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.
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.
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