British Hong Kong British Hong Kong British Hong Kong denotes the period during which Hong Kong was governed as a colony and British Dependent Territory of the United Kingdom. Excluding the Japanese occupation during the Second World War, Hong Kong was under British rule from 1841 to 1997. The colonial period began with the occupation of Hong Kong Island in 1841 during the First Opium War. The island was ceded by Qing China in the aftermath of the war in 1842 and established as a Crown colony in 1843. The colony expanded to the Kowloon Peninsula in 1860 after the Second Opium War
Lieutenant Governor of Hong Kong Lieutenant Governor of Hong Kong The Lieutenant Governor of Hong Kong () held the second-highest position during the British colonial rule in Hong Kong from 1843 to 1902. Although Lieutenant Governor of Hong Kong was the second-highest position in Hong Kong, the Lieutenant Governor did not have any actual power in the Government – that power usually was gained by the Colonial Secretary. The first Lieutenant Governor of Hong Kong was George D'Aguilar and the post was subsequently held by the Commander British Forces in Hong Kong, thus all were British Army officers. From the 1870s to 1902, the role