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| Etymology | |
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The name "Hong Kong" is an approximate phonetic rendering of the pronunciation of the spoken Cantonese or Hakka name "香港", meaning "fragrant harbour".[39] Before 1842, the name referred to a small inlet – now Aberdeen Harbour or Little Hong Kong – between the Aberdeen Island and the south side of Hong Kong Island, which was one of the first points of contact between British sailors and local fishermen.[40]
The reference to fragrance may refer to the harbour waters sweetened by the fresh water estuarine influx of the Pearl River, or to the incense from factories lining the coast to the north of Kowloon, which was stored around Aberdeen Harbour for export before the development of Victoria Harbour.[39] In 1842, the Treaty of Nanking was signed, and the name Hong Kong was first recorded on official documents to encompass the entirety of the island.[41]
Tags:Cantonese,Hakka,Kowloon,香港,Spoken Cantonese,Aberdeen Harbour,Aberdeen Island,Pearl River,Victoria Harbour,Treaty Of Nanking,Canton, | |
| Pre-colonial | |
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Main articles: Prehistoric Hong Kong and History of Hong Kong under Imperial China
Archaeological studies support a human presence in the Chek Lap Kok area from 35,000 to 39,000 years ago, and in Sai Kung Peninsula from 6,000 years ago.[42][43][44] Wong Tei Tung and Three Fathoms Cove are the two earliest sites of human habitation in the Palaeolithic period. It is believed the Three Fathom Cove was a river valley settlement and Wong Tei Tung was a lithic manufacturing site. Excavated Neolithic artefacts suggest cultural differences from the Longshan culture in northern China and settlement by the Che people prior to the migration of the Baiyue.[45][46] Eight petroglyphs were discovered on surrounding islands, which dated to the Shang Dynasty in China.[47]
In 214 BC, Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China, conquered the Baiyue tribes in Jiaozhi (modern Liangguang region) and incorporated the territory into imperial China for the first time. Modern Hong Kong is located in Nanhai commandery (modern Nanhai District) and near the ancient capital city Pun Yue.[48][49][50] The area was consolidated under the kingdom of Nanyue, founded by general Zhao Tuo in 204 BC after the Qin Dynasty collapsed.[51] When the kingdom was conquered by Emperor Wu of Han in 111 BC, the land was assigned to the Jiaozhi commandery under the Han Dynasty. Archaeological evidence indicates the population increased and early salt production flourished in this time period. Lei Cheng Uk Han Tomb in the Kowloon Peninsula is believed to have been built during the Han Dynasty.[52]
The Lei Cheng Uk Han Tomb Museum located in northwest Kowloon was built in 1969 after the tomb's discovery in 1955.
During the Tang Dynasty period, the Guangdong region flourished as a regional trading center. In 736, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang established a military town in Tuen Mun to defend the coastal area in the region.[53] The first village school, Li Ying College, was established around 1075 in the New Territories under the Northern Song Dynasty.[54] During the Mongol invasion in 1276, the Southern Song Dynasty court moved to Fujian, then to Lantau Island and later to Sung Wong Toi (modern Kowloon City), but the child Emperor Huaizong of Song committed suicide by drowning with his officials after being defeated in the Battle of Yamen. Hau Wong, an official of the emperor is still worshipped in Hong Kong today.[55]
The earliest recorded European visitor was Jorge Álvares, a Portuguese explorer who arrived in 1513.[56][57] After establishing settlements in the region, Portuguese merchants began trading in southern China. At the same time, they invaded and built up military fortifications in Tuen Mun. Military clashes between China and Portugal led to the expulsion of the Portuguese. In the mid-16th century, the Haijin order banned maritime activities and prevented contact with foreigners; it also restricted local sea activity.[55] In 1661–69, the territory was affected by the Great Clearance ordered by Kangxi Emperor, which required the evacuation of the coastal areas of Guangdong. It is recorded that about 16,000 persons from Xin'an County were driven inland, and 1,648 of those who left are said to have returned when the evacuation was rescinded in 1669.[58] What is now the territory of Hong Kong became largely wasteland during the ban.[59] In 1685, Kangxi became the first emperor to open limited trading with foreigners, which started with the Canton territory. He also imposed strict terms for trades such as requiring foreign traders to live in restricted areas, staying only for the trading seasons, banning firearms, and trading with silver only.[60] The East India Company made the first sea venture to China in 1699, and the region's trade with British merchants developed rapidly soon after. In 1711, the company established its first trading post in Canton. By 1773, the British reached a landmark 1,000 chests of opium in Canton with China consuming 2,000 chests annually by 1799.[60]
Tags:Min,Wu,Guangdong,Kowloon Peninsula,New Territories,Archaeological,Chek Lap Kok,Sai Kung Peninsula,Wong Tei Tung,Three Fathoms Cove,Palaeolithic,Neolithic,Longshan Culture,Che People,Baiyue,Petroglyphs,Shang Dynasty,Qin Shi Huang,Jiaozhi,Liangguang,Commandery,Nanhai District,Pun Yue,Nanyue,Emperor Wu Of Han,Lei Cheng Uk Han Tomb,Lei Cheng Uk Han Tomb Museum,Tang Dynasty,Emperor Xuanzong Of Tang,Tuen Mun,Li Ying College,Northern Song Dynasty,Southern Song Dynasty,Fujian,Lantau Island, | |
| British colonial era | |
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Main articles: British Hong Kong, History of Hong Kong (1800s–1930s)
View of Hong Kong Island from Kowloon (published 1843)
In 1839, the refusal by Qing Dynasty authorities to import opium resulted in the First Opium War between China and Britain. Hong Kong Island was occupied by British forces on 20 January 1841 and was initially ceded under the Convention of Chuenpee as part of a ceasefire agreement between Captain Charles Elliot and Governor Qishan, but the agreement was never ratified due to a dispute between high ranking officials in both governments.[61] It was not until 29 August 1842 that the island was formally ceded in perpetuity to the United Kingdom under the Treaty of Nanking. The British established a crown colony with the founding of Victoria City the following year.[62]
Under British rule, the population of Hong Kong island had increased from 7,450 Chinese residents, mostly fishermen, in 1841 to over 115,000 Chinese and 8,754 Europeans in Hong Kong (including Kowloon) in 1870.[63]
In 1860, after China's defeat in the Second Opium War, the Kowloon Peninsula and Stonecutter's Island were ceded in perpetuity to Britain under the Convention of Peking.
In 1894, the deadly Third Pandemic of bubonic plague spread from China to Hong Kong, causing 50,000–100,000 deaths.[64]
In 1898, under the terms of the Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory, Britain obtained a 99-year lease of Lantau Island and the adjacent northern lands, which became known as the New Territories.[65] Hong Kong's territory has remained unchanged to the present.[66][67]
During the first half of the 20th century, Hong Kong was a free port, serving as an entrepôt of the British Empire. The British introduced an education system based on their own model, while the local Chinese population had little contact with the European community of wealthy tai-pans settled near Victoria Peak.[65]
Tags:Victoria Peak,Chinese,British Empire,First Opium War, | |
| Japanese invasion | |
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In conjunction with its military campaign, the Empire of Japan invaded Hong Kong on 8 December 1941.[68] The Battle of Hong Kong ended with British and Canadian defenders surrendering control of the colony to Japan on 25 December.[69] During the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, civilians suffered widespread food shortages, rationing, and hyper-inflation due to forced exchange of currency for military notes. Through a policy of enforced repatriation of the unemployed to the mainland throughout the period, because of the scarcity of food, the population of Hong Kong had dwindled from 1.6 million in 1941 to 600,000 in 1945, when the United Kingdom resumed control of the colony.[70]
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| Cold war era | |
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Main articles: British Hong Kong, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s
Granted by the College of Arms on 21 January 1959, the Blue Ensign colonial flag and coat of arms of Hong Kong were used by British Hong Kong during 1959–1997.
Hong Kong's population recovered quickly as a wave of migrants from China arrived for refuge from the ongoing Chinese Civil War. When the PRC was proclaimed in 1949, more migrants fled to Hong Kong for fear of persecution by the Communist Party.[65] Many corporations in Shanghai and Guangzhou shifted their operations to Hong Kong.[65]
In the 1950s, Hong Kong's rapid industrialisation was driven by textile exports and other expanded manufacturing industries. As the population grew and labour costs remained low, living standards rose steadily.[71] The construction of Shek Kip Mei Estate in 1953 followed a massive slum fire, and marked the beginning of the public housing estate programme designed to cope with the huge influx of immigrants. Trade in Hong Kong accelerated even further when Shenzhen, immediately north of Hong Kong, became a special economic zone of the PRC, and Hong Kong was established as the main source of foreign investment in China.[72] The manufacturing competitiveness gradually declined in Hong Kong due to the development of the manufacturing industry in southern China beginning in the early 1980s. By contrast, the service industry in Hong Kong experienced high rates of growth in the 1980s and 1990s after absorbing workers released from the manufacturing industry.[73]
Development of Hong Kong Island in 1986
In 1983, when the United Kingdom reclassified Hong Kong from a British crown colony to a dependent territory, the governments of the United Kingdom and China were already discussing the issue of Hong Kong's sovereignty due to the impending expiry (within two decades) of the lease of the New Territories. In 1984, the Sino-British Joint Declaration – an agreement to transfer sovereignty to the People's Republic of China in 1997 – was signed.[65] It stipulated that Hong Kong would be governed as a special administrative region, retaining its laws and a high degree of autonomy for at least 50 years after the transfer. The Hong Kong Basic Law, which would serve as the constitutional document after the transfer, was ratified in 1990.[65]
Tags:People's Republic Of China,Guangzhou, | |
| Since 1997 | |
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Main articles: Transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong and 2000s in Hong Kong
On 1 July 1997, the transfer of sovereignty from United Kingdom to the PRC occurred, officially ending 156 years of British colonial rule. Hong Kong became China's first special administrative region, and Tung Chee Hwa took office as the first Chief Executive of Hong Kong. That same year, Hong Kong suffered an economic double blow from the Asian financial crisis and the H5N1 avian influenza.[65] In 2003, Hong Kong was gravely affected by the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).[74][75] The World Health Organization reported 1,755 infected and 299 deaths in Hong Kong.[76] An estimated 380 million Hong Kong dollars (US$48.9 million) in contracts were lost as a result of the epidemic.[77]
On 10 March 2005, Tung Chee Hwa announced his resignation as Chief Executive due to "health problems".[78] Donald Tsang, the Chief Secretary for Administration at the time, entered the 2005 election unopposed and became the second Chief Executive of Hong Kong on 21 June 2005.[79] In 2007, Tsang won the Chief Executive election and continued his second term in office.[80]
In 2009, Hong Kong hosted the fifth East Asian Games, in which nine national teams competed. It was the first and largest international multi-sport event ever held in the territory.[81] Today, Hong Kong continues to serve as an important global financial centre, but faces uncertainty over its future due to the growing mainland China economy, and its relationship with the PRC government in areas such as democratic reform and universal suffrage.[82]
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