Editing Flag of Hawaii (section)

=== Before 1816 ===
[[File:Red Ensign of Great Britain (1707–1800).svg|thumb|Red Ensign of [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]] (1707–1800)]]
Captain [[George Vancouver]] of the [[History of the Royal Navy (after 1707)|British Royal Navy]] visited the Hawaiian Islands on three occasions during his [[Vancouver expedition|1791 to 1795 expedition]]. At this time, the Hawaiian Islands were divided among several warring chiefdoms. In February 1794, while at anchorage in [[Kealakekua Bay]] off the [[Hawaii (island)|island of Hawaii]], Vancouver reached a diplomatic agreement with the king (or ''[[aliʻi]])'' of that island, [[Kamehameha I|Kamehameha]], who would later unite all the Hawaiian islands and become the first ruler of the [[Hawaiian Kingdom]]. Vancouver believed that the agreement reached meant Hawaii Island was being ceded to [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]] but historians have argued that the Hawaiians saw the agreement as establishing a [[protectorate]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bown |first=Stephen R. |title=Madness, betrayal and the lash: the epic voyage of Captain George Vancouver |date=2008 |publisher=Douglas and McIntyre |isbn=978-1-55365-339-4 |location=Vancouver |pages=190–191}}</ref> After the proceedings on Vancouver's vessel, a British flag was presented, taken ashore and raised. The flag was either a [[Flag of Great Britain|British Union Jack]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-10-01 |title=Flag of Hawaii {{!}} Meaning, History & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/flag-of-Hawaii |access-date=2024-11-26 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref><ref name="HealyOrenski2016">{{cite book| first1= Donald T. |last1= Healy| first2= Peter J.| last2= Orenski|title=Native American Flags|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DzReCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA279|date=January 12, 2016|publisher=University of Oklahoma Press|isbn=978-0-8061-5575-3|page=279| via= Google Books}}</ref> or a [[Red Ensign]] as used by the Royal Navy, which features a Union Jack in the canton.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fisher |first=Lynn |title=Hawaii |url=https://usflags.design/hawaii/ |access-date=2024-11-26 |website=US Flags [dot] Design |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date=2018-08-09 |title=The Story Of Hawaii - Story Of Hawaii Museum: 'THE HAWAIIAN FLAG' |url=https://storyofhawaiimuseum.com/the-story-of-hawaii/ |access-date=2024-11-30 |website=storyofhawaiimuseum.com |language=en-US}}</ref>{{efn|Vancouver's journal ambiguously describes the presented flag as "the British colours".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Vancouver |first=George |title=A Voyage of Discovery to the North Pacific Ocean and Round the World, Volume 3 |date=1798 |location=London |pages=56|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c-hKAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA56}}</ref> }} In 1801, the British Union Jack added a [[Saint Patrick's Cross]] when [[Kingdom of Ireland|Ireland]] joined with Great Britain in a political union. Both pre- and post-1801 versions of the Red Ensign served as the unofficial flag of the Hawaiian Kingdom until 1816.<ref name="HealyOrenski2016" />

There is an unverified anecdote that, during the [[War of 1812]] (fought between the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]] and the [[United States]] from 1812 to 1815), Kamehameha became aware of the nationalist meaning of flags. To avoid offending either side, he designed a new flag for his kingdom which combined elements of both the British Union Jack and [[Star-Spangled Banner (flag)|the flag of the United States at that time]].<ref name=":3" /><ref name="Golovnin">{{Cite book |last=Golovnin |first=Vasily |url=https://archive.org/details/aroundworldonkam0000golo |title=Around the world on the Kamchatka, 1817–1819 |publisher=Hawaiian Historical Society |year=1979 |isbn=0824806409 |location=Honolulu}}</ref>{{rp|p=197}}

<gallery class="center" width="150px" height="100px">
File:Civil_Ensign_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg|Red Ensign of the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland]]
File:Star-Spangled Banner flag.svg | [[Star-Spangled Banner (flag)|Flag of the United States in 1815]] with 15 red and white stripes
</gallery>