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Ka Hae Hawaiʻi | |
Use | Civil and state flag ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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Proportion | 1:2 |
Adopted | May 25, 1845 |
Design | Eight alternating horizontal stripes of white, red, and blue, with the United Kingdom's Union Flag (ratio 7:16) in the canton.[1] |
The Flag of Hawaii, also known as the Hawaiian flag,[a] is the official flag of the U.S. state of Hawaii, consisting of a field of eight horizontal stripes, in the sequence of white, red, blue, white, red, blue, white, red with a British Union Jack depicted as a canton (placed in the upper-left corner). It was first adopted in the mid 19th century by the Hawaiian Kingdom and then later became the official state flag when Hawaii was admitted into the United States as the 50th state in 1959.
The use of the Union Jack is a legacy of the British Royal Navy's historical relations with the Hawaiian Kingdom and, in particular, the pro-British sentiment of its first ruler, King Kamehameha I. The current design has been in use since 1845. It was retained by the Republic of Hawaii after the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy in 1893. Likewise, after U.S. annexation in 1898, no change was made to the flag design used by the Territory of Hawaii before Hawaii was granted statehood.
The flag's eight stripes represent the main islands of the Hawaiian archipelago.
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