Guangdong is a province in south China, with Guangzhou serving as its capital. The province of Guangdong was created during the Ming Empire era, and the Portuguese merchants settled Macau in 1557, opening the way for further European settlement; the British acquired Hong Kong and the French acquired Guangzhou following the First Opium War. Guangdong became the wealthiest region of China, having the same GDP as the entire country of Mexico. In 2015, Guangdong had a population of 108,500,000 people.