Flag of the Azores 5030039 204916808 2008-04-11T13:43:57Z Good Olfactory 6454287 Removed category "Azores"; Quick-adding category "Azorean culture" (using [[WP:HOTCAT|HotCat]]) [[Image:Flag of the Azores.svg|right|thumb|250px|The Flag of the Azores]] The '''flag of the [[Azores]]''' is similar to the [[flag of Portugal]] used from 1830-1910, except that the [[coat of arms of Portugal|Portuguese coat of arms]] has been removed and been replaced by the [[Goshawk]] (in Portuguese: ''Açor''), the symbol of the Azores. ==Colours== Blue and white have always been the traditional colours of the Portuguese Nation, first present in the coat of arms of [[Henry, Count of Portugal]]. During the height of the [[Portuguese Civil War]], in the early 19th century, the Azores served as an important Liberal stronghold, with the prominent [[Duke of Terceira]] struggling against the absolutists led by [[Miguel I of Portugal|Dom Miguel]]. The colours of the flag were thusly adopted from the Portuguese liberal flag, as to demonstrate the Azores' important role in the establishment of a constitutional monarchy in Portugal. It should be relevant to remark that the current flag of the Azores was mostly based on the flag first employed by the [[Azores Liberation Front]], a right-wing independentist movement which appeared after the [[Carnation Revolution]], out of the fear of Portugal becoming a Soviet puppet-state. According to the organisation, blue and white stood for Portuguese classical liberalism, as opposed to the "totalitarian socialist forces" that would dominate the country in the mid-70's. ==Symbolism== The name of the archipelago comes from the [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] word ''açor'', meaning goshawk, because it was supposed to be a common bird at the time of the discovery. However these birds never existed on the islands, they actually were a local subspecies of the buzzard (''Buteo buteo''), that was erroneously identified as goshawks by the first explorers. The eagle on the flag is intended to be the celebration of that historical mistake. The nine stars stand for the nine islands of the archipelago, while the Portuguese lesser arms are present in the top left corner of the flag. ==See also== *[[Coat of arms of the Azores]] *[[Hino dos Açores|Hymn of the Azores]] {{Flag of Europe}} [[Category:Flags of Portugal|Azores]] [[Category:Azorean culture]] [[de:Flagge der Azoren]] [[el:Σημαία των Αζορών]] [[es:Bandera de las Azores]] [[fr:Drapeau des Açores]] [[hu:Az Azori-szigetek zászlaja]] [[nl:Vlag van de Azoren]] [[no:Azorenes flagg]] [[pl:Flaga Azorów]] [[pt:Bandeira dos Açores]]