Background Events

1816	Lord Amherst’s Embassy to China
1823	Robert Morrison’s Chinese-English dictionary published
1824	American trading firm, Russell & Co., established at Canton
1827	The Canton Register – first English newspaper in the Far East – founded by James Matheson
1831	Trade at Canton temporarily halted following “insolent acts” by Chinese
1832	Firm of Jardine, Matheson, & Co. founded
1833	East India Company’s Charter expires – company loses its advantages in China trade
1835	St. Paul’s Church, Macao, burned down: only facade survives fire
1836	Two inches of snow fall at Canton (8th February)
1839	Chinese destroy 20,000 chests of foreign-owned opium: start of First Opium War (1839–1842)
1840	British forces establish headquarters on Hong Kong island and blockade Canton
1841	Chinese destroy the foreign factories at Canton
	British forces besiege Canton – Chinese pay $6m to ransom the city
	Hong Kong island annexed by Britain
1842	Anglo-Chinese peace restored with Treaty of Nanking: confirms Hong Kong ceded to Britain; provides for opening of five Treaty Ports including Canton
1844	First steamship passenger service between Canton and Hong Kong
1848	Portuguese expel Chinese officials from Macao
1849	Governor Ferreira do Amaral of Macao assassinated by Chinese
1851	Start of Taiping Rebellion (1851–1864)
1854	Fatshan and Kowloon captured by Taiping rebels; Canton blockaded
	Substantial Chinese emigration begins through Hong Kong to Australia, California, and West Indies
	Population of Hong Kong 56,000
1855	British forces from Hong Kong move to protect Canton from Taiping rebels
1856	The affair of the Arrow leads to renewed hostilities by Anglo-French forces: start of Second Opium War (1856–1858)
	Foreign factories at Canton again destroyed by Chinese
1857	British docks and stores at Whampoa burned by Chinese
	Unsuccessful attempt to murder foreign community in Hong Kong with poisoned bread
	British destroy Chinese war junks at Fatshan Creek
1858	Anglo-French forces capture Canton: beginning of four-year occupation
	Peace restored with Treaty of Tientsin: opium trade legalised and missionary activity allowed
1859	Imperial Maritime Customs Service established at Canton
	Reclamation work begins to create island of Shameen for foreign residents at Canton
1860	Kowloon Peninsula ceded to Britain by Convention of Peking
1861	Empress Dowager Tzu-hsi becomes effective ruler of China (1861–1908)
	Island of Shameen completed and ceded to Britain and France
	Foreign occupation of Canton ends
	Chamber of Commerce formed in Hong Kong
1862	A typhoon causes 50,000 deaths in and around Canton
	Indian police recruits first drafted into Hong Kong
	Formation of Hong Kong Volunteer Corps
	First Hong Kong postage stamps issued
1863	Foundation laid for Roman Catholic cathedral at Canton
	Reports of English and Americans serving on pirate junks in the area
1864	Taiping Rebellion crushed after 13 years and up to 30 million deaths
	Gas street-lighting introduced at Hong Kong
	Hongkong & Shanghai Banking Corporation founded
1865	Population of Hong Kong 125,000 (4,000 non-Chinese)
1866	Birth of Sun Yat-sen
1867	Chinese start blockade of Hong Kong to force local junk trade back to Canton (1867–1886)
	Hong Kong’s trade with Japan worth $6m
	Severe typhoon demolishes Praya sea wall at Hong Kong
1869	Opening of Suez Canal
1870	Tientsin massacre: serious threat of violence to foreigners throughout China
1872	Tung Wah Hospital opened in Hong Kong (using Chinese medicine)
1874	Government Civil Hospital opened
	Extensive typhoon damage in Hong Kong
1875	Macao coolie-traffic suppressed
1877	First Chinese Minister accredited to London
1878	Canton severely damaged by a tornado; Hong Kong suffers serious fire
1881	Telephones installed in Hong Kong
	Population of Hong Kong 160,000 (10,000 non-Chinese)
1884	France and China at war; Shameen attacked by Chinese mob and partly burned
1887	China confirms permanent occupation of Macao by Portugal
	Chinese Chamber of Commerce formed in Hong Kong
1888	Completion of the High Level Tramway in Hong Kong (first cable railway in Asia)
1890	Electric street-lighting introduced in Hong Kong
1891	Serious anti-foreign riots in China
1894	Japan declares war on China
	U.S.A. and China agree to halt coolie immigration for ten years
	Epidemic of bubonic plague: up to 100,000 people die in Canton; thousands more in Hong Kong
1895	Japan wins war with China
	Missionaries attacked at Fatshan
1896	Nation-wide postal service established in China
	Sun Yat-sen banished from Hong Kong for conspiracy against Canton authorities
1898	Hong Kong’s New Territories leased for 99 years
	Star Ferry Company incorporated
1900	Boxer uprising
1901	Population of Hong Kong – including the New Territories – is 400,000 (20,000 non-Chinese)
1902	Footbinding in China denounced by the Throne
1904	Electric tram service introduced from Kennedy Town to Shaukiwan
	Electric street-lighting installed at Shameen
1905	Traditional system of literary examinations for government office abolished throughout China
	China boycotts American goods
	Sun Yat-sen leads anti-Manchu movement (the Revolutionary League)
	Hong Kong experiences frequent earth tremors
1906	Opium dens closed in China
	Telephone service introduced in Canton
	Hong Kong hit by worst typhoon since 1874: 10,000 die in and around Hong Kong
1908	Death of the Emperor Kuang-hsu and the Empress Dowager Tzu-hsi
1910	Opium dens closed in Hong Kong
1911	Revolution breaks out in China; Canton proclaims the “Republic of Kuangtung”
	Republic of China established (at Nanking)
	Completion of the Kowloon-Canton railway
1912	Sun Yat-sen becomes Provisional President of Southern Provinces
	Abdication of the Manchu Dynasty
	Sun resigns in favour of Yuan Shih-kai
	Hong Kong University opened
1913	Chinese Republic recognised by the U.S.A.
1914	Outbreak of the Great War in Europe
1915	Typhoon refuge at Mong Kok Tsui completed
1917	China declares war on Germany
1921	Formation of the Chinese Communist Party
	Parliament at Canton elects Sun Yat-sen “President of China”
	Population of Hong Kong 625,000 (15,000 non-Chinese)
1922	H.R.H. the Prince of Wales visits Hong Kong
1923	Foreign forces protect customs facilities at Canton from Sun Yat-sen threat
1925	Death of Sun Yat-sen
	Start of 16-month anti-imperialist strike and boycott affecting Hong Kong and Canton; Shameen besieged
1926	Coup d’état at Canton by General Chiang Kai-shek
1927	Civil war begins in China
	Heavy fighting in Canton after November and December coups: thousands flee to Hong Kong as refugees
	Start of anti-Japanese boycott in Canton
1928	Development of Kai Tak airfield begins
1931	Japanese occupy Manchuria
	Population of Hong Kong 850,000
1932	Chinese communists declare war on Japan
1934	Start of the Red Army’s “Long March”
1937	Start of second Sino-Japanese war: communists and nationalists cooperate in face of common enemy
	Population of Hong Kong reaches one million
1938	Japanese troops occupy Canton
	500,000 Chinese refugees enter Hong Kong
1939	Hainan island captured by Japanese
	World War II begins in Europe
1941	Population of Hong Kong 1.6 million
	Japanese occupy Kowloon and Hong Kong
1945	Japanese surrender