Pedro Álvares Cabral's landing on the Brazilian coast in April 1500 opens three centuries of Portuguese colonization — but Brazil's own story soon runs strange: when Napoleon's armies invaded Portugal in 1807, the entire Portuguese royal court fled across the Atlantic and set up the seat of empire in Rio de Janeiro, the only time a European colonial power actually governed from inside its own colony. In 1815 that arrangement was made formal, with colonial Brazil elevated to a co-equal kingdom alongside Portugal itself.
When independence came in 1822, Brazil took a path no neighbor followed: it stayed a monarchy, under Pedro I and then Pedro II, while Spanish South America fractured into republics around it. Not until 1889 did a republic finally arrive — and the flag adopted that year carries a genuinely documented detail: its 27 white stars reproduce the exact configuration of the night sky over Rio de Janeiro on 15 November 1889, the day the republic was proclaimed, each star standing for a state or federal district and the constellation updated as Brazil's internal map grew, most recently in 1992.
Scope of this page: the lands of present-day Brazil, c. 1500–present, five entries from pre-contact indigenous nations through colony, accidental co-equal kingdom, independent empire, and republic. Brazil's federal states have been added and adjusted over time (most recently in 1992), but that is a change of internal composition within one continuous republic, not a governing split, so — consistent with this atlas's practice of only mapping genuine internal partitions — this page carries no internal-partition map. Part of a larger atlas — see the linked pages at the bottom.
One territory, five flags
Brazil's own real border, traced whole — federal states have shifted internally over time, but that is a change of composition within one continuous country, not a governing split. Press play, or drag the slider.
Why no internal split. From Portuguese colonization through the accidental co-equal kingdom, the independent empire, and the republic, every era here governed the same territory as one piece — consistent with this atlas's practice of only mapping genuine internal partitions, this page shows no internal split.
Real traced border, no internal partition.
How we know this. 4 of 5 eras on this page carry an evidence panel (4 attested). Only the ones marked attested are confirmed by the sources named under them; where sources disagree or a claim could not be confirmed, the panel says so. Eras without a panel have not been looked at yet.
green field, gold rhombus, blue globe with 27 stars — unchanged since 1889 (last star update 1992)
1889 – present
Federative Republic of Brazil
RepublicDeodoro da FonsecaSecular (no state religion)
Migration & conquest:Immigration: Japanese, Italian & Levantine settlers (1889–1930s)
Who & why: a military coup led by Marshal Deodoro da Fonseca deposes Pedro II on 15 November 1889 and proclaims the republic, ending 67 years of monarchy. The 20th century that follows is turbulent — the Vargas era of the 1930s–40s, then a military dictatorship from 1964 to 1985 — but through all of it the republican flag itself never changes, so this single entry spans the whole span from proclamation to today.
What it represents: green field (echoing the old imperial green), gold rhombus, and a blue celestial globe bearing 27 white five-pointed stars in the exact arrangement of the sky over Rio de Janeiro on the night of the proclamation, one star per state and the Federal District, plus the motto "Ordem e Progresso" (Order and Progress), drawn from Auguste Comte's Positivist slogan.
Attestedhow we know this
Wikipedia says a provisional flag inspired by the US flag flew from 15 to 19 November 1889 until Deodoro da Fonseca vetoed it, that Decree No. 4 of 19 November 1889 legally replaced the monarchy's flag, that Raimundo Teixeira Mendes, Miguel Lemos, Manuel Pereira Reis and Décio Villares designed the new one, that the 1889 flag had 21 stars, that stars were added on 21 April 1960 (Guanabara), 30 May 1968 (Acre) and under Law No. 8,421 of 11 May 1992, and that Law No. 5,700 of 1 September 1971 sets the construction. FOTW says Decree No. 4 of 19 November 1889 established the basic design, that Benjamin Constant prepared the decree, that the sphere depicts Rio's sky on 15 November 1889, that the original had 21 stars, and that Law 5443 of 28 May 1968 modified the flag.
Not established: The sources disagree about Law 8421: FOTW dates it 1972 in one place and 1992 in another, and Wikipedia's body says it added four stars in one section and six in another. FOTW does not cover the 1960 change.
Paint guide
Proportions7:10, official since the 1889/1992 flag laws.
LayoutGreen field, centered gold rhombus, blue globe with 27 stars and white motto band, star pattern last revised 1992.
Green#009C3B
Yellow#FFDF00
Blue#002776
White#F4EFE1
Empire flag — armillary sphere and imperial crown replace the republic's stars-and-motto globe
Migration & conquest:Immigration: Italian & German settlers; continued enslaved-African trade (to c. 1850)
Ruling house:House of Braganza
Who & why: Prince Pedro, regent of Brazil, declares independence from Portugal on 7 September 1822 on the banks of the Ipiranga (the "Grito do Ipiranga") and is crowned Pedro I, Emperor of Brazil. He abdicates in 1831 in favor of his five-year-old son, who reigns as Pedro II from 1840 until the 1889 republican coup. Uniquely among Brazil's South American neighbors — all of which broke from Spain as republics — independent Brazil kept its monarchy for 67 years.
What it represents: green field for the House of Braganza (Pedro's dynasty) and gold rhombus for the House of Habsburg (via his wife, Empress Leopoldina), with a blue armillary sphere — a navigational device tied to Portugal's maritime past — ringed by 19 stars for the empire's provinces and topped with the imperial crown.
Attestedhow we know this
Wikipedia says Pedro I's decree of 18 September 1822 marks the independent Kingdom's flag, that Debret designed the royal standard that became the imperial flag (citation needed), that green stood for the House of Braganza and yellow for the House of Habsburg, that the first imperial flag is captioned as having 19 stars, and that Law No. 704 of 29 August 1853 added a 20th star for Paraná. FOTW says Brazilian flag historians attribute the lozenge design to Debret, that Pedro signed three decrees on 18 September 1822 including one creating the green-and-yellow cockade, and that the imperial flag carried an armillary sphere as its central charge.
Not established: The star count changed within this era (19 stars, then 20 in 1853, and more later), so the single drawing cannot be right for all of 1822–1889.
Paint guide
ProportionsNo single fixed ratio maintained throughout; shown at 3:2.
LayoutGreen field, gold rhombus, blue armillary sphere with a ring of stars, imperial crown above (simplified here).
Green#009C3B
Yellow#FFDF00
Blue#002776
simplified Portuguese royal banner — Brazil had no separate flag of its own in this period
1815 – 1822
United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves
Kingdom, in unionJohn VIRoman Catholic (state religion)
Migration & conquest:Immigration: Portuguese royal court & nobility (1808)
Ruling house:House of Braganza
Who & why: when Napoleon's forces invaded Portugal in 1807, the Portuguese royal family and court fled across the Atlantic and, by 1808, were governing the empire from Rio de Janeiro — a genuinely unusual reversal, the only case of a European colonial power's own capital operating out of its colony. In 1815 King John VI formalized this by elevating Brazil from a colony to a kingdom co-equal with Portugal itself, joined under one crown as the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves.
What it represents: Brazil was raised to a kingdom united with Portugal and the Algarves in 1815. Wikipedia and Flags of the World both say a law of 1816 gave Brazil its own arms and ensign of a gold armillary sphere on a blue field, and Flags of the World dates the flag of the united kingdom to 1816-1822; the page's earlier statement that Brazil had no flag of its own is therefore not supported by the sources read, and the simplified Portuguese royal banner drawn here stands only for the united kingdom's flag.
Attestedhow we know this
Wikipedia: Brazil was raised to a kingdom united with Portugal and the Algarves in 1815, and a charter of 1816 gave Brazil arms of a gold armillary sphere on a blue field. FOTW (Colonial Flags of Brazil): the flag of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves was used 1816-1822; the 1816 law quoted gives the Brazilian Kingdom 'a like ensign, a gold armillary sphere in a blue field', which FOTW calls the Brazilian flag from then, while the united kingdom's flag was a 'union jack' of the Portuguese empire.
Not established: Neither source describes the united kingdom's flag in words here; the page's claim that Brazil had no flag of its own is contradicted - an armillary-sphere ensign for Brazil was decreed in 1816.
Paint guide
ProportionsNo fixed Brazilian ratio — no separate Brazilian flag existed.
LayoutPortuguese royal banner (simplified approximation): blue and white bands with a stylized central arms device.
Blue#002776
White#F4EFE1
Gold#FFDF00
Portuguese royal arms approximation — no single fixed colonial banner is attested throughout this span
Ruling house:House of Aviz (Portugal)House of Habsburg (Iberian Union)House of Braganza
Who & why: Pedro Álvares Cabral lands on the Brazilian coast in April 1500 and claims the territory for the Portuguese crown. Over the following three centuries, Portugal builds a colonial economy first on sugar and later on gold and diamonds, run under royal charters and later direct crown administration — a single, continuous Portuguese-speaking colonial track, in contrast to the Spanish colonial administrations that produced every other country in this hub.
What it represents: no single fixed flag flew over colonial Brazil for the whole 315-year span. The sources read list several: the Order of Christ banner (a cross, usually red) hoisted from the first landings (Flags of the World), a green-and-white maritime flag used by Portuguese merchant ships before 1692 and a white merchant flag with a golden armillary sphere from 1692 (Wikipedia), and, in the Dutch-held north-east in 1630-54, the Dutch West India Company's flag. The approximate emblem drawn here is not any one of these.
Attestedhow we know this
Wikipedia: Portuguese merchant ships to Brazil before 1692 used a green-and-white maritime flag linked to the House of Braganza (citing the Cruzeiros National Association), and a new merchant flag of 1692 had a white field and a golden armillary sphere (citation needed). FOTW (Colonial Flags of Brazil): the Order of Christ banner (a cross, usually red) was the banner hoisted in the Portuguese territories from the first landing; the Iberian Union 1580-1640; the Dutch West India Company's flag used as the local flag of Dutch Brazil (1630-54, ended 1661); the Principality of Brazil's flag after 1645, which a contributor says was the heir's personal flag and probably never flew there.
Not established: Neither source gives one colonial banner for the whole 1500-1815 span; the page's statement that none exists is consistent with them, but 'variants of the Portuguese royal arms' is not what they list (Order of Christ cross, a green-and-white maritime flag, the 1692 armillary flag, and the Dutch company flag).
Paint guide
ProportionsN/A — no fixed colonial flag; Portuguese royal ensigns varied across the period.
LayoutApproximate Portuguese royal arms motif on a plain field, standing in for a variable, unfixed colonial banner.
White#F4EFE1
Blue#002776
placeholder maroon field — pre-contact era, no flag survives
to 1500
Pre-colonial indigenous peoples
No unified polityNo single ruler documentedDiverse indigenous belief systems
Who & why: before European contact, the territory now called Brazil was home to a wide diversity of indigenous nations — Tupi and Guaraní peoples along the coast and in the interior, along with many other distinct groups across the Amazon basin and beyond — organized into villages, kinship networks, and regional alliances rather than any single overarching state.
What it represents: no unified polity existed to fly a single flag, and no fixed heraldic banner is documented for any of these nations individually. Shown here honestly blank rather than invented.
Paint guide
ProportionsN/A — no attested flag.
Reading the tags
No unified polity — diverse nations, no single crown
Colony — administered under a foreign crown, no separate flag
Kingdom, in union — co-equal kingdom sharing a crown
Empire, independent — sovereign monarchy under its own crown
Republic — sovereign, no monarch
Leader — the named ruler most associated with the era's start
State religion — the official/established faith, not the population's
Find the records
Family history research for Brazil lives in a different project, Record Atlas, which maps which archive actually holds the paper for a given place and era.