While many older Native Hawaiians, prior to 1921, had erroneously believed the current flag of Hawaii was created by Captain Alexander Adams during his trip to China in 1817 aboard the Kaahumanu, there is no indication that the flag was either made or flown during that period. Adams noted that in 1817 on his way to China he raised his own ensign on Kauaiin lieu of a Russian flag as the king had no other. Adams's journals also mention the British East India Company flag. Kamehameha had wanted to purchase a brig named the Forester out of London. As part of transfer, the flag, 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. In 1793, Captain George Vancouver, having previously visited the islands with Captain James Cook, returned in command of HMS Discovery. During the visit, Vancouver met with Kamehameha I and presented him with a Red Ensign, 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, was the unofficial flag of the Kingdom of Hawaii until 1816. An adviser to Kamehameha noted that the Union Flag could draw Hawaii into international conflict, as his kingdom could be seen as an ally of the United Kingdom, and he subsequently lowered the Union Flag over his home at Kamakahonu. While disputed as to its historical accuracy, one account stated that in order to placate US interests during the War of 1812, a US flag was raised over Kamehameha's home, only to be removed when UK officers in the court of Kamehameha vehemently objected to it. This would explain why the resulting flag of Hawaii was a deliberate hybrid of the two nations' flags. In 1816, Kamehameha commissioned his own flag to avoid this conflict, which has evolved into the current flag. It was probably designed by one of the commanders of the Royal Hawaiian Navy, former officers of the British Royal Navy, who advised Kamehameha, based on a form of the British naval flag. There is debate as to the actual designer: some credit Alexander Adams, others George Charles Beckley. It was very similar to the flag of the British East India Company in use at about this time, which had only red and white stripes. Captain Adams used this flag for the first time on a Hawaiian trade mission to China in 1817. There may have been different versions of the flag with different numbers of stripes and colors. 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.
Design
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. Other versions of the flag have only seven stripes, probably representing the islands with the exception of Kahoolawe or Niihau. 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. In 2001, a survey conducted by the North American Vexillological Association placed Hawaii's flag 11th in design quality out of the 72 Canadian provincial, US state and US territorial flags ranked.
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".
