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Saturday 14 January 2017

A new flag for my collection

Over the years I have collected a number of flags from the various countries that I have visited, and during our last cruise I was able to add the flag of the Azores to my collection.


The symbols used on the flag reflect the history of this autonomous region of Portugal:
  • Blue and white were the traditional national colours used by the Portuguese, and are a reminder of the role played by the islands during The Liberal Wars.*
  • The Azores are known as the Açores in Portuguese, the name given to the islands because the goshawk (açor in Portuguese) was supposed to be the most common bird found there. This was in fact incorrect as the early explorers misidentified a type of buzzard which lived on the islands as being a goshawk.
  • The arms in the top corner of the flag are the lesser arms of Portugal.
  • The nine stars represent the nine islands of the Azores which are: São Miguel, São Jorge, Terceira, Santa Maria, Graciosa, Faial, Pico, Flores, and Corvo.

* The Liberal Wars (which were also known as the Portuguese Civil War, the War of the Two Brothers, or Miguelite War) took place between 1828 and 1834, and were fought between the progressive constitutionalists (led by Dom Pedro, the eldest son of the King of Portugal) and authoritarian absolutists (led by Dom Miguel, the king's younger son) over the royal succession. The Azores was one of the strongholds of the constitutionalists.

10 comments:

  1. Interesting flag history. A place I would enjoy visiting after seeing your wonderful travelogues.

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    Replies
    1. Jonathan Freitag,

      Flags are something that are always worth studying. They often tell one a lot about a place's history.

      I think that the Azores and Madiera are well worth visiting if you can get there. Lots to see and the people are very welcoming.

      All the best,

      Bob

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  2. You could do your own blog on flags, but I think Sheldon from 'Big Bang Theory' already has his Youtube slot 'Fun with Flags'. Seriously, you are both very fortunate to be able to take all these trips to places of real historical interest.

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    Replies
    1. Stephen Briddon,

      A blog about flags? It's certainly an interesting idea ... but I'll leave that to someone else to do!

      My wife and I decided that once we were retired we would go to as many places as we could whilst we were still able to. No 'one day we'll ...' for us!

      All the best,

      Bob

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    2. We have exactly the same philosophy. We would sooner bank memories and make sure our girls (Becky and Sarah btw) get to see the world outside the PNW. So far they have done the U.K. twice with trips to London, York, Leeds (Tower Armories of course) and Bath. We also cruised along the western med the other year. In addition the lucky little beggars have tripped to the West Indies. Yes, travel is the ticket to say I have lived.

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    3. Stephen Briddon,

      I know of too many people who put things off again and again ... and ended up never doing what they had planned to do.

      It sounds as if your two daughters are seeing more of the world than their contemporaries are ... and that is no bad thing. To actually experience what other countries are like - however brief that experience might be - gives one a much better understanding than reading or seeing TV programmes about them.

      All the best,

      Bob

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  3. That has really got me thinking, liberal wars, time for some research! If only there was a suitable set of simple grid based rules available for the 19th century. Thanks for sharing Bob.

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    Replies
    1. Chris Platt,

      I'm already ahead of you, and will be writing a blog entry about the Liberal War tomorrow!

      From what I can gather the battles featured between five and fifteen thousand soldiers per side, and my PORTABLE WARGAME rules would be an ideal set of rules to use to refight them.

      All the best,

      Bob

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    2. As I have just finished teaching a unit on the 'Atlantic Revolutions' it always nags me about how exactly these fellows start one. History always glosses over the actual details. For example, where does one get an army, and are they necessary? Does one have to formally announce a rift or is it just a given? So many questions.

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    3. Stephen Briddon,

      Tomorrow's blog entry might shine a little light on how the Liberal War started. Both sides seem to have been able to gather regular troops to their respective banners, and these were supplemented by volunteers from Portugal and foreign countries ... although I suspect that the latter might have 'volunteered' for financial gain or because they were out of work ex-professional soldiers.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete

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