HISTORY
According
to archaeological studies initiated in the 1920s, human activity
on Hong Kong dates back over five millennia. Excavated Neolithic
artifacts suggest an influence from northern Chinese Stone-Age
cultures, including the Longshan. The territory was settled by
Han Chinese during the seventh century, A.D., evidenced by the
discovery of an ancient tomb at Lei Cheung Uk in Kowloon. The
first major migration from northern China to Hong Kong occurred
during the Ching Dynasty (960-1279). The British East India Company
made the first successful sea venture to China in 1699, and Hong
Kong's trade with British merchants developed rapidly soon after.
After the Chinese defeat in the First Opium War (1839-42), Hong
Kong was ceded to Britain in 1842 under the Treaty of Nanking.
Britain was granted a perpetual lease on the Kowloon Peninsula
under the 1860 Convention of Beijing, which formally ended hostilities
in the Second Opium War (1856-58). The United Kingdom, concerned
that Hong Kong could not be defended unless surrounding areas
were also under British control, executed a 99-year lease of the
New Territories in 1898, significantly expanding the size of the
Hong Kong colony.
In the late 19th century and early 20th centuries, Hong Kong developed as a warehousing and distribution center for U.K. trade with southern China. After the end of World War II and the communist takeover of Mainland China in 1949, hundreds of thousands of people fled from China to Hong Kong. Hong Kong became an economic success and a manufacturing, commercial, finance, and tourism center. High life expectancy, literacy, per capita income, and other socioeconomic measures attest to Hong Kong's achievements over the last five decades.
On July 1, 1997, China resumed the exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong, ending more than 150 years of British colonial rule. Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China with a degree of autonomy in all matters except foreign and defense affairs. According to the Sino-British Joint Declaration (1984) and the Basic Law, Hong Kong will retain its political, economic, and judicial systems and unique way of life for 50 years after reversion and will continue to participate in international agreements and organizations under the name, "Hong Kong, China."
