Flag History
Before the English explorer Captain James Cook came to the Hawaiian Islands in 1776, the Hawaiians did not use flags. They instead displayed distinctive marks. In 1794, King Kamehameha of Hawaii was given a British flag by Captain George Vancouver. It is believed that he was the first to raise a flag in Hawaii. Until 1816, Hawaii was under British protection, which is the reason for the current state flag's prominent display of the British Union Jack. But the red, white and blue stripes were added to distinguish it from Britain an to express the island's desire to be independent. The flag now contains eight stripes, representing the eight main islands of the Hawaiian chain.
Flag Adopted: 1894 (when Hawaii was still a republic)
State Nickname: The Aloha State
State Motto: The Life of the Land is Perpetuated in Righteousness
Area: 6,471 square miles (includes 136 islands, 7 of which are inhabited)
Approximate Population: 965,000
Capital: Honolulu
Largest City: Honolulu
Major Products: sugar cane, pineapples, tourism
State Bird: Hawaiian goose
State Tree: Kukui
State Flower: Hibiscus
