The flag of Hawaii, also known as the Hawaiian flag, is the official flag of the U.S. state of

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

. It consists of a field of eight horizontal stripes, in the sequence of white, red, blue, white, red, blue, white, red with a British

Union Jack The Union Jack or Union Flag is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. The Union Jack was also used as the official flag of several British colonies and dominions before they adopted their own national flags. It is sometimes a ...

depicted as a canton (placed in the upper-left corner). First adopted in the mid 19th century by the

Hawaiian Kingdom The Hawaiian Kingdom, also known as the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi ( Hawaiian: ɛ ɐwˈpuni həˈvɐjʔi, was an archipelagic country from 1795 to 1893, which eventually encompassed all of the inhabited Hawaiian Islands. It was established in 1795 w ...

, it became the official state flag when Hawaii was admitted as the 50th state of the United States in 1959. It is also the only U.S state flag to contain the flag of a foreign country. The use of the Union Jack is a legacy of the British

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

's historical relations with the Hawaiian Kingdom and, in particular, the pro-British sentiment of its first ruler, King Kamehameha I. Despite the design including the British Union Jack, Hawai'i never was a colony of the British Empire. The current design has been in use since 1845. It was retained by the

Republic of Hawaii The Republic of Hawaii (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ''Lepupalika o Hawaii'' epupəˈlikə o həˈvɐjʔi was a short-lived one-party state in Hawaii, Hawaii between July 4, 1894, when the Provisional Government of Hawaii had Black Week (H ...

after the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy in 1893. Likewise, after U.S. annexation in 1898, no change was made to the flag design used by the

Territory of Hawaii The Territory of Hawaii or Hawaii Territory (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ''Panalāʻau o Hawaiʻi'') was an organized incorporated territories of the United States, organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from Apri ...

before Hawaii was granted statehood. The flag's eight stripes represent the main islands of the

Hawaiian archipelago The Hawaiian Islands () are an archipelago of eight major volcanic islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll. Formerly c ...

History

Before 1816

Captain

George Vancouver Captain (Royal Navy), Captain George Vancouver (; 22 June 1757 – 10 May 1798) was a Royal Navy officer and explorer best known for leading the Vancouver Expedition, which explored and charted North America's northwestern West Coast of the Uni ...

of the

British Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

visited the Hawaiian Islands on three occasions during his 1791 to 1795 expedition. At this time, the Hawaiian Islands were divided among several warring chiefdoms. In February 1794, while at anchorage in

Kealakekua Bay Kealakekua Bay is located on the Kona coast of the island of Hawaii about south of Kailua-Kona. Settled over a thousand years ago, the surrounding area contains many archeological and historical sites such as religious temples ( heiaus) an ...

off the

island of Hawaii Hawaii is the List of islands of the United States by area, largest island in the United States, located in the Hawaii, state of Hawaii, the southernmost state in the union. It is the southeasternmost of the Hawaiian Islands, a chain of volcani ...

, Vancouver reached a diplomatic agreement with the king (or ''

aliʻi The aliʻi were the traditional nobility of the Hawaiian islands. They were part of a hereditary line of rulers, the ''noho aliʻi''. Cognates of the word ''aliʻi'' have a similar meaning in other Polynesian languages; in Māori it is pronoun ...

)'' of that island,

Kamehameha Kamehameha may refer to: House of Kamehameha *House of Kamehameha, the dynasty of the Hawaiian Kings **Kamehameha I (1736–1819), first king of the Hawaiian Islands **Kamehameha II (1797–1824), second king of the Kingdom of Hawaii **Kamehameha ...

, who would later unite all the Hawaiian islands and become the first ruler of the

. Vancouver believed that the agreement reached meant Hawaii Island was being ceded to

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

but historians have argued that the Hawaiians saw the agreement as establishing a

protectorate A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a State (polity), state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over ...

. After the proceedings on Vancouver's vessel, a British flag was presented, taken ashore and raised. The flag was either a British Union Jack, or a

Red Ensign The Red Ensign or Red Duster is the civil ensign of the United Kingdom. It is one of the British ensigns, and it is used either plain or defacement (flag), defaced with either a Glossary of vexillology#Flag elements, badge or a Glossary of v ...

as used by the Royal Navy, which features a Union Jack in the canton. In 1801, the British Union Jack added a

Saint Patrick's Cross Saint Patrick's Saltire or Saint Patrick's Cross is a red saltire (X-shaped cross) on a white field. In heraldic language, it may be blazoned ''argent, a saltire gules''. Saint Patrick's Flag () is a flag composed of Saint Patrick's Saltire. Th ...

when

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

joined with Great Britain in a political union. Both pre- and post-1801 versions of the Red Ensign served as the unofficial flag of the Hawaiian Kingdom until 1816. There is an unverified anecdote that, during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

(fought between the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

from 1812 to 1815), Kamehameha became aware of the nationalist meaning of flags. To avoid offending either side, he designed a new flag for his kingdom which combined elements of both the British Union Jack and the flag of the United States at that time. File:Civil_Ensign_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg, Red Ensign of the

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the union of the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland into one sovereign state, established by the Acts of Union 1800, Acts of Union in 1801. It continued in this form until ...

File:Star-Spangled Banner flag.svg , Flag of the United States in 1815 with 15 red and white stripes

1816–1845

In April 1816, Kamehameha purchased a brig from Scottish Captain Alexander Adams, and arranged for Adams to take command of the ship, which was renamed . As part of the transfer ceremony, Adams wrote that he was "honored to take command under the Flag of His Majesty" though he does not describe the flag. The next year, in March 1817, the became the first Hawaiian vessel to sail to a foreign port ( Canton, China) under a "distinct" Hawaiian flag. In one source, this is described as: "A St. George and St. Andrews Cross in the corner filled in with blue, with field consisting of red and white stripes" which virtually matches the ensign of the East India Company though another source describes “red, white and blue stripes added to a Union Jack”. The Russian navigator Vasily Golovnin, based on a visit to

Oahu Oahu (, , sometimes written Oahu) is the third-largest and most populated island of the Hawaiian Islands and of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital, Honolulu, is on Oahu's southeast coast. The island of Oahu and the uninhabited Northwe ...

in 1818, describes seeing a "national flag" which "consists of seven stripes: red, white, blue, red, white, blue and red, with the English Union Jack in the corner”. Until 1845, visitors to the Hawaiian Islands reported various versions of the flag with different numbers of stripes and colors.

1845–Present

In 1843, either as an inadvertent mistake, or as a symbolic “reversal” gesture in the wake of the Paulet affair - a five-month-long, unofficial occupation of Hawaii by a British naval officer - the flag design was specified to have eight stripes: a white stripe on top followed by the sequence red, blue, white, red, blue, white, red. This new flag was officially unfurled May 25, 1845 at the opening of the legislative council and remains the same design as used today.

Design

The canton of the flag of Hawaii contains the

Union Flag The Union Jack or Union Flag is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. The Union Jack was also used as the official flag of several British colonies and dominions before they adopted their own national flags. It is sometimes a ...

of the

, prominent over the top quarter closest to the flag mast. The field of the flag is composed of eight horizontal stripes, symbolizing the eight major islands (

Maui Maui (; Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ) is the second largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago, at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2). It is the List of islands of the United States by area, 17th-largest in the United States. Maui is one of ...

, Kahoolawe, Lānai,

Molokai Molokai or Molokai ( or ; Molokaʻi dialect: Morotaʻi ) is the fifth most populated of the eight major islands that make up the Hawaiian Islands archipelago in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It is 38 by 10 miles (61 by 16 km) at its g ...

Kauai Kauai (), anglicized as Kauai ( or ), is one of the main Hawaiian Islands. It has an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km2), making it the fourth-largest of the islands and the 21st-largest island in the United States. Kauai lies 73 m ...

, and

Niihau Niihau (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ), anglicized as Niihau ( ), is the seventh largest island in Hawaii and the westernmost of the main islands. It is southwest of Kauai, Kauai across the Channels of the Hawaiian Islands#Kaulakahi Channel, Ka ...

). The color of the stripes, from the top down, follows the sequence: white, red, blue, white, red, blue, white, red. The colors "red", "blue" and "white" are not explicitly defined. Despite resembling the flags of British Overseas Territories, the Hawaiian flag is proportioned differently – the Union Jack in the canton is in a 7:16 ratio. File:Flag of Hawaii.svg, Official version of the Hawaiian Flag File:Flag of Hawaii (UK proportions and colors).svg, Non-standard variant using a 1:2 canton and the U.K. standard colors, similarly to the official flags of British Overseas Territories In 2001, a survey conducted by the

North American Vexillological Association The North American Vexillological Association (NAVA) is a membership organization devoted to vexillology, the study of flags. It was founded in 1967 by American vexillologist Whitney Smith, and others. Its membership of 1,100+ comprises flag s ...

(NAVA) placed Hawaii's flag 11th in design quality, out of the 72 U.S. and Canadian provincial, state, and territorial flags ranked.

In 1990, Governor of Hawaii

John Waihee John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second Ep ...

proclaimed July 31 to be , the Hawaiian

Flag Day A flag day is a flag-related holiday, a day designated for flying a certain flag (such as a national flag) or a day set aside to celebrate a historical event such as a nation's adoption of its flag. Flag days are usually codified in national s ...

. It has been celebrated each year since then. It is the same date as , Sovereignty Restoration Day, a holiday of the

that is celebrated by proponents of the

Hawaiian sovereignty movement The Hawaiian sovereignty movement () is a grassroots political and cultural campaign to reestablish an autonomous or independent nation or kingdom of Hawaii out of a desire for sovereignty, self-determination, and self-governance. Some group ...

Chronology

Other flags

Flag of the Governor

The flag used by the

governor of Hawaii The governor of Hawaii () is the head of government of the U.S. state of Hawaii and its various agencies and departments, as provided in the Hawaii State Constitution Article V, Sections 1 through 6. It is a directly elected position, votes bei ...

is a red and blue bi-color. In the middle of the eight white stars appears the name of the state in all capital letters. During the time Hawaii was a United States territory, the letters in the middle of the flag were "TH", which stood for "Territory of Hawaii".

flag

The ('true people' in the Hawaiian language) design is purported by some to be the original flag of the Hawaiian Kingdom, though this claim is unverified and widely disputed. It was introduced to the public by Gene Simeona in 2001. It has nine alternating stripes of green, red, and yellow defaced with a green shield with a (strip of

kapa Kapa is a fabric made by native Hawaiians from the bast fibres of certain species of trees and shrubs in the orders Rosales and Malvales. The bark is beaten and felted to achieve a soft texture and dye stamped in geometric patterns. Description ...

bark cloth insignia flown atop the double hulled canoe of the chief) crossed by two paddles. Gene Simeona claims to have unearthed the Kānaka Maoli flag in 1999. Simeona said he encountered a descendant of Lord George Paulet who told him about an earlier flag. Simeona claims to have found evidence of the flag in the state archives, though any sources he may have used have not been identified. Subsequent efforts to verify Simeona's claim have been unsuccessful. Critics of the claim have pointed to evidence of the widely accepted Hawaiian flag being in existence before the Kanaka Maoli flag. Loui Agard Hawaiian Flag

Louis "Buzzy" Agard had proposed a Hawaiian flag design in 1993 which featured nine alternating stripes and the same

charge Charge or charged may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Charge, Zero Emissions/Maximum Speed'', a 2011 documentary Music * ''Charge'' (David Ford album) * ''Charge'' (Machel Montano album) * '' Charge!!'', an album by The Aqu ...

as on the flag, leading many to believe it is where Simeona drew his inspiration. Despite the lack of verification about its historic use, the design is popular among those who prefer its lack of apparent colonial imagery.

Gallery

File:Standard of the King Kalakaua.svg, Personal Standard of King Kalakaua File:Flag of Princess Kaiulani (1875–1899).svg, Personal Standard of Princess Kaiulani File:Naval ensign of the Kingdom of Hawaii.svg, Naval Ensign of the Hawaiian Kingdom, with the only known use of this flag being on the '' Kaimiloa'' File:Naval Jack of the Kingdom of Hawaii, 1887.jpg, Naval Jack of the Hawaiian Kingdom, flown on the

bowsprit The bowsprit of a sailing vessel is a spar (sailing), spar extending forward from the vessel's prow. The bowsprit is typically held down by a bobstay that counteracts the forces from the forestay, forestays. The bowsprit’s purpose is to create ...

of the ''Kaimiloa'' File:Kuhina Nui flag.svg, Flag of the

Kuhina Nui Kuhina Nui was a powerful office in the Kingdom of Hawaii from 1819 to 1864. It was usually held by a relative of the king and was the rough equivalent of the 19th-century European office of Prime Minister or sometimes Regent. Origin of the offi ...

in the

File:Flag of Hawaii Hawaiian sovereignty.svg, The inverted Hawaiian flag represents the Hawaiian Kingdom in distress and has served as the main symbol of the

File:Ka Lahui Hawai Flag.svg, Flag of Hawaiian people used in

Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization The Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) is an international organization established to facilitate the voices of unrepresented and marginalized nations and peoples worldwide. It was formed on 11 February 1991 at the Peace Pal ...

File:Nation of Hawaii-Hawaii Independence Movement Flag v2.svg, Flag of Nation of Hawaiʻi File:Hawaiian Islands. Johnson's new chart of national emblems, 1868.jpg, 1868 flag chart File:Ku'u Hae Aloha (My Beloved Flag), Hawaiian cotton quilt from Waimea, before 1918, Honolulu Academy of Arts.jpg, Hawaiian quilt from Waimea, before 1918 File:49 star American flag.jpg, Proposed 49 star American flag from 1941 File:Hawaii Bicentennial 13c 1976 issue.jpg, The Hawaii state flag as depicted in a 1976 Bicentennial Series postage stamp File:Hawaii 3rd Regiment of Infantry flag (1916).png, Digital reconstruction of the flag carried by Hawaii's National Guard, 1916