Honk Kong remains a significant center of global finance and its government still functioned in much of the same ways as it did under British colonialism.
Although British imperialism never politically took hold in mainland China, as it did in India or Africa, its cultural and political legacy is still evident today. As a result, the British were given the island of Hong Kong and trading rights in the ports of Canton and Shanghai. Clashes between the Qing government and British merchants ultimately escalated into the infamous Opium Wars. The subsequent exponential increase of opium in China between 17 brought about a generation of addicts and social instability. Thus, a system of barter based on Indian opium was created to bridge this problem of payment. However, Britain did not possess sufficient silver to trade with the Qing Empire. There was a high demand for Chinese tea, silk and porcelain in the British market. The primary motive of British imperialism in China in the nineteenth century was economic. A legacy of Commerce, Addiction, and Gunboat diplomacy
