Hong Kong is now one of the most important financial centers in the world, but for most of its history it was just a sparsely populated area of farming and fishing villages. Only after the British took control of the region in the 19th century Hong Kong grew to become a major trading center between West and East, and developed its own unique culture, blending European and Chinese (or more specifically Cantonese) characteristics. Even after its return to China and despite its complicated relationship with the mainland, Hong Kong has remained one of the most highly developed regions in the world, and has retained its peculiar culture. The region of Hong Kong was first settled during the Stone Age, over 30,000 years ago, and during the Neolithic it was inhabited by the She people, who lived on the southern coast of China. During the Warring States period, between the 5th and 3rd century BCE, this area saw an influx of Yue people escaping from the north, who over time assimilated with the previous inhabitants. Shortly after consolidating his rule over the newly unified China in 221 BCE, the first emperor Qin Shi Huang of the Qin dynasty sent a large army to take control of the Yue people in the south. The area of Hong Kong came under Qin rule during this time, but the death of the emperor in 210 BCE brought chaos throughout China. In 204 BCE, a general named Zhao Tuo, who previously served under the Qin dynasty, founded a kingdom known as Nanyue, which occupied the southern coast of China and the northern half of modern-day Vietnam. Nanyue soon had to face the Han dynasty, who had unified China once again and was expanding south. In 111 BCE the Han dynasty conquered Nanyue, and Hong Kong was likely settled by Han Chinese for the first time soon afterwards. The region of Hong Kong was first part of the Panyu County, centered in modern-day Guangzhou, and later it was governed by the Bao’an County, also known as Xin’an County, which included what is now Shenzhen. Hong Kong remained part of this county until the 19th century, when it was ceded to the British Empire. Meanwhile, the Guangdong region of southern China flourished as a trading center, and the Tuen Mun area of Hong Kong served as a port, naval base, salt production center, and a hub for pearl hunting. The earliest known written evidence of an event in Hong Kong is an inscription referring to the construction of a pagoda in 1012. During the Mongol invasions, the Song dynasty escaped to southern China, fleeing to the Guangdong region in 1276. In 1277 they moved their court to Lantau Island, and then to Kowloon City, both now part of Hong Kong. During what was supposed to be a temporary stay in the small villages of the Guangdong area, Emperor Duanzong of Song died of an illness at the age of eight. He was succedeed by his younger brother, Emperor Bing, who was six years old and was enthroned on Lantau Island in 1278. However, the Mongols were approaching, and on 19 March 1279 they defeated the Song navy in the Battle of Yamen, a naval battle that took place on the coasts near Hong Kong. This defeat marked the end of the Song dynasty, and military commander Lu Xiufu jumped off a cliff with the child emperor in his arms, killing them both. During the age of the Mongol invasions and the rule of the Yuan dynasty, Hong Kong saw its population increase, as more Chinese fled to the south, but the area was still rural and mostly barren. Later, during the age of the Ming and Qing dynasties, the coast of Guangdong was often attacked by pirates, and Hong Kong was especially vulnerable. Thanks to its twisting shores, its hilly territory, its many islands, and its distance from the administrative centers, Hong Kong became an excellent hideout for pirates. To protect themselves, the locals fortified their villages with walls and sometimes even cannons. While most of these fortified villages have been later demolished, a few still survive to some extent in Hong Kong to this day. Until the 19th century, the area of Hong Kong remained inhabited by various ethnicities, such as the Punti and Hoklo in the New Territories, and the Tanka and Hakka both in the New Territories and Hong Kong Island. The first recorded non-Asian person to visit Hong Kong was Portuguese explorer Jorge Álvares in 1513. He established the trading settlement of Tamão either on Lantau Island or on a nearby coast, and Portuguese merchants started trading in southern China. The Portuguese also built military fortifications in Tuen Mun, and soon clashed with the Chinese. In 1521, the Ming navy defeated the Portuguese fleet in the Battle of Tunmen, and Tamão was abandoned. Despite this, the Portuguese didn’t abandon the idea of trading in southern China, and they reestablished trade relations in 1549, which led to the founding of the colony of Macau in 1557. By the 19th century, the British Empire was heavily dependent on China for the importation of tea, silk, and porcelain, which the Qing Empire mostly exchanged for luxury items and silver. As more European silver flowed to China, the trade imbalance between the British and Chinese grew, as the precious metal became increasingly difficult to obtain for the British. To counter the imbalance, the British East India Company began to grow opium in India and pushed British merchants to sell opium to Chinese smugglers for illegal sale in China. Many Chinese became addicted to opium, and in 1839 the Qing dynasty seized and destroyed millions of pounds of opium, pledging to end the opium trade entirely. Tensions quickly escalated, and this led to the First Opium War, which lasted until 1842. During the war, on 20 January 1841, British and Chinese officials reached an agreement, known as Convention of Chuenpi, which ruled the cession of the island…
