Flag of Samoa

Rare card · No. 55268

The flag of Samoa (Samoan: fu‘a o Sāmoa) is a red field with a blue canton bearing five white five-pointed stars arranged to form the Southern Cross constellation. Paramount chiefs Malietoa Tanumafili II and Tupua Tamasese Meaʻole designed the flag with four stars in 1948, when Samoa was under the stewardship of New Zealand as the Territory of Western Samoa. The smaller fifth star was added in 1949. The Official Flag and National Anthem of Samoa Act 1994 outlines flag protocol and the construction of the flag. An individual who intentionally mishandles or insults the flag may be subject to a fine, imprisonment, or both. Three Samoan flags were introduced before 1948. Paramount chief Malietoa Laupepa introduced the first Samoan national flag, a red field with a white cross and a white star in the upper hoist (canton), in 1873. Tupua Tamasese Titimaea, a contemporary rival claimant to the Samoan throne, adopted Laupepa's flag as his own standard, albeit with a black cross instead of white...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Original: Malietoa Tanumafili II and Tupua Tamasese Meaʻole Vector: See the file history below for details., Public domain