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Trade Between China and Britain
Before the British colonization, China and Britain engaged in trade. The Chinese supplied the British with a large amount of tea, while the British could only give silver or gold in return. Because of this, the British began to supply China with opium from the poppy fields of India. -
Banning of Opium
As the British supplied opium, many Chinese soon became addicted to opium and the price of it increased. Because of this opium was banned by the Emperor Chia Ch'ing in 1799. In 1839, 20,000 bales of opium has been smuggled in, when discovered, they were destroyed by the Chinese officials. -
The First Opium War
The First Opium War started in 1839. British forces surrounded Guangzhou before sailing north and occupying ports and cities along the Yangtze River. The Emperor sent Qi Shan to negotiate with the British. The results was that in exchange for the British to withdrawal from China, they had to give up Hong Kong to Britain. -
End of First Opium War/ Treaty of Nanking
The Treaty of Nanking was signed on the 29th of August 1842 to mark the end of the First Opium War between Britain and China. As a result, Hong Kong was given to Britain. The Treaty of Nanking also ended the old Canton System in China and created a new framework for China's foreign relations and overseas trade. -
Second Opium War
The Second Opium War broke out in 1856 when the Qing Dynasty court rejected the British's request of opening all ports of China for trade. Despite the Chinese warnings, the British tried to capitalise and attack Beijing. Combining the British and French forces, they invaded China and marched to Beijing. -
Convention of Peking
Because Hong Kong's population had grown tremendously, the British felt needed to gain more land for the growing colony. The Convention of Peking gave the British a larger than expected territoty which increased the colony size by 90%. China added 235 territories and gave it to the British for a lease of 99 years. -
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese war started because of a military conflict between China and Japan. China had help from Germany, Soviet Union, and the United States. After the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbour in 1941, the war merged to World War II, or the Pacific War. Initially, Japan scored major victories, and by the end of 1937 they captured the Chinese capital. But by 1939, the Japanese were unable to defeat China. -
Japan occupies Hong Kong during WW II
In 1941, during WWII, the Japanese began to occupy Hong Kong and took over the British by imprisoning the rich colonial rulers. The population fell from 1.6 million to 700,000, and had many food shortages that caused residents to flee to mainland China. -
Japan Surrenders
The Japanese surrendered Hong Kong after many problems arose. The British reclaimed Hong Kong and re-establishes a stable and civil government. Thousands of residents that were in mainland China return over the years. -
Hong Kong's economy thrives from Cheap Labour
The Hong Kong economy thrives as cheap labor and manufacturing allow the colony to develop and become more modern. -
China and Britain sign the "Joint Declaration"
In 1984, the British and the Chinese sign the Sino British Joint-Declaration, which allows Hong Kong to go back under China's rule in 1997. It is decided that even though Hong Kong will be part of China, it will keep a capitalist economy and a democratic political system for 50 years after it has been given back to the Chinese. -
Hong Kong is handed back to China
July 1997, Hong Kong is handed back to the Chinese after more than 150 years of British control. A man named Tung Chee Hwa is chosen to rule Hong Kong.
