The First Opium War took place between the British and the Qing Empire in 1839 to 1842. The British believed that the war was caused by the Qing Emperor and the refusal of its officials to allow the importation of opium into its territory. In the war, Britain defeated the Qing. (The Earth and Its People 540-543) Now, you may be wondering what the Opium War has to do with Hong Kong; however, it was during the war that Britain first occupied Hong Kong, on 25 January 1841, for the purpose of using a military staging point. (Szczepanski) This began the journey of British colonization of Hong Kong. The British officially colonized Hong Kong in 1841 and decolonized the peninsula in 1997. British colonization benefited Hong Kong by helping it escape the two biggest disasters China experienced during that time. The Opium War was what really started British Hong Kong. and furthermore, the Treaty of Nanjing implemented British colonization. The English could be considered among the first to discover opium as such a profitable trade. Subsequently, Chinese traders also began to profit from the distribution of the drug. Therefore, opium addiction quickly spread to everyone in Qing society, and not long after, even high-ranking officials became involved in addiction. Ironically, the first Qing law enacted in 1729 banned all imports of opium. However, when the Qing emperor and officials began to realize the addiction to opium, they debated whether to continue the ban and make it more severe or to legalize and tax the drug. They soon came to the conclusion to continue banning opium and to make the law more severe. This decision immediately alarmed the British, as...... half of the document......ng's Missing History." http://www.historytoday.com/. Np, December 1991. Web. 13 May 2014 .“Sino-British Joint Statement.” http://worldgeography.abc-clio.com/. Abc-clio, nd Web. 13 May 2014. .Szczepanski, Kallie. Np, nd Web. May 12, 2014. "The Great Leap Forward." The great leap forward. Np, nd Web. 11 May 2014. 'Treaty of Nanjing - First of the Unequal Treaties.' Www.history.cultural-china.com. Np, nd Web. May 13 2014. .