Guide to Manchester, Britain

Manchester is a perfect proof that there is life in England outside London. More than that, Manchester is responsible for the Industrial Revolution, the trend that defined the world's development well into the 20th century. It was really the time when ?the world took off? as one television series once put it. But when the industry in the developed countries stopped to be the primary driving force in the economy, Manchester did not falter.
Manchester originated as a Roman town as early as in the 1st century AD. It was called Mancunium then and was located on the famous Roman tract Watling St, leading from London to the north of Great Britain. In the Middle Ages, long before it became an inspiration for Dickens, Manchester was an important point for trade as the Flemish wool and linen traders settled there in the 14th century, giving the city a sort of an early industrial air that would explode centuries later. The City was all ready for the big bang of the industrial development in the 18th century when its favourable location, large coal deposits, and ? perhaps -- first of all the genius of an inventor called Richard Arkwright who came up with steam-powered spinning frame, all combined to produce an unprecedented outburst of development. Arkwright's invention was one of those few singular outbursts of creativity that changed the world, quite literally.
Not that it all came without trouble and unrest. The city's population increased more than 20-fold in just 80 years, majority of newcomers finding jobs in factories in appalling conditions. This in turn created the workers' movement, eventuating in the mid-19th century's Chartist movement. Manchester, it also seems, had its share in the birth of Marxism as young Friedrich Engels visited the city and incorporated his experiences from the city in the Communist Manifesto he had co-authored with Karl Marx.
The legacy of the period can still be seen in some districts. Rows of terraced houses are the quintessential look of the old industrial England. What was certainly appalling then, has now acquired a certain antiquated charm though people living there may not share that view.