Coat of arms of the colonies of Portugal

The coat of arms of Portugal and its overseas provinces on the facade of the Banco Nacional Ultramarino in Lisbon .

Colonies of Portugal in the 20th century with the year of the loss

On June 8, 1935, all of Portugal's colonies received their own coat of arms , the design of which was uniform.

1935 to 1975

All signs were divided into three parts:

In the first field there are five blue shields on silver, each with five silver coins ( quinas ) that form a cross; the central element of the coat of arms of Portugal .

The second field was varied for the individual colonies.

In the third field there are five green waves on silver.

The coats of arms listed here were also used in a large version of the coats of arms by the respective colonial governments. It consisted of the shield in a golden armillary sphere with a crown of five towers, four shields with the cross of the Order of Christ and five small armillary spheres on the towers and a banner saying "Government of" ( Governo de ) and the name of the colony.

In the banner of the large coats of arms from 1935, the official name of the colony was in each case, starting with "Colónia Portuguesa". In 1951 the colonies were converted into overseas provinces . Accordingly, the official name in the banner began with “Provín. Portuguesa ".

location	Large coat of arms (1935–1951)	Large coat of arms (1951–1975)	Small coat of arms	colony	Description of the second field
				Angola ( Portuguese West Africa )	On purple an elephant in gold and a zebra .
				Cape Verde	Green with three waves in silver. On it a black caravel with white sail and gold decorations.
				Portuguese Guinea	Black with the golden scepter of King Alfonso V, the African , whose tip is adorned with the head of a Moor .
				Portuguese India	Gold with a black mill wheel and a red tower.
				Macau	Blue with a golden dragon holding a quina . This version of the coat of arms shows a banner with the inscription "Government of Macao" and the brick crown with five towers, the symbol of the capital of a Portuguese overseas province .
				Mozambique ( Portuguese East Africa )	Silver, with a green bundle of arrows tied with a red ribbon. They stand for Saint Sebastian , as the first fort on the Ilha de Moçambique was called São Sebastião de Moçambique .
				Sao Tome and Principe	Red with a gold wheel with a water mill axis and 44 water drops.
				Portuguese Timor	The field was confessed eight times in silver / black with a silver-black lily cross , in the center of the cross a quina . It is the cross of the Dominicans who founded the first Portuguese settlement on Timor .

Before 1935

coat of arms	colony	description
	Macau	Dragon as a symbol for the Chinese Empire before 1911
	Mozambique	Armillary sphere in memory of King Manuel I , the founder of the Portuguese colonial empire

Before the 20th century

coat of arms	colony	description
	Alagoas	three mullets for the three lagoons of this northeastern Brazilian region: Lagoa Mundaú, Lagoa Manguaba and Lagoa Jequiá
	Bahia	Dove of peace with olive branch
	Benguela	Elephant as a symbol of strength and trade
	Brazil	a Brazilian palm tree with a black Latin cross
	Ceilão	Mountains, palm trees and an Asian elephant as symbols of power
	Dili	Bundle of four silver halberds and a golden lance, tied with a blue ribbon
	Funchal	five sugar loafs (in memory of the former world market position as the most important sugar supplier in Europe) and a harpoon (as an indication of fishing)
	Goa	Miter as a reference to the Archdiocese of Goa and Daman , wheel as a reference to Saint Catherine of Alexandria , tower as a reference to the fortification
	Mozambique	seven bundled arrows alluding to Saint Sebastian , the patron saint of the colony
	Paraíba	six sugar loafs as a reference to sugar cane cultivation
	Pernambuco	Woman with sugar cane in one hand and a mirror (symbol of truth) in the other
	Rio Grande do Norte	Nandu on wavy lines that represent the rivers Rio Potengi and Rio Açu
	Salsete	Wheel of Saint Catherine of Alexandria on which the Portuguese coat of arms is applied
	Sergipe	Sun symbol of the Inca Apu Inti
	Terceira	Cross of the Order of Christ with two hawks (port .: açores) as an allusion to the name of the Azores ( Ilhas dos Açores = hawk islands )