The flag of Samoa ( Samoan: ''fu‘a o Sāmoa'') was first adopted from 24 February 1949, for UN Trusteeships, and continuously applied for the state's independence on 1 January 1962. It consists of a red field with a blue rectangle in the

canton Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ente ...

. The blue rectangle bears the

Southern Cross Crux () is a constellation of the southern sky that is centred on four bright stars in a cross-shaped asterism commonly known as the Southern Cross. It lies on the southern end of the Milky Way's visible band. The name ''Crux'' is Latin for ...

: four large white stars and one smaller star. The flag is officially defined by the ''Official Flag and National Anthem of Samoa Act 1994''. When it is being raised or lowered in public people and vehicles must stop and remain stationary until the performance is complete. Those who deface the flag or who wilfully insult it can be imprisoned for up to six months.''Official Flag and National Anthem of Samoa Act 1994 UFO'', section 7.

Historical flags

Prior to the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); ...

was a

colony In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state' ...

of the

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

. German colonies used the flag of the Imperial Colonial Office, a black-white-red

tricolour A tricolour () or tricolor () is a type of flag or banner design with a triband design which originated in the 16th century as a symbol of republicanism, liberty, or revolution. The flags of France, Italy, Romania, Mexico, and Ireland were ...

defaced with the Imperial Eagle. The Imperial German government intended to introduce specific flags for the colonies (also based on the tricolour) and several proposals were created, but the war and the subsequent loss of all overseas territories prevented their official adoption.

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

occupied

German Samoa German Samoa (german: Deutsch-Samoa) was a German protectorate from 1900 to 1920, consisting of the islands of Upolu, Savai'i, Apolima and Manono, now wholly within the independent state of Samoa, formerly ''Western Samoa''. Samoa was the la ...

in 1914 and officially gained control of the territory in 1919. From the capture by New Zealand forces on 29 August 1914, a defaced ensign with three palm trees encircled, and emblazoned on the fly were used. The defaced Blue Ensign was used by vessels owned by the mandate government, or those operated in the government service, while the defaced Red Ensign was used by locally registered civilian ships. File:Flag_of_Samoa_(1858-1873)_as_reported_in_the_Flags_of_Paradise_chart.svg, Flag of the

Kingdom of Samoa The Samoan Islands were first settled some 3,500 years ago as part of the Austronesian expansion. Both Samoa's early history and its more recent history are strongly connected to the histories of Tonga and Fiji, nearby islands with which Samoa ...

as depicted in the Flags of Paradise chart, similar to the Ottoman flag (1858-1873) File:Flag_of_Samoa_(1879).svg, Flag of the Malietoa dynasty in the

(1875-1887, 1889–1900) File:Flag_of_Tuiaana_line_1873-1887_1889-1900.svg, Flag of the Tuiaana dynasty in the

(1875-1887, 1889–1900) File:Flag_of_Tupua_Tamasesse_1887-1889.svg, Flag of the Tupua Tamasesse in the

(1887-1889) File:Reichskolonialflagge.svg, Flag of the German Colonial Office. File:Flaggenhissung Samoa.jpg, The German colonial flag is raised, 1 March 1900. File:Flag of Deutsch-Samoa.svg, Proposal for German Samoa's flag, never adopted. File:Occupation of German-Samoa 1914.jpg, Hoisting of the

Union Jack The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. Although no law has been passed making the Union Flag the official national flag of the United Kingdom, it has effectively become such through precedent. ...

, 30 August 1914. File:Flag of New Zealand.svg, The flag of New Zealand was used during the control of NZ-forces (1914–1920) File:Flag of the Samoa Trust Territory.svg, Official

Blue Ensign The Blue Ensign is a flag, one of several British ensigns, used by certain organisations or territories associated or formerly associated with the United Kingdom. It is used either plain or defaced with a badge or other emblem. The e ...

Western Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); ...

under

Mandate Mandate most often refers to: * League of Nations mandates, quasi-colonial territories established under Article 22 of the Covenant of the League of Nations, 28 June 1919 * Mandate (politics), the power granted by an electorate Mandate may also r ...

with UK (17 December 1920 – 1 January 1962) File:Flag of Samoa (1948-1949).svg, Initial flag of

acquired but not approved (26 May 1948). File:Flag_of_Samoa.svg, Flag of

under Trusteeships with NZ (24 February 1949 – 1 January 1962) File:Tupua Tamasese Meaole & Malietoa Tanumafili II.jpg,

Tupua Tamasese Meaʻole Tupua Tamasese Mea'ole (3 June 1905 – 5 April 1963) was a Western Samoan paramount chief. He held the royal title of Tupua Tamasese from 1929 to 1963, and O le Ao o le Malo (Head of State) jointly with Malietoa Tanumafili II from 1962 unti ...

Malietoa Tanumafili II Malietoa Tanumafili II (4 January 1913 – 11 May 2007), addressed Susuga Malietoa Tanumafili II, was the Malietoa, the title of one of Samoa's four paramount chiefs, and the head of state, or '' O le Ao o le Malo'', a position that he held f ...

raise the flag on independence day, 1962

References

External links

*
World Statesmen – Samoa
{{DEFAULTSORT:Samoa, Flag of Flags introduced in 1949

Flag A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design empl ...

National flags Southern Cross flags

Historical flags

See also

References

External links