Liverpool

England Liverpool

''This page is about the City of Liverpool, for hundreds of years the premier west coast port of England. It is situated on the River Mersey, and on the west coast of the county of Lancashire, and was probably first settled about 1200 AD, as a fishing port.''



"The picture above shows the world famous waterfront of Liverpool;, with the Royal Liver Building, the Cunard Building, and the Port of Liverpool Authority Building, as shown left to right. Departing the dock is one of the iconic Mersey Ferry boats"

"Initially Liverpool was the port that served the shipping needs between Ireland and England. From that beginning, Liverpool rapidly developed into a world class port.  It was never a major naval port, as most of the military marine activity was centered along the south coast facing Europe.

However the rapid growth of cotton growing in the American deep south, plus the need for farm labor for the sugar plantations in the Caribbean, resulted in a rapid growth in the slave trade.

The heroic lifetime work of Mr. William Wilberforce, a northern MP, resulted in the passage of a bill through the British parliament abolishing slaving, and Liverpool turned to more acceptable shipping.

From the late 1700's it became the major western European port for emigrants from Northern Europe to travel to the New World. In fact this shipping industry became so important that there is now a statue memorializing this activity at the Albert Dock entrance."