At the end of the First Opium War China permanently ceded Hong Kong to the UK. At the end of the Second war, Kowloon was added to that, and in 1898, the New Territories were leased to the UK for 99 years.
When 1997 rolled along (99 years since the lease was arranged) Britain ceded the whole lot because it would pretty much sever the city in two, plus the New Territories were the agricultural backbone of the city.
My question is, what if, at the end of the Second Opium War, the New Territories and Kowloon are permanently ceded to Britain.
What would the effects be on the remainder of the 19th and the 20th centuries*?
* I wasn't sure whether this should have gone into before or after 1900. The POD is before, but the effects are mostly after.
When 1997 rolled along (99 years since the lease was arranged) Britain ceded the whole lot because it would pretty much sever the city in two, plus the New Territories were the agricultural backbone of the city.
My question is, what if, at the end of the Second Opium War, the New Territories and Kowloon are permanently ceded to Britain.
What would the effects be on the remainder of the 19th and the 20th centuries*?
* I wasn't sure whether this should have gone into before or after 1900. The POD is before, but the effects are mostly after.