Hong Kong Colonization History 10

The Colonization of Hong Kong

By Wynne Ebner

Opium Wars

The Issue:

Britain had large demand for tea

• Imported 13,600 tons of tea from China by 1830
• Tea was 10% of government's income

China did not reciprocate desire for British goods...

But wait!!! The Chinese actually did want to trade once they found out that the British had Opium!

The actual issue: The Chinese were becoming addicted to opium and draining the silver from China in order to pay for it

Opium was banned in 1799

-People smuggled it in anyways

1839- Lin Zexu, governor of Hunan, surrounded British merchants and cut off food supply

British, led by Charles Elliot, attacked Hong Kong

• Attacked several coastal cities
• Threatened Beijing

Treaty of Nanjing (1842)

Reason for Colonization?

British wanted the trade advantages and resources of China

Edward Duncan (1803–1882)

1843

History of Hong Kong

Early Hong Kong

• Has supported human life since Stone Age
• Under Chinese rule by Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 CE)
• Five Clans
• Tang
• Hau
• Pang
• Lui
• Man

Punti

"locals, natives"

Actual original inhabitants forced to leave

(Pre-Colonization)

Trade with Europe

• 1557 Regular trade began
• Portuguese set up port in Macau
• Dutch, French, and British traders followed soon after
• Liked luxury items (porcelain, silk, tea, etc.)
• 1685 British came via East India Trade Company
• By 1714, warehouses established in Guangzhau

Present-Day Hong Kong

Post-1997

• Increase in unemployment
• Questioning of Freedom of Press
• Bird Flu Epidemic

Population boom!

33,000 (1850) to 265,000 (1900)

Bubonic Plague, fever, typhoons, crime, poverty, opium dens, gambling clubs, brothels, prostitution

Troubled Times

Effects of Colonization on Hong Kong?

Queen Victoria in a letter to her uncle, King Leopold I, on 13 April 1841:

"The Chinese business vexes us much, and Palmerston is deeply mortified at it.... The accounts of the cruelty of the Chinese to one another are horrible. Albert is so much amused at my having got the Island of Hong Kong, and we think Victoria ought to be called Princess of Hong Kong in addition to Princess Royal."

For British:

• Leverage over China and Chinese trade
• Direct access tea and other goods, influencing British culture
• Establishment of Britain as a World Power
• Economic advantage due to cheap manufacturing and importing

The British Empire

Hong Kong under British Rule (1841-1997)

For China:

• Establishment of Western power in Asia
• Western culture influenced Hong Kong and spread into China (i.e. Opium, industrialization)
• Island of capitalism surrounded by sea of communism- politically charged

Democracy Issues

"The Handover"

• British promised to keep democracy
• Made PRC angry
• Agreed to let Hong Kong practice capitalism, not socialism, for at least 50 years after handover
• Also, will follow Hong Kong Basic Law

• Chinese government called for meeting with British in 1979
• Bound to give back the New Territories, not Hong Kong
• Decided in 1984 (Joint Declaration)- resentment that the people (5.5 million) had no part in decision
• Many people emigrated to other places (Tiananmen Square, 1989)
• Bill of Rights 1990 to restore credibility

Outlined the rights of the citizens of Hong Kong

• Law
• Privacy
• Freedom of Religion, Thought, and Conscience
• Right to Assemble
• 23 Articles

Sources:

Economic Flourishment

For Hong Kong:

• Benefits of democracy and capitalism and the risks of being governed by foreign power
• Western influences from opium and disease to manufacturing and economic success
• Negotiable human rights
• People have little power to determine their fate
• Demonstrates integration of cultures

• Stability of British government made Hong Kong influential in international trade and business
• Opium was large source of revenue
• Post-World War II industrialization (1950-1970)

• 1950s creation of textile and garment factories
• Very poor working conditions (low wages, unsafe facilities, child labor, etc.)
• Many immigrants from China
• Economy and society flourished

Primary Sources

Youtube. 1997, Handover Ceremony Hong Kong

Queen Victoria, letter, 1841

Duncan, Edward. 1843 Nemisis

Hong Kong Bill of Rights, 1990

Kendall, Philip. Web. 13 May 2013. <http://en.rocketnews24.com/2013/03/15/more-than-90-percent-of-hong-kong-citizens-long-to-return-to-british-rule/>.

Secondary Sources

Palivos, Theodore. "The Colonization of Hong Kong: Establishing the Pearl of Britain-China Trade." Pingwang. N.p., 15 Jun 2011. Web. 13 May 2013. <http://pingwang.wustl.edu/Working Papers/colonization-6-11.pdf>.

"History of Hong Kong." Lonely Island. Lonely Island. Web. 13 May 2013. <http://www.lonelyplanet.com/china/hong-kong/history

Whaples, Robert. "Economic History of Hong Kong." 2010. <http://eh.net/encyclopedia/article/schenk.hongkong>

Wiltshire, Trea. [First published 1987] (republished & reduced 2003). Old Hong Kong – Volume One. Central, Hong Kong: Text Form Asia books Ltd. ISBN Volume One 962-7283-59-2

Hong Kong under Chinese Rule (1997-Present)