Editing Hong Kong Island (section)

==History==

=== Prehistoric and Imperial China period ===
Human settlement of the area dates back 6,000 years ago, as evidenced by [[Neolithic]] artifacts discovered in [[Stanley, Hong Kong|Stanley]], Hong Kong Island.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Antiquities and Monuments Office - Middle Neolithic (61) |url=https://www.amo.gov.hk/en/archaeology/prehistoric-period/middle-neolithic/index.html |access-date=2024-08-01 |website=www.amo.gov.hk}}</ref>

In 214 BC, the [[Qin dynasty]] defeated the [[Baiyue]], and absorbed areas of what is now [[Guangdong]], [[Guangxi]], and northern [[Vietnam]]. Hong Kong Island was part of the annexed land and was listed under the jurisdiction of Panyu County ({{lang|zh-Hant-HK|番禺縣}}) of the [[Nanhai Commandery]] ({{lang|zh-Hant-HK|南海郡}}). On the sixth year of the [[Eastern Jin dynasty]] (AD 331), Hong Kong Island was listed under the jurisdiction of [[Bao'an County|Baoan County]] ({{lang|zh-Hant-HK|寶安縣)}}.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Chapter 22 History |url=https://www.yearbook.gov.hk/2018/en/pdf/E22.pdf |access-date=1 August 2024 |website=Hong Kong Yearbook}}</ref>

Copper coins from the [[Sui dynasty|Sui]], [[Tang dynasty|Tang]] and [[Song dynasty]] were unearthed in where the [[Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club]] is presently located at, on where [[Kellett Island]] would have been prior to the [[land reclamation]] connecting the island to [[Causeway Bay]] in 1969. This suggests that during these periods of times, the island already had its own commercial activity. Song dynasty copper coins served as universal currency in transregional trade.<ref>{{Cite book |title=港島東區風物志}}</ref>

During the [[Wanli Era|Wanli period]] of the [[Ming dynasty]] (1573), Hong Kong Island belonged to the territory of [[Xin'an County (Bao'an)|Xin'an County]], and remained so until 1661, when the [[Great Clearance|great clearance]] was issued by the [[Shunzhi Emperor]] of the [[Qing dynasty]], forcing residents in coastal areas of [[Guangdong]], [[Fujian]], [[Zhejiang]], [[Jiangnan]], and [[Shandong]] to move in-land, to prevent the loyalists of the [[Ming dynasty]] in [[Formosa]] from approaching the shores of the Mainland and seek help from residents of the coastal areas.<ref name=":1" />

The ban was lifted when the remnants of the Ming dynasty were exterminated in 1669, though not many original residents of Hong Kong Island returned to the area.<ref name=":1">{{cite web| title=Hong Kong and the Centuries Old Story|url= https://mediakron.bc.edu/edges/hong-kong-and-the-century-old-story}}</ref> Piracy was rampant in the area until the island was ceded to the [[United Kingdom]] in 1842.<ref>{{cite web| title=HONG KONG THE PIRATE CAPITAL - PART I: THE BEGINNING|date=18 October 2017 |url=https://zolimacitymag.com/hong-kong-the-pirate-capital-part-i-the-beginning/|last1=Kilpatrick|first1=Ryan|website=Zolima CityMag}}</ref>

=== British colony ===
{{Main|History of Hong Kong (1800s–1930s)}}

Following the [[First Opium War]] (1839–1842), Hong Kong Island was ceded to Great Britain in 1842 under the [[Treaty of Nanking]] and the territory became a [[Crown colony]]. At the time, the island's population was only 7,450.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Population of Hong Kong|url=http://www.cicred.org/Eng/Publications/pdf/c-c21.pdf|last=Fan|first=Shuh Ching|date=21 December 1974|publisher=Department of Statistics, University of Hong Kong}}</ref>

==== Japanese invasion and occupation ====
The [[Second World War]] was a dark period for Hong Kong. In the 1930s, the British anticipated a Japanese attack on Hong Kong. As [[Wong Nai Chung Gap]] was a strategically important location of defence, large-scale defensive works were constructed there, including [[Anti-aircraft warfare|anti-aircraft batteries]], [[howitzer]]s and [[machine gun]] nests.

The [[Battle of Hong Kong]] began on 8 December 1941. [[British Army|British]], [[Canadian Army|Canadian]] and [[Indian Army during World War II|Indian]] armies and the [[Royal Hong Kong Regiment (The Volunteers)|Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Forces]] resisted the Japanese invasion commanded by [[Sakai Takashi]], which began eight hours after the [[attack on Pearl Harbor]]. However, the Japanese took control of the Hong Kong skies on the first day of attack and outnumbered the defenders, which retreated from the [[Gin Drinkers Line]] and consequently from [[Kowloon]] under heavy aerial bombardment and artillery barrage.

On 18 December, the Japanese had conquered [[North Point]], reaching the [[Wong Nai Chung Gap]] on the following day. English, Scottish forces and the [[The Winnipeg Grenadiers|Canadian Winnipeg Grenadiers]] vigorously defended the crucial point of Wong Nai Chung Gap, and for a while successfully secured the passage between Central and the secluded southern parts of the island. Japanese casualties were about 600. However, Allied forces there were ultimately defeated by the Japanese on 23 December, and [[Wong Nai Chung Reservoir Park|Wong Nai Chung Reservoir]] was lost. As [[Wan Chai Gap]] had also fallen that same day, the British had no choice but to surrender.

Hong Kong surrendered to the Japanese on 25 December 1941, thereafter often called "[[Black Christmas (Hong Kong)|Black Christmas]]" by locals as the surrender was on Christmas. The [[Governor of Hong Kong]], [[Mark Aitchison Young|Mark Young]], surrendered in-person at the temporary Japanese headquarters, on the third floor of the [[The Peninsula Hong Kong|Peninsula Hotel]], thus beginning the [[Japanese occupation of Hong Kong]]. [[Rensuke Isogai|Isogai Rensuke]] became the first Japanese governor of Hong Kong. [[Hyperinflation|Hyper-inflation]] and [[food rationing]] followed; and the Japanese declared [[Hong Kong dollar|Hong Kong Dollars]] illegal. The Japanese enforced a [[repatriation]] policy throughout the period of occupation due to the scarcity of food and the possible counter-attack of the Allies. As a result, the unemployed were deported to the [[mainland China|Mainland]], and the population of Hong Kong had dwindled from 1.6 million in 1941 to 600,000 in 1945.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Other Hong Kong Report 1989|author=T. L. Tsim|publisher=Chinese University Press|date=Jan 1, 1989|page=391}}</ref>

==== Post Second World War ====
The population of Hong Kong Island grew exponentially after the [[World War II|Second World War]] and the [[Communist revolution in China]]. It became apparent that the lands in the old Central District were insufficient to accommodate the population. Many undeveloped or underdeveloped areas Hong Kong Island such as [[North Point]], [[Shau Kei Wan]], [[Aberdeen, Hong Kong|Aberdeen]] and [[Wong Chuk Hang]] began its development and urbanisation. These areas initially started off as industrialised areas, with some areas such as [[Quarry Bay]], [[Wan Chai]] and [[Causeway Bay]] later becoming new commercial centres when Hong Kong moved away from its [[Manufacturing in Hong Kong#Industrialisation|period of industrialisation]], as these areas provided relatively cheaper rent than the traditional commercial district of Central.<ref>{{cite web|title=Business districts of Hong Kong|url=https://www.hongkongofficerental.com/business-districts|website=Hong Kong Office Rental|publisher=The New Office Network Ltd}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title= Grade A office: Leveraging Hong Kong's business districts |url=https://www.colliers.com/download-article?itemId=a9cf6bf4-554f-434f-87bb-adf3136d7529|date=7 December 2022|publisher=Colliers}}{{dead link|date=May 2025}}</ref>

On 1 July 1997, the sovereignty of Hong Kong Island was [[Handover of Hong Kong|transferred to the People's Republic of China]] alongside [[Kowloon Peninsula]] and the [[New Territories]], ending 156 years of British rule on Hong Kong Island.