colony · China, Tibet and Mongolia

Hong Kong (British)

1841 CE – 1997 CE · capital Victoria

The British colony on the south China coast that grew from a small island trading post into one of the world's great financial centres before its return to China in 1997.

Origins

British forces occupied Hong Kong Island in January 1841 during the First Opium War, and the Treaty of Nanking ceded it to Britain in 1842. Kowloon was added in 1860, and in 1898 the New Territories were leased for ninety-nine years, giving the colony its final shape within the British Empire.

Rule and society

A governor ruled with appointed councils, and the colony thrived as a free port and entrepôt for the China trade. Japan occupied it from 1941 to 1945. After 1949 refugees from mainland China fuelled a manufacturing boom, and from the 1970s Hong Kong became a major financial centre. Governor Murray MacLehose expanded housing and created the anti-corruption commission in 1974.

Decline and legacy

Because the New Territories lease expired in 1997, Britain and China signed the Joint Declaration in 1984. Governor Chris Patten introduced late electoral reforms, and on 1 July 1997 Hong Kong became a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China.

Lineage

Hong Kong (British)People's Republic of China 1949 CE – present

Connections (1)

Hong Kong (British) was a colony of British Empire1841 CE – 1997 CE

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Cite this page

APA: The Epoch Institute. (2026). Hong Kong (British). In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/hong-kong-british
MLA: “Hong Kong (British).” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/hong-kong-british. Accessed .
Chicago: The Epoch Institute. “Hong Kong (British).” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/hong-kong-british.
Harvard: The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Hong Kong (British)’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/hong-kong-british (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻