Hawaiian Flags

Today is United States’ Flag Day, celebrated on June 14.

The American flag consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the canton (referred to specifically as the “union”) bearing fifty small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars (top and bottom) alternating with rows of five stars.

The 50-stars on the flag represent the 50-states and the 13-stripes represent the thirteen British colonies that rebelled against the British monarchy and became the first states in the Union.

The first flags were used to assist military coordination on battlefields.  National flags are patriotic symbols with varied wide-ranging interpretations, often including strong military associations due to their original and ongoing military uses.

Since contact, various flags have flown over Hawai‘i.

The first “official” Hawai‘i flag was adopted in 1845, however prior to that various flags flew at various times.

All of the flags were hand-made back then; so, there might have been rather large variations in appearance.

Even in the late-Monarchy period, the appearance of flags varied a lot.  Likewise, there is a possibility that some observers were wrong in what they saw and reported.

Visitors to Hawai'i pre-1845 reported different types of flags flying, including varying numbers of stripes, sometimes 7 or 9, for example.  Observers also reported the colors of the stripes in different orders.

It is reported that Captain Vancouver gave a British Red Ensign to the king in the 1790s, which on later visits he found flying in places of honor.

Later, the Union Flag of Great Britain flew over Hawai‘i as its National Flag.  The Union Flag (also known as the "King's Colors") of Great Britain was one of the flags used by the King's forces during the American revolutionary War.

After that, the monarchy of Kamehameha I started to use a new flag, similar to the one used today by the State of Hawaii.

The flag’s origin can be traced to the War of 1812.  At the time, King Kamehameha had been flying the British flag.  American officers suggested the king show more neutrality.

Then, Kamehameha and his advisers collaborated on a new flag design, which combines elements from both the American and British flags.

This design had the Union Flag in the upper left quadrant with nine horizontal stripes alternating red, white and blue from the top.  This flag was observed by Louis Choris in 1816.

For a short period of time, in 1843, Lord George Paulet, representing the British Crown, overstepped his bounds, landed sailors and marines, seized the government buildings in Honolulu and raised the British Union Jack and issued a proclamation formally annexing Hawaii to the British Crown.  This event became known as the Paulet Affair.

On July 31, 1843, after five-months of occupation, the Hawaiian Kingdom was restored and Admiral Thomas ordered the Union Jack removed and replaced with the Hawaiian kingdom flag.

That day is now referred to as Ka La Hoʻihoʻi Ea, Sovereignty Restoration Day, and it is celebrated each year in the approximate site of the 1843 ceremonies.

At the opening of the Legislative Council, May 25, 1845, the new national banner was unfurled, differing little however from the former.

Eight stripes: first, fourth and seventh are silver represented by the color white; second, fifth and eighth are red) and the third and sixth are light purplish blue.

The stripes represent the eight major islands under one sovereign.  The Union Jack represented the friendly relationship between England and Hawai‘i.

Subsequent annexation, territorial and statehood status caused the Hawaiian flag to fly with the flag of the United States.

In recognition of Flag Day, I have included images of some of the reported layouts of the Hawaiian and US flags flown over the islands in a folder of like name in the Photos section of my Facebook page.

http://www.facebook.com/peter.t.young.hawaii

In considering these, recall that prior to 1845, there was no “official” flag for Hawai‘i.  Flags were given as gifts to the monarchs (which they then flew;) in addition, different monarchs had their own flag designs.

With this I also extend a special ‘Thank You’ to Kippen de Alba Chu and Dr. Douglas Askman from ‘Iolani Palace for their insight and assistance on Hawaiian flags.

Again, these are only general representations, because flags were hand sewn, people gave different flags over the years and there has been variation on flags in Hawai‘i.