Atlantic Ocean

The Madeiran flag design is heavily based on that of the flag of FLAMA, a right-wing terrorist paramilitary organisation from Madeira, whose main goal was to achieve Madeira’s independence from mainland Portugal after the Carnation Revolution.

The FLAMA flag is composed of a blue-yellow-blue vertical triband, and in the yellow sections there are five small shields. The blue represents the environment that characterizes the island and represents nobility and serenity. The yellow mirrors the climate of the Archipelago, a symbol of richness, strength, faith and purity. The five shields, which are also present in the Portuguese flag stand for the five wounds of Christ (Portuguese: Cinco Chagas de Cristo) when crucified.

By decree of the 18th October 1830, the Regency Council established a new National Flag, whose field would be blue and white, with the Portuguese Coat of arms in the middle. The blue and white had already been adopted as the national colours of Portugal in 1821, with the justification that those were the heraldic colours of the nation since Count Henry of Portugal. At that time they were however only applied to the national cockade and not to the flag, which remained white with the Portuguese coat of arms in the middle. The first example of the new blue and white flag was embroidered by Mary II herself and raised for the first time at the Fortress of Angra. Initially, the new flag was only used at the Azores islands, which were then the only parts of the Portuguese territory controlled by the Liberals. The new Portuguese flag was so born with a close connection to the Azores.

His eventual choice a few days later of a Nordic cross was clearly based on the tradition established by the other Nordic countries, Denmark and Sweden. This cross represents Christianity. The red and blue colours also explicitly referred to the same two countries, former and present union partners. It was clearly understood by all who took part in the flag discussions locally, in the press or in parliament what those colours denoted. A predominantly red flag had many adherents among those who were attached to the union with Denmark or to its flag, which for centuries had also been that of Norway. Others, who saw Denmark as an oppressor, favoured the blue colour associated with the new Swedish dynasty which was seen as more receptive of Norwegian ambitions of autonomy. Consequently, most of the other flag proposals on the agenda had either red or blue as the predominant colour, depending on the political preferences of the proposers.