Before the English explorer Captain James Cook came to the Hawaiian Islands HI 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 Hawaii state flag's prominent display of the British Union Jack.  But the red, white, and blue stripes were added to distinguish it from Britain and to express the island's desire to be independent.  The Hawaii flag now contains eight stripes, representing the eight main island of the Hawaiian chain.  Hawaii State Flag Adopted:  1894  (when Hawaii was still a republic)