Flag of the Azores

The Azores is a region of Portugal with the status of autonomy. They are located in the archipelago of the same name in the central Atlantic Ocean. There is no exact information about the time of their discovery. The total area of the territory is 2322 km2, with a population of 248.8 thousand people.

This is what the modern flag of the Azores looks like:

History of the flag

The first maps and atlases drawn by Italians and Spaniards, with the Azores marked on them, appeared in the 13th-14th centuries. By the mid-15th century colonization of the territory began, first by the Spaniards and then by France and Flanders. In the 17th century, the Azores became a center on the trade routes of America, Asia and Europe. The islands became an autonomous region of Portugal in 1976.

The current flag of Azores has some similarities with the Portuguese flag of the period 1830-1911. The difference is that the Portuguese flag is depicted without the crown in the upper left corner, but instead, in the center of the cloth, there is a hawk – the symbol of the archipelago.

Description of the flag of the Azores

After the revolutionary events of 1911, Portugal abandoned the white and blue background. Instead, a red-green combination was used. However, on the flag of the Azores the former coloration was retained as a symbol and evidence of belonging to the metropolis.

The dimensions of the flag relate to each other in proportions as 2 to 3. The vertical stripes of blue and white are 2/5 and 3/5 respectively. The blue part is located closer to the side of the stem mount.

The Portuguese coat of arms without the crown is located on the blue part of the cloth in the upper corner. On the border of blue and white is a drawing of a flying hawk in yellow, which is considered the symbol of the Azores. Along the arc from one wing of the bird to the other wing are nine yellow stars.

According to legend, the Portuguese discoverers of the Azores reached the islands by the flight of birds returning to their nests.

Flag colors

The flag of the Azores has three main colors: blue, white and yellow. In addition to these, red is also used to represent the coat of arms of Portugal.

Meaning of colors and flag symbol

The white-blue (blue) color is considered traditional for Portugal.

The nine stars on the cloth represent the nine islands of the archipelago. Some of them are uninhabited. The bird (hawk or kite) is considered to represent the territory.

Interesting facts about the flag

A separatist paramilitary group, fighting for the independence of the territory, began to operate in the Azores in the mid-70s of the 20th century. This organization had its own flag with similarities to the official symbol of the Azores. On a similar blue and white background is a flying kite, and under it nine stars.

General information about the Azores

Map of the Azores