Before 1841 it was just a small fishing village
1841 British occupied Hong Kong Island during the First Opium War
1841 becomes a crown colony City of Victoria
1842 ceded to the British under Treaty of Nanking.
1860 in the Second Opium War the Kowloon Peninsula and Stonecutter's Island are added to Hong Kong under Convention of Peking
1898 Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory, Lantau Island was added in a 99 year lease.
1900 onwards, Hong Kong becomes a Free port mainly as a trading port for the British Empire.
1941 Japan invaded Hong Kong and occupies it until 1945 and returning to the British
1945 onwards. Hong Kong industrialisted with cheap laborer costs and large emigration from China helped Hong Kong expand.
1980's Hong Kong changes from a iIndustrial economy into a service industry.
1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration, Britain agreed to return Hong Kong to China with the 99 year lease coming to a close. Hong Kong would be governed as a special administrative region, retaining its laws and a high degree of autonomy for at least fifty years after the transfer.
1997 Hong Kong returned to China.