HIS385H1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Pearl River Delta, Henry Pottinger, Britishness
Document Summary
Just before the british took over hk and captain charles elliot was in charge of negotiations during the opium war, they had 2 choices, betw hk and another island near shanghai. Elliot thought the other island was too close to the centre of china which could lead too easily to future problems with the chinese. South china where hk is had always been an active trading area for the british so it as a more rational choice. The pearl river delta had always been part of the trade network that attracted merchants. Hk was far in the south so further away from the reach of chinese administration. His decision was not well-received by some ppl in london: Foreign secretary lord palmerston thought hk was a barren rock [not true, populated, villages] pop of hk was 7000 ppl when the british first arrived. Elliot was eventually fired for insubordination but the hk project continued.
