In 1810, a young Hawaiian chief named Kamehameha consolidated the island chain under his rule and established the sovereign nation of Hawaii. King Kamehameha commissioned the Hawaiian flag in 1816. Long before becoming a U.S. state (1959), Hawaii was a British protectorate. The Union Jack is symbolic of that relationship and also of the royal standard of the islands' tribal chiefs. The red, white, and blue stripes represent the eight islands in the chain.
Original scenery object by Stanley Siegel (soupystan), state flag texture by Rob Crawford (jrcrawford4).