Samoa

Samoa
Flag of Samoa
Designer	Tupua Tamasese Mea'ole and Malietoa Tanumafili II
Adopted	24 February 1949 1 January 1962
Wikipedia article
Flags of the World article

Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa (Samoan: Sāmoa i Sisifo), is an island country in Polynesia, Oceania.

Description

It consists of a red field with a blue rectangle in the canton. The blue rectangle bears the Southern Cross: four large white stars and one smaller star.

Symbolism

Red: Represents courage and the struggle for independence.

Dark Blue: Represents freedom and the Pacific Ocean that surrounds the islands.

White: Represents Purity, Peace and Prosperity.

White Stars: Represent freedom and the guiding light of Christianity.

Southern Cross Constellation: Represents Samoa's location in the South Pacific and its historic use as a navigational tool.

History

The flag of Samoa (Samoan: fu‘a o Sāmoa) was first adopted from 24 February 1949, for UN Trusteeships, and continuously applied for the state's independence on 1 January 1962.

Historical Flags

Flag of the Kingdom of Samoa as depicted in the Flags of Paradise chart, similar to the Ottoman flag (1858-1873)

Flag of the Malietoa dynasty in the Kingdom of Samoa (1875-1887, 1889–1900)

Flag of the Tuiaana dynasty in the Kingdom of Samoa (1875-1887, 1889–1900)

Flag of the Tupua Tamasesse in the Kingdom of Samoa (1887-1889)

Flag of the German Colonial Office

Proposal for German Samoa's flag, never adopted (1914)

Official Blue Ensign of Western Samoa under Mandate with UK (17 December 1920 – 1 January 1962)

Initial flag of Western Samoa acquired but not approved (26 May 1948)

See also: New Zealand

Flag redesigns

Samoa flag redesign.

Flag redesign by Relevant_Sorbet_3025, Jun 2023. ( Reddit post)