Hawaii State Flag

Flag of Hawaii

Ka Hae Hawaii, or the Flag of Hawaii

Ka Hae Hawaii, or the Flag of Hawaii, is the official standard symbolizing Hawaii as a kingdom (under a short British annexation), protectorate, republic, territory and state. Ka Hae Hawaii is the only state flag in the United States to have been flown under so many various forms of government and the only one that features the Union Flag (more commonly known as the Union Jack), the flag of the United Kingdom.

 The flag of Hawaii flying in Haleakalā National Park

The canton of Ka Hae Hawaii is the Union Flag, 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 inhabited islands. The color of the stripes, from the top down, follows the sequence: white, red, blue, white, red, and blue, white, red. They represent the eight main islands, i.e. Hawaiʻi, Oahu, Kauai, Kahoʻolawe, Lānaʻi , Maui, Molokai and Niʻihau. There are various accounts of the earliest history of Ka Hae Hawaii. One relates how King Kamehameha I flew a Union Flag given to him by British explorer Captain George Vancouver as a token of friendship with King George III. An advisor to Kamehameha noted that the Union Flag could draw Hawaii into international conflict, as it would be seen as an ally of the United Kingdom. Kamehameha lowered the Union Flag from his home. While disputed as historically accurate, one account of events that followed stated that in order to placate American interests during the War of 1812, a flag of the United States was raised over Kamehameha's home only to be removed when British officers in the court of Kamehameha vehemently objected to it. This account then explains why the resulting flag of Hawaii was a deliberate hybrid of the two nations' flags. Another reason for this may be that during the time of Pacific Expansion (Manifest Destiny) in the United States, and when Hawaii was taken over for a day by the United Kingdom, it was made to show that Hawaii was a country, and put both emblems of the flags into one, showing that Hawaii would not be taken over.