Former British Colony: Hong Kong

1. Hong Kong. Located in China, along the east coast.
2. When China sought to restrict illegal British opium trafficking, it brought about the Opium Wars. Queen Victoria and the Emperor of China, wanting to end the hostilities between the two countries, resolved to make the Treaty of Nanking. One of the articles included the cession of Hong Kong to Britain.
3. Britain's economy relied heavily on the trading of tea between China.  Other goods such as silk and opium were also traded.
4. The 99 year lease agreed upon in the Treaty of Nanking in 1842 was exceeded. Finally, in 1997, the two governments agreed to the sovereignty of Hong Kong, and Hong Kong was returned to the People's Republic of China.
5. Modern day Hong Kong and China are very different because of Hong Kong's time as a British colony. Hong Kong has adapted to many customs of Britain, and considers itself independant of Chinese control, having it's own set of laws and regulations.

Hong Kong

1. The name of the land that Britain took over in Hong Kong was called the New Territories.

2. Britain obtained a 99 year lease on the Lantau Island and the Adjecent Northern Islands.

3. They used it for textile exports and trading. They also found cheap labour and wanted the land for cemetary and military use.

4. Hong Kong made The New Territories an official colony in 1983.

5. In 1894 the Third deadly pandemic of the bubonic plague spread from China to Hong Kong killing from 50 000 - 100 000 people.

Barbados

Barbados is located in the western area of the North Atlantic Ocean. In 1625, it became English, and then later on, a British Colony. In 1625, english sailors arrived at Barbados. It was the only carribean island not taken over by the British colony yet, and this is why the British empire took over. The main economic activities didn't include much. Although, it did become one of the world's biggest sugar industries later on. The colony gained independence in November 1996, after years of peaceful and democratic success. Barbados is also a member of the United Nations.

Singapore

The colony that I chose is Singapore and it is an island located Peninsular of Malaysia north of the equator. In 1819 an Englishman Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles established a British port in Singapore. Singapore also was a centre of trade from India to China. During World War 2 Singapore was captured and controlled by the Japanese Empire, but when the war ended Singapore reverted back to British Control. The British benefited from Singapore in 2 main ways. The first was that it was a new port that was very good for trading with farther countries. The second is that it is a lot closer to China so it was a lot easier for the British to trade with China. In the 1955 Singapore started a partial self government although it wasn’t too successful at first. In 1959 the elections for the first legislated assembly were held. Later on the PAP leaders, people’s action party, wanted to join Singapore and Malaysia because they thought that the economic ties were too strong to for them to continue governing as separate nations, but of course this didn’t work. Some other facts that I learned about Singapore is that it has a pretty good amount of diversity of people including: Malay, Chinese, Indian, and even some European influences.

India

The name of the colony is India. It is located in South Asia. India was a very rich country before it was taken over by the British. India had all types of spices, making it very popular to the rest of the other colonies. The British were impressed by everything India had so they decided to take over the colony. The empire of India was very weak at the time as a civil war was going on in the country. They officially took over their country in 1747. They took advantage of India, divided into many empires and controlled India's state into their own. The colony of India benefited the British because if the British took over India, they would control everything they do, including their trades with others. It will help the British have a larger land mass and the British will make profits off their trades. The British used this land for the benefit of getting raw materials at very low prices and selling back the refined finished good products at very high prices. The colony gained independence in 1947. The Indian soldiers rebelled against the British, causing Gandhi to have a non-violent protest-movement and gain independence. I learned that India is divided into 28 separate states.

Australia

1. Australia. (Western Australia, South Australia, Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania)
2. In 1770, James Cook claimed the whole eastern side of the continent, naming it New South Wales. The western half stayed New Holland until it was claimed in 1826 by Edmund Lockyer.
3. They were penal colonies. Convicts were sent there to serve their terms.
4. All six colonies federated in 1901 and became the Commonwealth of Australia.
5. Five were penal colonies and one wasn’t. South Australia was deemed a province. This means convicts weren’t sent there.

Cape Colony: Former British Colony

1. Name: Cape Colony
Location: South Africa
2. Occupied in 1795 by the British so that the French could not take possession of its strategic location. The British managed to hand back the colony to the Batavian Republic in 1803 but by 1806 had taken possession again to prevent Napoleon from using it.
3. The Cape Colony benefited Britain because of the location, not so much that Britain had an advantage but that their opponents didn’t.
4. The Colony gained independence when the Union of South Africa was formed in 1910 and Cape Colony was renamed the Cape of Good Hope Province.