5 Angolares 1947, Angola
| in Krause book | Number: 77 |
| Years of issue: | 01.06.1947 |
| Edition: | |
| Signatures: | Vice-Governadores:Francisco Luis da Silva Duarte (1930-1959), Artur de Melo Quintela Saldanha (1932-1959) |
| Serie: | 1947 Issue |
| Specimen of: | 01.01.1947 |
| Material: | Cotton fiber |
| Size (mm): | 135 х 68 |
| Printer: | Waterlow and Sons Limited, London |
* All pictures marked 
are increased partially by magnifying glass, the remaining open in full size by clicking on the image.
** The word "Specimen" is present only on some of electronic pictures, in accordance with banknote images publication rules of appropriate banks.
Description
Watermark:
Avers:
António Óscar Fragoso Carmona, ComC, GCA, ComSE, (often called António Óscar de Fragoso Carmona; 24 November 1869 – 18 April 1951) was the 11th President of Portugal (1926-1951), having been Minister of War in 1923.
Carmona was a republican and a freemason and was a quick aderent to the proclamation of the republic, on 5 October 1910. He was however never a sympathizer of the democratic form of government and, as he later would confess in an interview to António Ferro, he only voted for the first time at the National Plebiscite of 1933. During the First Republic he was briefly War Minister in the Ministry of António Ginestal Machado in 1923. Unlike the popular marshal Gomes da Costa, Carmona had not fought in World War I.
In January 1914 he married Maria do Carmo Ferreira da Silva (Chaves, 28 September 1878 – 13 March 1956), daughter of Germano da Silva and wife Engrácia de Jesus. With this marriage he legitimized their three children.
Carmona was very active in the 28th May coup d'état of 1926 that overthrew the First Republic. The first Council President, commandant José Mendes Cabeçadas, of democratic tendency, was succeeded in June by Manuel de Oliveira Gomes da Costa, also a supporter of parliamentary democracy. Carmona, who had been the Minister for Foreign Affairs between 3 June and 6 July, was the leader of the most conservative and anti-democratic wing of the military regime. On 9 July, Carmona led a countercoup and named himself President, and immediately assumed dictatorial powers. He was formally elected to the office in 1928 as the only candidate.
In 1928 Carmona appointed António de Oliveira Salazar as Minister of Finances. Impressed by Salazar's charisma and qualities Carmona nominated Salazar as Prime Minister in 1932, and largely turned over control of the government to him.
In 1933, with a new constitution, the "Estado Novo" was finally officially established. On paper, the new document codified the dictatorial powers Carmona had exercised since 1928. However, in practice he was now little more than a figurehead; Salazar held the real power. He was reelected without opposition in 1935 and 1942 for seven year terms. In 1935 he signed the law that forbade Freemasonary in Portugal, with dismay due to his Freemason past.
Although the democratic opposition was allowed to contest elections after World War II, Carmona was not on friendly terms with it. When the opposition demanded that the elections be delayed in order to give it more time to organize, Carmona turned it down.
However, there were widespread rumours that Carmona supported the failed military uprising in 1948, which was led by general José Marques Godinho, to overthrow Salazar, with the condition that he would remain as President of the Republic. Probably to end these rumours Carmona finally accepted the title of marshal.
In 1949, Carmona, aged 79 years old, sought his fourth term as president. For the first time, he actually faced an opponent in General José Norton de Matos. However, after the regime refused to grant Matos freedom to actually run a campaign, he pulled out of the race on 12 February, handing Carmona another term.
Carmona died two years later, in 1951, after 24 years in the Presidency of the Republic. He was buried in the Church of Santa Engrácia, National Pantheon, in Lisbon.
He wrote a book of rules for the Cavalry School in 1913.
The town of Uíge, Angola was called Carmona after him. It had this name until 1975 when the Portuguese Overseas Province of Angola became independent. 
On left side is the picture, showing three men (Portuguese settler and two locals) planting trees. In my view, the picture is very symbolic demonstrates teamwork of population to develop the country (then - the colony), giving a leading role to white (Portuguese) migrants, who taught local people to various activities.
The engraving on banknote is made after watercolor painting "Future", size 35,5 x 46,5 сm.
On top is Portugal colonial coat of arms of Angola with crown above and 2 branches of laurel under it.
Emblem colony Angola was approved in 1935. It was made in the same style all Portuguese overseas possessions:
The shield is divided into three parts forked - the left side of the three-part shield with five azure shields, each of which had five white Besant (quina, the oldest coat of arms of Portugal) symbolized the metropolis.
Average lower depicting green waves on a silver field - sign overseas possessions of Portugal.
And on the left side was a picture of the actual coat of arms of the colony - in this case - the golden elephant on a zebra on a purple field. Shield superimposed on a golden armillary sphere topped tower crown, decorated with heraldic shields with a red cross of the Order of Christ and small armillary sphere. At the bottom depicted the tape with the title of ownership.
After World War II, Portugal has not followed the example of other countries in Europe and did not grant independence to their colonies. They were declared to be "overseas territories", respectively, in the inscription on the tape the word "colony" was replaced by "province".
Denominations in numerals are in top corners, in words lower, centered.
Revers:
On top is the coat of arms of Portugal (central part) surrounded by Portuguese flags. Also, on top, is the band with an inscription - "Banco de Angola".
The coat of arms of Portugal was officially adopted on 30 June 1911, along with the republican flag of Portugal. It is based on the coat of arms used by the Portuguese Kingdom since the Middle Ages.
The Portuguese coat of arms is the result of almost a millennium of modifications and alterations. Starting with Henry of Burgundy blue cross on a silver shield, successive elements were added or taken, culminating with the complex heraldic design that was officially adopted in 1911 (after the Republican Revolution of 1910). The two stripes bear the colours of the Portuguese flag: red and green.
Quinas:
After the official recognition of the Kingdom of Portugal as an independent country in 1143 (it had been declared in 1139), silver bezants were added to the Burgundian flag, symbolising coins and the right the monarch had to issue currency, as leader of a sovereign state. Eventually, and given the enormous dynamism of medieval heraldry, it is believed that the shield degraded and lost some elements in battle, eventually losing the cross format. This is how King Sancho I inherited the shield from his father, Afonso Henriques, with no cross and the quinas (the five escutcheons with the silver bezants) in its place.
Later, the number of silver bezants in each escutcheon would be reduced from eleven to five by King Sebastian I, and modern explanations interpret them as the five wounds of Jesus Christ, although this is highly improbable.
Castles:
It was during the reign of Afonso III that the red border with golden castles (not towers, as some sources state) was added. Although the number of castles could vary between eight to twelve, Afonso IV would define them as twelve and Sebastian I would finally fix them as seven. They supposedly represent the Moorish castles conquered by the Kingdom of Portugal during the Reconquista. Their origin is probably Castilian, but unlike Spanish castles, which usually have their gates coloured blue (hence opened), Portuguese castles were always depicted with gold gates (hence closed). As a matter of fact, Afonso III was the second son of King Afonso II of Portugal and thus was not expected to inherit the throne, which was destined to go to his elder brother King Sancho II of Portugal. As a second son, the coat of arms of Afonso III included both the arms of his father and the arms of his mother Urraca of Castile, thus the Castillan red border with golden castillan castles, around the Portuguese shield inherited from his father.
Armillary sphere:
An important element of Portuguese heraldry since the 15th century, the armillary sphere was many times used in Portuguese colonial flags, mainly in Brazil. It was a navigation instrument used to calculate distances and represents the importance of Portugal during the Age of Discovery, as well as the vastness of its colonial empire when the First Republic was implemented.
Although it is commonly used as a "republican" element, as opposed to the monarchist crown in the blue/white flag (see Flag of Portugal), some monarchist flags, such as the flag of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves, already depicted armillary spheres. The incorporation of the armillary sphere into the 1816 flag of the United Kingdom of Portugal is related to the adoption of the first flag of the Kingdom of Brazil, an armillary sphere on a blue background.
The coat of arms sported different crowns during imperial rule of Portuguese and foreign crowns:
Pre mid-1500s the coat of arms had an open imperial crown,
Crown of the House of Habsburg,
Various crowns of the House of Braganza (1640-1817),
Crown of João VI (1817-1910).
In the lower right-hand corner is, unidentified, stone bowl or amphora.
Two female figures are shown on the left - it is an allegory of Portugal (stylized figure of the republic) and a young black woman as an allegory of Angola.
The image symbolizes the unity of Portugal and its overseas colonies.
The engraving on banknote is made after this drawing by pencil from a private collection - "Angola and Portugal". Size 40 x 38 сm.
The same stresses the phrase in the center of the banknote - "Proclamo neste lugar sagrado da patria a unidade indestrutivel e eterna de Portugal d'aquem e d'alem-mar, Ponta do Padrão, 3-7-1938. General Carmona".
In the summer of 1938, General António de Fragoso Carmona, being then the President of Portugal, visited some Portuguese overseas colony in Africa, particularly Angola and Sao Tome and Principe.
During the visit, he was also on the Ponta do Padrão, where he pronounced these words (phrase on banknote translated into English) - "In this sacred homeland place proclaiming the indestructible unity and eternal Portugal below and across the ocean, Ponta do Padrão, 3-7-1938. General Carmona".
In the background, behind the phrase, a view of the Atlantic Ocean and the sailing ship from the era of Diogo Cão.
A bit of history:
Diogo Cão (anglicised as Diogo Cam and also known as Diego Cam) was a Portuguese explorer and one of the most notable navigators of the Age of Discovery. He made two voyages sailing along the west coast of Africa in the 1480s, exploring the Congo River and the coasts of the present-day Angola and Namibia.
He was the first European known to sight and enter the Congo River and to explore the West African coast between Cape St. Catherine and Cape Cross, almost from the equator to Walvis Bay in Namibia.
When King John II of Portugal revived the work of Henry the Navigator, he sent out Cão (probably about midsummer 1482) to open up the African coast still further beyond the equator. The mouth and estuary of the Congo had been discovered (perhaps in 1483) and marked by a Padrão, or stone pillar (still existing, but only in fragments), erected on Shark Point, attesting to the sovereignty of Portugal; the great river was also ascended for a short distance, and intercourse was opened with the natives of the Bakongo kingdom. this place bears the name Ponta do Padrão, today located in Angolan Zaire Province.
Cão then coasted down along the present Angola (Portuguese West Africa), and erected a second pillar, probably marking the termination of this voyage, at Cape Saint Mary (the Monte Negro of these first visitors). He certainly returned to Lisbon by the beginning of April 1484, when John II ennobled him, made him a cavaleiro (knight) of his household (he was already an escudeiro or esquire in the same), and granted him an annuity and a coat of arms (April 8, 1484 and April 14, 1484). On his return he discovered the Island of Annobón.
On right side is depicted the replica of Padrao (the Congolese Padrao) at Ponta do Padrão, Zaire Province, Angola.
For the purpose of the exploration and annexation of the African Westcoast by the Portuguese in the XV century, Dom João II gave order to the navigator Diogo Cão to erect a padrão or boundary-post at certain places. This boundary-post is a reconstruction made after fragments preserved by the Sociedade de Geografia de Lisboa, of the padrão erected on the southern bank of the river-mouth of the Zaire, called Punto Padrão and today the northwesternmost point of Angola. The inscription in Portuguese on the monument reads:
"IN THE YEAR 1681 AFTER THE CREATION OF THE WORLD, THE YEAR 1482 AFTER THE BIRTH OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, THE EXALTED, ILLUSTRIOUS AND POWERFUL KING DOM JOÃO OF PORTUGAL GAVE ORDER TO DIOGO CÃO, KNIGHT OF HIS HOUSE, TO DISCOVER THIS LAND AND TO ERECT THESE MEMORIAL PILES".
Denominations in numerals are in top corners.
Comments:
If you find my work useful I will be grateful for any help in supporting the site.
-
PayPal
-
For users of European Union banking system