Was Hong Kong a British colony?
British Hong Kong was a colony and dependent territory of the British Empire from 1841 to 1997, apart from a brief period under Japanese occupation from 1941 to 1945. The colonial period began with the occupation of Hong Kong Island in 1841 during the First Opium War.
When was Hong Kong colonized by the British?
1841
The United Kingdom had held Hong Kong as a colony since 1841, when it occupied the area during the First Opium War.
Why did the British colonize Hong Kong?
Opium Wars The First Opium War lasted from 1839 to 1842. Britain invaded the Chinese mainland and occupied the island of Hong Kong on Jan. China lost the war and had to cede Hong Kong to Britain in the Treaty of Nanking. As a result, Hong Kong became a crown colony of the British Empire.
How many years was Hong Kong a British colony?
156 years
(Reuters) – Split between a densely populated mainland and over 200 islands in the South China Sea, the small, strategic territory of Hong Kong was under British rule for 156 years before reverting to Chinese sovereignty on July 1, 1997.
Was Taiwan a British colony?
The 23rd of this month marks the 120th anniversary of the founding of the independent Republic Formosa, which briefly ruled the island in 1895. In the same year, however, Taiwan almost went down a very different path: one that would have led to status as a British crown colony…
How did the British Empire affect Hong Kong?
But between 1842 and 1898, the British Empire gradually seized control of the three main regions that make up modern-day Hong Kong: Hong Kong Island, the Kowloon Peninsula and the New Territories. When the war ended in 1842, the Treaty of Nanjing forced China to indefinitely cede the southern island to the British.
Where is Taishanese spoken?
Guangdong Province
Taishanese is spoken in the southern part of Guangdong Province in China, particularly around the city-level county of Taishan located on the western fringe of the Pearl River Delta.
Who colonized Taiwan?
The island was colonized by the Dutch in the 17th century, followed by an influx of Hoklo people including Hakka immigrants from the Fujian and Guangdong areas of mainland China, across the Taiwan Strait….History of Taiwan.
| Prehistory | to 1624 |
|---|---|
| Japanese rule | 1895–1945 |
| Republic of China rule | 1945–present |
When did Hong Kong become a British colony?
Hong Kong was a British colony from 1841 to 1941 and again from 1945 to 1997. In 1839 in the First Opium War, Britain invaded China and one its first acts was to occupy Hong Kong. What is a colony? A colony is a group of people from one country who build a settlement in another territory or land.
Where was the first settlement in Hong Kong?
Evidence of an Upper Paleolithic settlement in Hong Kong was found at Wong Tei Tung in Sham Chung beside the Three Fathoms Cove in Sai Kung Peninsula. There were 6000 artefacts found in a slope in the area and jointly confirmed by the Hong Kong Archaeological Society and Centre for Lingnan Archaeology of Zhongshan University.
What was the population of Hong Kong before World War 2?
By the end of the war in 1945, Hong Kong had been liberated by joint British and Chinese troops. The population of Hong Kong had shrunk to 600,000; less than half of the pre-war population of 1.6 million due to scarcity of food and emigration.
Who was the British minister in Hong Kong in 1898?
In 1898, the British sought to extend Hong Kong for defence. After negotiations began in April 1898, with the British Minister in Beijing, Sir Claude MacDonald, representing Britain, and diplomat Li Hongzhang leading the Chinese, the Second Convention of Peking was signed on 9 June.