was placed on the imperial arms and the imperial flag
of Portugal. The imperial arms were parted per pale Gules and Argent, charged
with a golden armillary-sphere. The imperial flag was parted per bend or
parted per bend sinister of white and red with the armillary-sphere in the
middle. |
||||||||
|
THE PADRÃO OF JACATRA / BATAVIA,
1522.
Portuguese padrão to the memory of the Portuguese-Pajajaran
treaty, August 1522. Discovered 1918 in the Prinsenstraat in Batavia (Jakarta).
The Portuguese armillary-sphere and an unreadable inscription beginning with
LOS POR….. |
||||||||
|
|
||||||||
|
In the 16th century
with the Order of Christ under the Governorship of the King of Portugal expanding
in America and the Indies the flags of the Portuguese empire showed the
symbols of the king, the empire and the Order of Christ as can be seen in the
(undated) picture above.[8] The banner of the
king was identical to the royal arms. The banner of the
Portuguese Empire was parted per bend or per bend sinister of white and red
with the imperial symbol in the center. The banner of the
Order of Christ was white with the cross of the order in the center. These flags seem to
have vanished in the time of the Iberian Union. |
||||||||
|
|
In this time
(1580-1640) coins were minted with the piles of Hercules on the obverse,
being the symbol of the Spanish Empire, and the cross of the Order of Christ between
the castle of Castile and the lion of Leon, quarterly, on the reverse,
probably meant to be the symbol of the Spanish-Portuguese empire of the Order
of Christ.After the regaining of sovereignty in 1640, there were two
Portuguese flags. The first showed the crowned royal arms on a white cloth.
The second was also white but with the cross of the Order of Christ, charged
with an armillary-sphere. This flag is called the ‘jack’ and ‘white ensign’
and is clearly meant to be used by warships and Portugues troops. These flags
were parallelled by coins minted in 1640 and after, showing the royal coat of
arms on the obverse and the cross-and-armillary-sphere on the reverse. |
|||||||
|
|
|
|||||||
í
We are informed about the flags of independent Portugal
after 1640, by flag charts from the end of the 17th century. The oldest one I
could consult is the notebook of William Downman of 1685-1686. [9])
He gives the royal flag called ‘Portuguese Standard’, and
a flag with the cross of the Order charged with the armillary sphere, called
the ‘jack’.
|
||||||||
The second source is the flag chart published by B.
Lens in about 1700.[10]) On this chart the same flags are given but a
merchant flag is added:
|
||||||||
The third version of the flags of Portugal has become the
generally accepted version, albeit the symbol on the jack was obviously
misinterpreted. We find this configuration of flags on the flag plates
published by P. Mortier, Amsterdam 1700-1701.
|
||||||||
|
|
|
|||||||
On a flag chart from the middle of the 18th century the
first flag is annotated with: Pav: de Portugal touchant la decouverte du Nouv:
Monde. (Portuguese Flag for the
discovery of the New World), the second flag with: Pav: de Portugal pour convertir
les Americains (Portuguese Flag for the
conversion of the Americans) and this may be the reason why these flags are
associated with Brasil.
|
||||||||
From this we may conclude that the correct version of the
Poruguese jack and “white flag” showed the cross of the Order charged with a
modernized version of the armillary sphere, like this:
|
||||||||
THE
PORTUGUESE COLONIAL EMPIRE
Império Colonial Portugués
|
||||||||
As a consequence of the greater autonomy of the colonies
for each one of them a heraldic achievement was adopted by portaria nº. 8098 of 6th of May 1935.
The common part of these achievements was an
armillary-sphere, crowned with a mural crown of five towers, on each tower
the shield of the Order of Christ and a red armillary-sphere.
The armillary-sphere is charged with a shield parted per pale
and enté en point. The first quarter is charged with the quinas of the
five blue shields and the point is barry wavy of ten pieces Vert and Argent.
On the second is the special symbol for the colony. On a listel is the
formula “COLÓNIA PORTUGUESA DE ……”, in 1951 changed into: “PROVÍN. PORTUGUESA DE …..”
After the liquidation of the Empire in 1975 the single
remaining settlement of Macau was called GOVERNO DE MACAU
A sculpture on the Portuguese
Overseas Bank (Banco Emissor no Ultramar) in Lisbon. representing
the achievement of Portugal surrounded by the coats of arms of the provinces |
||||||||
Fifteen years after the beginning of Salazar’s presidency
and eight years before the collapse of the Portuguese Overseas Empire, the
heraldist F.P. de Almeida Langhans designed an achievement for the Poruguese
Overseas Empire which was recognized by the Overseas General Agency. It was
as folows:
|
||||||||
|
|
||||||||
© Hubert de Vries, 2008.12.10
Updated 2009-10-01; 2018-01-13; 2018-12-25; 2019-03-11
Heraldry of the World