On Monday, June 30, 1997 2:58 PM, Shawn Gordon
[SMTP:[log in to unmask]] wrote:
> I know this probably sounds stupid, but all the news coverage has
> been
> of the handover, but not how Britain ended up with Hong Kong in the
> first place.  Would someone with some time be so kind as to give me
> a
> quick run down of the history?

I just read about it Shawn ---this is the short version

In the mid-to-late 1800s, the British Opium Traders used to trade in
Hong Kong...and of course, got them hooked in the mean time.  There
were two wars (The Opium Wars) where Britian gained control of Hong
Kong Island.

Soon, the Brits soon needed more room...that led to the lease on the
Territories - a 99 year lease which expired this year.

Instead of yielding the Territories back, they gave it all back -
Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, and all.

Hence - the short version.  If you want, the timeline is upstairs - I
can post it if people want... (just conserving bandwidth)...

Cheers,
Joe

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Joe Geiser
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