It Happened Here: The British extend their empire
The United Kingdom’s 99-year lease of the New Territories from 1898 to 1997 tends to be the popularly recognised period for the Brits’ control over the region. However, the fact that the whole territory was returned to China in 1997 often overlooks the fact that the area of the current SAR was ceded to Queen Victoria in parts. Hong Kong came first in 1842, and Kowloon was later transferred in 1860, following the Second Opium War.
British and French troops stormed the Old and New Summer Palaces, and in the absence of Emperor Xianfeng, who had already fled, looted and incinerated the gardens. There were also plans to burn the Forbidden City to the ground but, fortunately for the historical site, the over-excited plans of arson were overturned in favour of a more diplomatic approach.
On October 24, 1860, British dignitary Byron Elgin and the Chinese Prince Gong met at Beijing’s Ministry of Rites to sign the Convention of Peking treaty. Article 6 of the Convention stipulated that the area below modern day Boundary Street, along the Kowloon Peninsula, would come under British rule indefinitely.
It wasn’t until 1984 that the terms of the treaty were reassessed and the agreement was made for Britain to hand over Hong Kong and Kowloon to China on July 1, 1997.
Sarah Simpson
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