The state flag of New Hampshire was introduced in its present form on 24th of February 1909. It is a blue bunting with the state seal on it. The state seal is surrounded by a wreath of laurel leaves with nine stars between them. The nine stars represent New Hampshire as the 9th state to be admitted to the United States. The wreath is an ancient symbol of glory, honour and victory. The blue background of the state flag is meant to represent water on which the state seal floats. The image of the seal dates from 1775 and shows the construction of the ship "USS Raleigh" on the slipway of Portsmouth in 1776 during the War of Independence. It was one of the first 13 warships commissioned by the Continental Congress for a new American Navy, built in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in 1776. The inscription around the seal reads: "SEAL OF THE STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE". On 01.01.1932 the flag was slightly modified in the seal. Until 1931, the inscription read: "SIGILLUM REPUBLICAE NEO HANTONIENSIS" and the image of the seal was also arranged slightly differently.
Inhabitants: 1.377.529 (2020), thereof 92 % Whites (therof 10 % with German roots and 26 % with French roots), 3 % Hispanics and Latinos, 2 % Asian, 1 % Blacks (Afro-Americans), 0,2 % native Indian
10th of August 1622 · the English Plymouth Company hands over the province of Maine (between the rivers Merrimack and Kennebec) to the Messrs. John Mason and Ferdinando Gorges
1623 · first English settlement in the area of Portsmouth
1653 · founding of Portsmouth
7th of November 1629 · Mason and Gorges divide Maine (then also called Laconia) along the Piscataqua River, Mason names his part "New Hampshire"
1641–1679 · colonization of New Hampshire under the administration of Massachusetts
18th of September 1679 · New Hampshire becomes a British Crown Colony, capital: Portsmouth
1775 · Exeter becomes the capital
4th of July 1776 · Declaration of Independence of the USA, New Hampshire is one of 13 founding colonies
1686–1689 · New Hampshire is part of the Dominion of New England
The name "New Hampshire" was given to the country in 1629 by his owner, John Mason, in memory of a landscape in England. Before that it was called "Laconia" or it was a part of Maine.
