Colonization of Hong Kong

A detailed Summary of Colonization of Hong Kong

The Colonization of Hong Kong Colonization from large economic powers brought disease and death to the indigenous population and wealth and power to their conquers. Many civilizations were crushed under the rule of European Superpowers though Hong Kong was the exception. The colonization of Hong Kong made the British wealthy and the indigenous population also reaped the benefits of their newfound wealth The insisted that China should trade with the rest of the world in the 1800's. The Chinese were very reluctant to do so and as a consequence they only left one port open to trade with the Western world, Guangzhou, the Capital of Guandong. The high prices instigated by the Chinese leaders, the Qing, gold and silver were the only goods China would accept. This lead to draconian treatment of the Qing by the British traders. The official trade monopoly was know as Cohong. Even though the British government and traders were enraged by this embargo they still continued to trade with the Chinese none the less. Increasingly the greedy want for gold and silver by the Qing was barely reached by the British traders. Indian opium became more lucrative as a commodity and the British who ruled over India at the time, started to trade with Opium,

even though Opiates were illegal. Opium is an extremely addictive and popular drug that was used by millions of Chinese. As corruption and addiction became prevalent, silver and gold stores slowly but surely drained. The Chinese Emperor Daoguang tried to stop Opium trade by instigating trade laws and hired various commissioners to reinforce them against the Chinese and British traders. In March 1839 Imperial Commissioner Lin Zexu was assigned to destroy 1400 tons of opium. Lin blockaded the British traders in their compounds and the Opium was destroyed by the Chinese troops. Theses actions gave the British they opportunity they had been looking for, a reason to declare war on China. In June 1840 a British fleet arrived in Guangzhou demanding repayment for the lost opium. Meanwhile another fleet moved towards Tianjing and threatened the Capital, Beijing. The Emperor immediately dismissed Commissioner Lin and instated a new commissioner Qishan. Qishan capitulated to the British demands and signed the Convention of Quanbi, which in January 1841 handed Hong Kong over to the British, as well as a substantial compensation for the lost opium. Opium trade then continued in Guangzhou bringing huge financial gain to the British Empire. The Chinese were under the false belief that by signing the Quanbi Convention that all hostilities would end. This would prove to be a grave mistake. Both the Chinese and British Empire later revoked the Convention. The Chinese b

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Approximate Word count = 984
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History