The today's flag of Guinea-Bissau was inroduced on the 24th of september in 1973 in context with the declaration of independence. It shows two horizontal stripes in yellow and green and near the pole a vertical stripe in red, thereupon a black five-jagged star. These star is the symbol for Africa and it's black population, he is directly derived from the flag of Ghana. This flag corresponds (except the lacking initials) to the in the year 1961 introduced flag of the PAIGC-party. The colour red stands for the in the fight for freedom given blood, yellow stands for the sun and the natural resources of the country, green stands for the vegetation and the agriculture. The colors are defined as follows: red = Pantone 032, yellow = Pantone 109, green = Pantone 355. The combination of the colours green, yellow and red in the today's flag are the Pan-African colours: Perhaps in 1900 was the beginning of the Panafrica-Movement, wich wants to emphasize the commons of all people with black skin. For the political unity of Africa stands the colour-triad green-yellow-red, wich used many african countries in their flags after the independence. The first country was Ghana in 1957. As the origin apply the colours of Ethiopia (Abessinia), the oldest independent state in Africa. In the times of the Portugese colony was solely in use the Portugese national flag because they saw the colonies as permanent component of the motherland and not as outer possessions. This implys that Portugese colonies never had own flags, even if there were ambitions in the sixties of the 20th century to introduce flags for the colonies by placing of the coat of arms of the colony in the flying end of the Portugese national flag. But this plans became never realized.
The coat of arms of Guinea-Bissau was - like the flag - introduced in the year 1973. It shows the pan-african colours and even the on the flag shown black star. In the below part of the coat of arms is to see a golden conch. It stands for the Cape Verde Islands. On a red saying-ribbon between two green palm-tree twigs (they stand for the mainland) the motto of the state: "Unidade, Luta, Progresso" → "Unity, Fight, Progress". In the year 1935 own coats of arms were created for the Portuguese colonies. The design was subject to a special scheme. So each coat of arms contained, in addition to a local symbolism, the five Quinas from the coat of arms of Portugal and five green waves on silver. As the local symbolism in the coat of arms of Portuguese Guinea appeared a black field with the golden scepter of King Alfonso V.
1885 · Berlin Conference: Portuguese Guinea gets adjudged to Portugal
1941 · transfer of the capital from Bolama to Bissau
1951 · Portuguese Guinea becomes an overseas province
1955 · granting of partial inner autonomy
1956 · foundation of the leftist extremistic liberation movement "Partido Africano da Independencia de Guinea-Bissao e Cabo Verde" (PAIGC)
1963 · start of the armed fight of the PAIGC against Portugal
24th of September in 1973 · the PAIGC declares unilaterally the independence of Guinea-Bissau, Luis Cabral (PAIGC) becomes president
25th of April in 1974 · revolt of the Portugese army against the government of Caetano in Portugal
10th of September in 1974 · Portugal recognizes the independence of Guinea-Bissau
1980 · racial motivated coup d'état by Major J. B. Vieira, Cabral gets unseated
1981 · organizational separation of the PAIGC, on the Cape Verde Islands arises the PAICV
1984 · new constitution, Vieira gets confirmed as president, the since the foundation of the state intended unification with the Cape Verde Islands becomes excluded for the future
1990 · initial stages of democratization
1991 · introduction of the multi-party-system
1994 · elections for parliament and president, absolute majority for the PAIGC, Vieira gets confirmed as president
1998 · army revolt, civil war
2010 · military coup attempt
2012 · military coup
2014 · elections, unstable power relations in the following years
The name "Guinea" goes back to the Berber word "aguinaou", what means "blacks" and referred originally to all residents of the West African coast from Senegal to Gabon. The second part of the country's name, "Bissau", helps to distinguish between other states which bear the name "Guinea" and refers to the capital of the country. In the time as a Portuguese colony, the country was called Portuguese Guinea.
