In 1793, Captain George Vancouver, of the British Royal Navy, having previously visited the islands in 1778–1779 with Captain James Cook, returned in command of HMS Discovery.[3] During the visit, Vancouver met with Kamehameha I and presented him with a Red Ensign,[4] used by the Royal Navy at the time. The Kingdom of Ireland was not a formal part of the United Kingdom before 1801, which meant that, at this time, the British flag did not contain the Saint Patrick's Cross of Ireland. This version of the Red Ensign, as well as the current version which added the cross in 1801, served as the unofficial flag of the Kingdom of Hawaii until 1816.[5]
Scottish Captain Alexander Adams' journals mention the British East India Company flag when Kamehameha had originally purchased Adams' brig named the Forester and renamed Kaahumanu.[6][7] As part of the ship's transfer, the ensign of the East India Company, which consisted of the Union Jack on a field of red-and-white stripes, was taken by Adams during a ceremony with an 11-gun salute.[6] Many older Native Hawaiians prior to 1921 believed that the current flag of Hawaii was created by Adams during his trip to China in 1817.[6] At that time Adams was Commander of the Hawaiian Kingdom Navy,[8] captaining the Kaahumanu under Kamehameha I.[7] While there is no indication that the flag was either made or flown during that period, Adams did note that on his way to China, while stopping at Waimea, Kauai for supplies, he did give Kaumualiʻi his own ensign to raise at the port, as the king only had a Russian flag left from the Russian colony in Hawaii.[6][9]
March 12, 1817. Gave the King (Kaumualii) our ensign to hoist in lieu of the Russian, who said that it was on account of his having no other.[10]
There may have been different versions of the flag with different numbers of stripes and colors.[11] The number of stripes also changed: originally, the flag was designed with either seven or nine horizontal stripes, and in 1845 it was officially changed to eight stripes. The latter arrangement is used today.[12]
The canton of the flag of Hawaii contains the Union Flag of the United Kingdom, 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 (Hawaiʻi, Maui, Kahoʻolawe, Lānaʻi, Molokaʻi, Oʻahu, Kauaʻi, and Niʻihau). Other versions of the flag have only seven stripes, probably representing the islands with the exception of Kahoʻolawe or Niʻihau. The color of the stripes, from the top down, follows the sequence: white, red, blue, white, red, blue, white, red. The colors were standardized in 1843, although other combinations have been seen and are occasionally still used.[13][14]
In 2001, a survey conducted by the North American Vexillological Association (NAVA) placed Hawaii's flag 11th in design quality out of the 72 Canadian provincial, US state and US territorial flags ranked.[15]
Despite superficially resembling the flags of British Overseas Territories, the Hawaiian flag is proportioned differently – the Union Jack in the canton is in a 4:7 ratio,[16] and a differing standard is used to define the colors.[citation needed]
Official version of the Hawaiian Flag.
Incorrect version of the Hawaiian Flag, using a 1:2 canton and the UK standard colors, similarly to the official flags of British Overseas Territories.
The flag used by the governor of Hawaii 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".[18]
