what commodity ultimately led to british gaining control of hong kong in the treaty of nanjing
opium
title: Treaty of Nanking text: Qing government agreed to make Hong Kong Island a crown colony, ceding it to the British Queen "in perpetuity" (, "Cháng yuǎn", in the Chinese version of the treaty), to provide British traders with a harbour where they could "careen and refit their ships and keep stores for that purpose" (Article III). Pottinger was later appointed the first governor of Hong Kong. In 1860, the colony was extended with the Kowloon peninsula and in 1898, the Second Convention of Peking further expanded the colony with the 99-year lease of the New Territories. In 1984, the governments of the United Kingdom title: Zhoushan text: Foreign Secretary Palmerston was famously livid when he learned that Elliot agreed to the cession of Hong Kong ("a barren island with hardly a house on it") while giving up Zhoushan. Elliot was dismissed in April 1841 for his blunder. His replacement Sir Henry Pottinger led a British fleet that recaptured Zhoushan on 1 October 1841. The First Opium War ended with conclusion of the Treaty of Nanjing in which China opened up the cities of Guangzhou ("Canton"), Fuzhou ("Foochow"), Xiamen ("Amoy"), Ningbo ("Ningpo"), and Shanghai to residence by British subjects for the purpose of trade. As a result, Britain title: Handover of Hong Kong text: of this lease on the previous day, 30 June 1997. This event marked the end of British rule in Hong Kong, and is regarded by some as the end of the British Empire. By the 1820s and 1830s, the British had conquered parts of India and had intentions of growing cotton in these lands to offset the amount of cotton they were buying from America. When this endeavor failed, the British realized they could grow poppies at an incredible rate. These poppies could then be turned into opium, which the Chinese highly desired. So the British plan was grow poppies title: Treaty of Nanking text: Treaty of Nanking The Treaty of Nanking (Nanjing) was a peace treaty which ended the First Opium War (1839–42) between the United Kingdom and the Qing dynasty of China on 29 August 1842. It was the first of what the Chinese later called the "unequal treaties". In the wake of China's military defeat, with British warships poised to attack Nanking, British and Chinese officials negotiated on board HMS "Cornwallis" anchored at the city. On 29 August, British representative Sir Henry Pottinger and Qing representatives Qiying, Yilibu, and Niu Jian signed the treaty, which consisted of thirteen articles. The treaty was title: British Hong Kong text: In the Treaty of Tientsin, the Chinese accepted British demands to open more ports, navigate the Yangtze River, legalise the opium trade and have diplomatic representation in Beijing. During the conflict, the British occupied the Kowloon Peninsula, where the flat land was valuable training and resting ground. The area in what is now south of Boundary Street and Stonecutters Island was ceded in the Convention of Peking. In 1898, the British sought to extend Hong Kong for defence. After negotiations began in April 1898, with the British Minister in Beijing, Sir Claude MacDonald, representing Britain, and diplomat Li Hongzhang leading