19/30.- Hong Kong, Museum of History, Commissioner Liu (Opium War Exhibit)

Portuguese traders began arriving in southeastern China in the 1500s, and over the following centuries were gradually supplanted by the British. Because Europe highly desired Chinese goods (porcelain, silk, and especially tea) and the Chinese weren't that interested in European goods, there was a dangerous imbalance of trade ... until opium.

The British began shipping huge quantities of opium to China, dramatically reversing the balance of trade. The Chinese treasury was drained, and up to 10 million Chinese became opium addicts. Faced with an intolerable situation, the Emperor banned opium and directed Commissioner Liu Zexu (portrayed here) to enforce the ban. That he did. The Brits couldn't tolerate the trade disruption and declared war. By 1842, the Chinese had been thoroughly defeated in what became known as the Opium War, and the Treaty of Nanking ending the war ceded Hong Kong Island to Great Britain. (Nearby areas like Kowloon were ceded in later treaties, expanding the size of the colony.)

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