There were many causes for the Opium Wars. For example, most of the Chinese people were turning into opium addicts. This was causing a serious problem for the Chinese people. People were dying from opium left and right and the government was worried. As a result of the death of many Chinese people, the government outlawed the use of Opium. This meant that the British could no longer sell this addictive drug to the Chinese people to make a profit. Another cause of the Opium War was because the British could no longer sell opium for profit there. They would lose a great deal of money because they couldn't sell at home either. They also lost a lot of money since the commissioner took over their opium and publicly burned it. They

The first Opium War caused a lot of trouble for the Chinese government. On October 4th, 1839, the British government got word of the Chinese prohibition of opium. They then decided to dispatch a war fleet to China. They wanted to have a port near China forever. The British Foreign Secretary H.J.J. Palmerston delivered a note to the Qing government, threatening to use force against China if it would not cede one or several islands along its seacoast to Britain forever as demanded and designated by the British Plenipotentiaries. In April of 1840, the British government decided to wage a full-fledged war with China. In June of the same year the British forces arrived and the Opium War officially started. This Opium War would last for more than two long, tiring years. The British army was overwhelming for the unprepared Chinese army. The British easily took over any of the ports and shocked and surprised the panic-stricken emperor. The emperor then sent out his men to go negotiate with the British who wanted access to more ports and the price of the amount of opium that they destroyed. After much fighting, the Chinese finally agreed to these and the Qing court signed the Teaty of Nanjing. his was the official end of the war.

The history of Hong Kong first started in 1840 with beginning of the Opium War. This was the start of a turbulent and rocky past for the island of Hong Kong. After the Opium War ended and the British took over the main island, they got ambitious and struck again. The British then gained the Kowloon Peninsula and afterwards they leased the New Territories, widening the area of Hong Kong. Under the British, the Hong Kong people enjoyed a huge amount of rights that the people living in mainland China did not. Although Hong Kong has figured out their political direction, their economy hasn't. Recently, the economy has plummeted. The stock has been projected to drop as much as 50 percent. The gross domestic product is also expected to decline by four percent. The Hong Kong economy is in a questionable position. Hong Kong has had a rocky past and has a questionable future with the survival of the Special Administration Region is uncertain.

The Special Administrative Region would be governed by both sides and would live under Basic Law. In 1985, with the Joint Declaration in force, the People's Republic of China created a committee to draft the Hong Kong Basic Law which would govern Hong Kong when China took over. Basic Law, basically a type of mini constitution that the future Special Administrative Region would live under would tell how the Joint Declaration would be applied and what type of political system Hong Kong would live under. The Joint Declaration, the announcement of the Special Administrative Region and Basic Law would be crucial to the future of Hong Kong.

vowed revenge on the insolent Chinese people since they won't be able to get paid for it from the Chinese government. In addition, the outflow of the

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2011
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)