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Hong Kong Guide

History

Early Hong Kong

Hong Kong has been inhabited for millennia. During the Han Dynasty, about 2,000 years ago, China officially absorbed Hong Kong and its hinterland. Between the 11th and 15th centuries, the Cantonese settled here in greater numbers.

The First Opium War and its Aftermath

In the early 19th century, British traders made a fortune in the opium trade, exchanging the narcotic for Chinese tea. Eventually, the Chinese Imperial Government, worried about the drug's effects on its population, sought to ban the import of opium, which led to the First Opium War (1840 - 1842). Queen Victoria's gunboats prevailed and Hong Kong Island was ceded to Britain in perpetuity under the Treaty of Nanking in 1842. The Kowloon peninsula and Stonecutters Island were handed over in 1860 and, in 1898, a 99 year lease was granted on an area that became known as the New Territories.

Historic Handover

In 1984, the Sino-British Joint Declaration was signed, paving the way for Hong Kong's return to Chinese sovereignty. On I July 1997, Hong Kong became a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China under a unique arrangement referred to as "one country, two systems". Its constitution, called the Basic Law, ensures Hong Kong is free to continue its own political, social and economic systems and enjoy a high degree of autonomy until 2047.

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