The Island of Hong Kong became British after the Opium Wars with the Chinese in 1841. It is very small and so additional nearby land was lent to the UK for 99 years in 1898. Hong Kong then consisted of 200 islands and a section of the mainland. As the end of the 99 year lease was approaching it was agreed that all of Hong Kong would be returned to China in 1997, but that Hong Kong would enjoy more freedom than the rest of China for the next 50 years: ‘one country, two systems’.