Flag
The flag of the state of Minas Gerais is the oldest one adopted in Brazil that was devised by Brazilians. It was remembered by the Republican Party, which opposed the Brazilian Imperial Government, and adopted unofficially as the flag of the state. It has been the official state flag since 1946.
The flag's Latin inscription, "Libertas quæ sera tamen", is the motto of the "Inconfidencia Mineira," which fought for Brazilian independence from Portugal. It means "Freedom albeit late". It is taken from Virgil's Eclogues, Eclogue 1. The triangle is said to represent God as a Trinity and the three ideals of the French Revolution: Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité, but as Masons influenced independence movements throughout America, the geometric figure on the flag is a clear homage to them. The colors were chosen for their revolutionary meaning: white represents the desire to forming a peaceful nation, discarding all colonial institutions, and red symbolises the flame of liberty and/or the blood of Inconfidencia martyrs, such as Tiradentes, or "The Dentist" revolutionary.
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Famous quotes containing the word flag:
“There’s an enduring American compulsion to be on the side of the angels. Expediency alone has never been an adequate American reason for doing anything. When actions are judged, they go before the bar of God, where Mom and the Flag closely flank His presence.”
—Jonathan Raban (b. 1942)
“Hath not the morning dawned with added light?
And shall not evening call another star
Out of the infinite regions of the night,
To mark this day in Heaven? At last, we are
A nation among nations; and the world
Shall soon behold in many a distant port
Another flag unfurled!”
—Henry Timrod (1828–1867)
“Our flag is red, white and blue, but our nation is a rainbow—red, yellow, brown, black and white—and we’re all precious in God’s sight.”
—Jesse Jackson (b. 1941)