Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England with a population of over 500,000. It lies within the second most populous urban area in the UK, with over 2.5 million people. Manchester grew rapidly during the Industrial Revolution due to its success in the textile industry and became the world's first industrialized city. However, its fortunes declined after World War II due to deindustrialization, but investment has helped regenerate the city.

1. The great city of Manchester
Manchesterisa cityand metropolitanboroughinGreaterManchester,England,withapopulationof
514,417 in2013. It lieswithinthe UnitedKingdom'ssecondmostpopulousurbanarea,witha
populationof 2.55 million. Manchesterisfringedbythe CheshirePlaintothe south,the Penniestothe
north andeast andan arc of townswithwhichitformsa continuousconurbation.The local authorityis
ManchesterCityCouncil.
The recordedhistoryof Manchesterbeganwiththe civiliansettlementassociatedwiththe Romanfort
of Mamucium,a variantof whichname (Mancunium) ispreservedbythe city'sdemonym:residentsare
still referredtoasManchurians.The Roman fortwas establishedinabout79 AD on a sandstone bluff
nearthe confluence of the riversMedlockandIrwell.Itwashistoricallyapart of Lancashire,although
areas of Cheshire southof the RiverMerseywere incorporatedduringthe 20thcentury.Throughoutthe
Middle AgesManchesterremainedamanorial township butbegantoexpand"atan astonishingrate"
aroundthe turnof the 19th century.Manchester'sunplannedurbanizationwasbroughtonbya boomin
textile manufacture duringthe Industrial Revolution,andresultedinitbecomingthe world'sfirst
industrializedcity.
Manchesterachievedcitystatusin1853, the firstnew Britishcityforthree hundredyears.The
ManchesterShipCanal,at the time the longestrivernavigationcanal inthe world,openedin1894,
creatingthe Port of Manchesterand linkingthe citytosea,36 miles(58 km) to the west.Itsfortunes
declinedafterthe SecondWorldWarhowever,owingtodeindustrialization,butinvestmentspurredby

2. Cottonprocessingandtradingcontinuedtofall inpeacetime,andthe exchange closedin1968. By 1963
the port of Manchesterwasthe UK's thirdlargest, andemployedover3,000 men,butthe canal was
unable tohandle the increasinglylarge containerships.Trafficdeclined,andthe portclosedin1982.
Heavyindustrysufferedadownturnfromthe 1960s andwas greatlyreducedunderthe economic
policiesfollowedbyMargaretThatcher'sgovernmentafter1979. Manchesterlost150,000 jobsin
manufacturingbetween1961 and 1983.