By: Doug Ott

 The British defeated the Chinese in the Opium war  As part of the Treaty of Nanjing, the island of Hong Kong was given to the British

 When the British originally gained Hong Kong, it was a rocky and undeveloped island  There were also many conflict with western and eastern culture mixing

 Mainly a fishing village prior to European involvement  Where punished Chinese officials would be sent by the government  Little natural recourses

 Was built up by the British to be a central hub for their trading efforts  Hong Kong was a place for their ships to dock and unload their goods

 Japan attacked the island of Hong Kong the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor (December )  The Japanese occupied the island for a period of 3 years and 8 months until August 15, 1945

 During the Japanese occupation, the population dropped from 1.6 million to 600,000  Due to the 1949 communist takeover of China, the population boomed once again

 The 1950’s were a time of great growth for Hong Kong  Many large building were built for relocating businesses from other Chinese cities such as Shanghai  This was due to the Communist takeover of China in 1949

 In an effort to rebuild its economy, Hong Kong turned to manufacturing  One industry that benefited form the industrialization was the textile industry that grew a great deal

 The Quality of life in Hong Kong continued to rise during this time period  Also, the economy continued to grow with just about everything in Hong Kong

 After long talks that went on for years, the island of Hong Kong was finally agreed upon to be handed over on July 1, 1997  Many Chinese living in Hong Kong welcomed the new government

 Under British rule, Hong Kong had grown into a center of business and trade for the far east  Many people were not sure what to expect from the Chinese government

 Many business leaders were not sure what to think of the Chinese government’s takeover  The People’s Republic of China promised not to change the economy of Hong Kong for 50 years  Many were still not comfortable with this and moved elsewhere

 Population of 7 Million  95 percent ethnic Chinese  Follows the policy of “One country, two systems”  Free Market Economy

 One of the world’s largest financial centers  Hong Kong Dollar- World’s ninth most traded currency  Official policy states that Hong Kong has a “High Degree of Autonomy”, except for military defense and foreign relations

By: Doug Ott Period 2 Ms. Monterosso