![[Portraits of a Chinese boy with a tray, a woman from Hong Kong, a group of laborers, and three women]](https://cache.getarchive.net/Prod/thumb/cdn18/L3Bob3RvLzIwMTkvMTEvMDMvcG9ydHJhaXRzLW9mLWEtY2hpbmVzZS1ib3ktd2l0aC1hLXRyYXktYS13b21hbi1mcm9tLWhvbmcta29uZy1hLWdyb3VwLW9mLWxhYm9yZXJzLTI4ZTcyNi0xMDI0LmpwZw%3D%3D/320/381/jpg "[Portraits of a Chinese boy with a tray, a woman from Hong Kong, a group of laborers, and three women]")
Related
![[Portraits of a Chinese peddler, a woman selling brooms, a woman from Canton, and a laborer]](https://cache.getarchive.net/Prod/thumb/cdn4/L3Bob3RvLzIwMTkvMDkvMDQvcG9ydHJhaXRzLW9mLWEtY2hpbmVzZS1wZWRkbGVyLWEtd29tYW4tc2VsbGluZy1icm9vbXMtYS13b21hbi1mcm9tLWNhbnRvbi1hbmQtMWE5NjQ4LTY0MC5qcGc%3D/40/49/webp "[Portraits of a Chinese peddler, a woman selling brooms, a woman from Canton, and a laborer]")
![[Portraits of a Chinese woman holding a boy, an elderly man wearing glasses, two women, and a two needlewomen with baskets]](https://cache.getarchive.net/Prod/thumb/cdn4/L3Bob3RvLzIwMTkvMDkvMzAvcG9ydHJhaXRzLW9mLWEtY2hpbmVzZS13b21hbi1ob2xkaW5nLWEtYm95LWFuLWVsZGVybHktbWFuLXdlYXJpbmctZ2xhc3Nlcy10d28tMWFjOGFkLTY0MC5qcGc%3D/40/49/webp "[Portraits of a Chinese woman holding a boy, an elderly man wearing glasses, two women, and a two needlewomen with baskets]")
![[Chinese woman and boy] - Public domain portrait drawing](https://cache.getarchive.net/Prod/thumb/cdn4/L3Bob3RvLzE5MDEvMDEvMDEvY2hpbmVzZS13b21hbi1hbmQtYm95LTY0MC5qcGc%3D/40/31/webp "[Chinese woman and boy] - Public domain portrait drawing")
![[Chinese men playing "Chai Moi" (finger game), street vendors with carts selling food; and a group of men, women and children]](https://cache.getarchive.net/Prod/thumb/cdn18/L3Bob3RvLzIwMTkvMTAvMTIvY2hpbmVzZS1tZW4tcGxheWluZy1jaGFpLW1vaS1maW5nZXItZ2FtZS1zdHJlZXQtdmVuZG9ycy13aXRoLWNhcnRzLXNlbGxpbmctMDNjNzE1LTY0MC5qcGc%3D/40/48/webp "[Chinese men playing \"Chai Moi\" (finger game), street vendors with carts selling food; and a group of men, women and children]")
![[Group of workers, including boys and girls, standing outdoors]](https://cache.getarchive.net/Prod/thumb/cdn4/L3Bob3RvLzE5MTEvMDEvMDEvZ3JvdXAtb2Ytd29ya2Vycy1pbmNsdWRpbmctYm95cy1hbmQtZ2lybHMtc3RhbmRpbmctb3V0ZG9vcnMtNjQwLmpwZw%3D%3D/40/28/webp "[Group of workers, including boys and girls, standing outdoors]")
![[Studio portraits of a Chinese bureaucrat (mandarin), a civil officer, a Buddhist priest and a woman ]](https://cache.getarchive.net/Prod/thumb/cdn18/L3Bob3RvLzIwMTkvMTAvMDkvc3R1ZGlvLXBvcnRyYWl0cy1vZi1hLWNoaW5lc2UtYnVyZWF1Y3JhdC1tYW5kYXJpbi1hLWNpdmlsLW9mZmljZXItYS1idWRkaGlzdC1lMTM4MDItNjQwLmpwZw%3D%3D/40/50/webp "[Studio portraits of a Chinese bureaucrat (mandarin), a civil officer, a Buddhist priest and a woman ]")
[Portraits of a Chinese boy with a tray, a woman from Hong Kong, a group of laborers, and three women]
Summary
Captions on front of item: "Boy with tray" (upper left); "Native of Hong Kong" (upper right); "Group of coolie" (lower left); and "Group of Chinese" (lower right).
Captions on back of item: "Boy with tray" (upper left); [no caption] (upper right); "Coolie" (lower left); and "Group of Chinese women" (lower right).
Photograph taken by John Thomson in Shanghai, 1870-72. (Source: Regine Thiriez, 2009)
In album: Japanese and Chinese portraits, [p. 45].
In the 19th century, British trade of Chinese commodities like tea, silk, and porcelain was high but Chinese interest in European manufactured goods was insignificant so that Chinese goods could only be bought with precious metals. To reduce the trade imbalance, the British sold large amounts of Indian opium to China. In 1839, the Daoguang Emperor rejected proposals to legalize and tax opium and ordered imperial commissioner Lin Zexu to eradicate the opium trade. The commissioner destroyed opium stockpiles and halted all foreign trade, triggering a British military response and the First Opium War. The Qing surrendered early in the war and ceded Hong Kong Island to the United Kingdom in 1842. Piracy, disease, and hostile Qing policies initially prevented the government from attracting commerce. Conditions on the island improved during the Taiping Rebellion in the 1850s, when many Chinese refugees, including wealthy merchants, fled mainland turbulence and settled in the colony. Further tensions between the British and Qing over the opium trade escalated into the Second Opium War. The Qing were again defeated, and forced to give up the Kowloon Peninsula and Stonecutter's Island in the Convention of Peking. By the end of this war, Hong Kong had evolved from a transient colonial outpost into a major port. The colony was further expanded in 1898 when Britain obtained a 99-year lease of the New Territories. Hong Kong was transferred to China on 1 July 1997, after 156 years of British rule.
Tags
Date
Contributors
Location
Source
Copyright info
