Liverpool

In the early 18th century Liverpool had a population of about 5,000, but by the end of the 19th century this had risen to 611,000, and incredibly vast population increase! Many of Liverpool’s inhabitants were immigrants from Wales and Ireland- particularly the Irish who had suffered very badly from the potato famine in the 1840s.

The first dock was built in Liverpool in the early 18th century, and it was soon the third most important port in the country (behind London and Bristol). Merchants benefited heavily from the slave trade. Sugar refining was also important, and soon rope making and shipbuilding were also flourishing industries. Iron making, watch making and pottery making were all conducted in Liverpool too.

In the 19th century Liverpool’s shipping industry was flourishing and it was second only to London as a successful port. Glass manufacture and soap making also began in Liverpool at this time. It officially became a city in 1880, right at the end of the 19th century.