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The British were importing Opium to China, and the Chinese Emperor made it illegal but it was too profitable so the British merchants ignored the law. In 1839 China seized Opium sales and the Superintendant of Trade, a British citizen. The Empire retaliated and the First Opium War began. By 1841 the British had set up on the island of Hong Kong, which at the time was only a small fishing settlement. When the war ended in 1842 the Treaty of Nanking was signed and Britain took possession of the Island.

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15y ago

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