The British used the territory as a naval base during their Opium Wars with China. After the first of such wars, the Treaty of Nanking in 1842 of Hong Kong Island to Britain. Sir Henry Pottinger was the territory's first governor.  Following other fights and wars with the Chinese, Britain was given Kowloon and Stonecutter's Island in 1860.

Lastly, the British aquired the New territories in 1898 on a 99-year contract. The territory grew as more people settled there with time. In the early 1900's. Hong Kong was a refuge for exiles from China, following the establishment of the Chinese Republic in 1912.   

Since the Chinese Nationalist Government faced its defeat in a civil war at the hands of the communists in 1949, Hong Kong's population has continued to rise and nowadays this small territory is home to about 6.5 million people