10/02/2014
My column at Taki’s Magazine this week attempts to put Hong Kong and its fate into long historical perspective.There was a war and a treaty. Under the terms of the treaty, the decaying empire granted to the upstart maritime nation a small piece of coastal territory — a colony — that they could use as a base for their commercial and naval operations.Read the whole thing over at Taki’s Magazine. Mind the pun: I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist it.This trading colony under foreign rule thrived as the empire’s fortunes continued to sink. A hundred and twenty years after the treaty, it was, according to one academic historian, producing seven times as much revenue as the imperial capital.
In the fullness of time the old empire was swept away by a newer, sterner despotism. The thriving trade colony maintained its distinct character for a few years, then succumbed to the new imperial power. It was reduced at last to an insignificant suburb.
For a more personal and imaginative take on Hong Kong’s future, see the notes I took on my last visit there thirteen years ago.
(That academic historian I cited, by the way, is Diehl.)
This is a content archive of VDARE.com, which Letitia James forced off of the Internet using lawfare.