Where this was said
The New Brazil: Green, Gold, and a First Anthem
At 28:10 · chapter starts 23:20
Dom Pedro returns to Rio in triumph, recovered from his dysentery and wearing green and yellow: green for his father's House of Braganza, yellow for the House of Habsburg through his wife Maria Leopoldina. Dominic reveals that the iconic Brazilian colours have nothing to do with the Amazon or the sun — they are a European dynastic accident. [1] — Dominic Sandbrook "Brazil's iconic green and yellow aren't tropical colours chosen to represent the jungle and sunshine. Green represents the House of Braganz…" 23:20 On 20 September, Rio's newspapers run the headline 'Independence or death' and celebrate Brazil's awakening. Two days later, Pedro writes his father the most florid letter in Brazilian history, denouncing the Portuguese parliament in terms that Tom compares to Prince Harry's public communications. Pedro is proclaimed Constitutional Emperor and Perpetual Defender of Brazil. Then comes the question of an anthem. The answer is that Pedro composes the tune himself — the Hymn of Independence — with likely assistance from court musicians, though Dominic notes no serious Brazilian historian doubts his authorship. The words were provided by poet and newspaper editor Evaristo Ferreira da Veiga e Barros, and they are, Dominic admits, not a banger: Pedro is praised for his 'bold and virile soul' across some eight to ten verses.
Brazil's iconic green and yellow aren't tropical colours chosen to represent the jungle and sunshine. Green represents the House of Braganza, Portugal's ruling dynasty. Yellow represents the Habsburgs — the family of Dom Pedro I's wife. Brazil's flag is essentially a European dynastic tribute.
