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History of Hong Kong  |
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It is astounding to imagine modern Hong Kong's humble beginnings as that of a fishing village before the British arrived there. The strides and advances the city, at one time called a "barren rock" are immense.
The British used the territory as a naval base during their Opium Wars with China. After the first of such wars, the Treaty of Nanking in 1842 ceded Hong Kong Island to Britain. Sir Henry Pottinger was the territory's first governor. Following other fights and wars with the Chinese, Britain was given Kowloon and Stonecutter's Island in 1860. Lastly, the British acquired the New territories in 1898 on a 99-year contract. The territory grew as more people settled there with time. In the early 1900's Hong Kong was a refuge for exiles from China.
Following Japan's seizure of Manchuria in 1932, the Sino-Japanese war broke out. As Japan headed towards China, thousands of Chinese people came to Hong Kong. The number of refugees grew rapidly. That brought Hong Kong's population to about 1.6 million people at the start of World War II. World War II disrupted all activities in Hong Kong. On December 25, 1941, the British surrendered the territory to the Japanese army. U.S. submarines brought Japanese planes to Hong Kong to prepare there for further attacks on the East Asian region. After Japan's surrender in August of 1945, Britain reclaimed its territory. After that, Chinese civilians returned and the population, which had decreased rapidly, grew to 1.8 million again.
Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, Hong Kong's population has continued to rise and nowadays this small territory is home to about 7.2 million people (July 2001 est.).
Editor:Inner Wu CCTV.com
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