^{This page is part of © FOTW Flags Of The World website}

Three Brazils (series of books)

Introduction
Brazil
Palmares
New holland

See also:

[⚓]

Introduction

Gerson Lodi-Ribeiro is a Brazilian writer, well-known for his science fiction and alternate history works. In the latter genre (in which Brazil excells in recent times) this author has created stories set mainly in two different “universes”: Pax Paraguaya and Three Brazils. See here.

The author informed me that the point of divergence of the Three Brazils universe is 1647, when Maurice of Nassau comes back to Recife with fresh troops and ships, weakening the Portuguese administration. Ca. 1680, the runaway slave community of Palmares is not crushed by the Portuguese authorities (who also couldn’t expell the Dutch) and grows into an independent nation (nicknamed First Republic) eventually covering roughly the northern half of Brazil in the real world. The other two “Brazils” are the “real thing”, reduced to the southern half of Brazil in the real world, and New Holland (Nieuw Holland / Nova Holanda), which was once larger than the city-state of Recife it is reduced to in the “fictional present” of the Three Brazils universe.

António Martins, 23 Nov 2006 and 30 Jul 2008

[⚓]

Brazil

image by António Martins, 30 Jul 2008

The flag of (rump) Brazil is mentioned on the story Pátrias de Chuteiras (Fatherlands in Soccer Boots) here (end of §4):

bandeiras azuis cobalto do Brasil

which means «Brazil’s colbalt blue flags». This is detailed in §8:

O pavilhão azul cobalto com trinta e duas estrelas amarelas que representam tanto os astros mais brilhantes da constelação do Cruzeiro do Sul quanto os estados e territórios do país. Encimando as estrelas, a frase em letras brancas: "Paz no futuro e glória no passado". Um retângulo de pano azul pontilhado de ouro.

Meaning «the cobalt blue ensign (sic !) with thirty two yellow stars, showing the brightest stars of the Southern Cross as many states and territories of the country. Above the stars a sentence in white letters "Peace in the future, glory in the past". A rectangle of blue cloth speckled in gold».

According to the author Gerson Lodi-Ribeiro (personnal communication), the design of this flag is patterned after the central disc of the flag of Brazil in the real world, showing 5-pointed regular upright stars on a dark blue background with a stripe, curved and offset to the bottom, with the Portuguese sentence «PAZ NO FUTURO, GLÓRIA NO PASSADO» (peace in the future, glory in the past), a quote from the national anthem, set in sans serif capitals.

António Martins, 23 Nov 2006

[⚓]

New Holland

image by André Pires Godinho and António Martins, 30 Jul 2008

The point of divergence of the Three Brazils universe is 1647, when Maurice of Nassau comes back to Recife with fresh troops and ships, weakening the Portuguese administration. New Holland (Nieuw Holland / Nova Holanda), which was once larger than the city-state of Recife it is reduced to in the “fictional present” of the Three Brazils universe.
António Martins, 23 Nov 2006

New Holland (Nieuw Holland / Nova Holanda) has no flag mentioned in extant stories, but it might yet appear. I predict an orange/red-white-blue with Maurice of Nassau’s crowned monogram on the white stripe, as given in usual Brazilian sources in the real world as the flag of Dutch Brazil.
António Martins, 23 Nov 2006

This suggestion was approved by the author and may be used in new texts featuring this universe.
António Martins, 30 Jul 2008

[⚓]

Palmares

Ca. 1680, the runaway slave community of Palmares is not crushed by the Portuguese authorities and grows into an independent nation (nicknamed First Republic) eventually covering roughly the northern half of Brazil in the real world. (See here for more info on the real Palmares; Apparently it had no flag.)
António Martins, 23 Nov 2006

Here, the short story Pátrias de Chuteiras (Fatherlands in Soccer Boots) includes the following description of the flag of Palmares (§3):

bandeira verde com o carcará negro de asas abertas no centro »(…)« o carcará da Primeira República carrega uma lança, um caule de cana-de-açúcar e uma luneta nas patas cerradas.

Which means «green flag with the Crested Caracara (Polyborus plancus) with open wings on the center. »(…)« the First Republic’s Caracara holds a spear, a sugar cane stalk and a handheld telescope in its grasping talons». Later on, the jerseys of the Palmares national soccer team are described (§6) to be:

verdes-esmeralda com o desenho estilizado de um grande carcará negro

«emerald green with the stylized image of a large black Crested Caracara».
António Martins, 23 Nov 2006

Anything below this line was not added by the editor of this page.