Blog City Liverpool The New York of Europe

As Britain's gateway to the Atlantic, in the age of imperial glory Liverpool rose to become one of the wealthiest cities on earth. The story of this city broadly mirrors that of the British Empire as a whole. Beginning as a relatively minor fishing town astride the Mersey whose name possibly meant "Muddy pool of water," Liverpool began to grow when the first shipments of sugar and tobacco from the New World arrived. In exchange textiles and manufactures from the area around Manchester were exported from Liverpool's docks. Soon this trade took on a more sinister nature: in 1699 the Liverpool Merchant set off for Africa, where she took on a cargo of 220 slaves. After the horrific Middle Passage, these people were dumped in the West Indies to be worked to death on the sugar plantations. The ship returned to Liverpool with a rich cargo of sugar. And so began Liverpool's ignominious association with the Triangle Trade, which enriched Liverpool's merchants while ruining the lives of millions of Africans. At one point 40% of all slaveships taking the Middle Passage sailed from Liverpool. But it was to be a Liverpool politician, William Rosscoe, who spearheaded drive that led to the ultimate abolition of the slave trade in 1807. The end of the slave trade roughly coincided with the beginning of the Industrial Era, during which Liverpool's fortunes would rise to dizzying heights. The port was rapidly becoming one of the world centres for textile import and export, supplying the cotton mills of Lancashire with raw cotton from across the oceans. Prosperous and forward-looking, Liverpool became renowned as home to a number of firsts: the first commercial wetdock, the first passenger railway line (connecting it with Manchester), the first public library and the first scheduled trans-Atlantic passenger service. A brash confidence permeated the city and fantastic architectural works were commissioned, from the Albert Dock and the Three Graces on Pier Head, to the William Brown Library and St. George's Hall. These buildings helped make Liverpool a World UNESCO Heritage City in 2004. Liverpool's importance also made it a target for German bombs, and in the Liverpool Blitz large parts of the city were flattened and hundreds killed. Convoys, Britain's maritime lifeline during the Battle of the Atlantic, docked in Liverpool while liners evacuating children to Canada departed from her harbour. My grandmother and her sister were on one of those liners. After the war Liverpool declined in relative importance until the advent of containerization rendered her docks obsolete. Almost overnight thousands were out of work and in the 1980s unemployment reached a shocking 30%. The population shrank and the docks silted up. The one bright spot in the post-war period was the evolution of the Merseyside Beat, pioneered by the Beatles, which put Liverpool smack dab in the middle of the global music map. The last two decades have seen a sudden and dramatic reversal of the city's fortunes, probably most powerfully represented by the 2004 designation of Mercantile Liverpool as a World UNESCO Heritage Site. Unthinkable 30 years ago, today Liverpool is one of the top tourist destinations in the United Kingdom and it grows more popular every year. Liverpool has harnessed its past to pave the way to a bright future. The Then photos are courtesy of the excellent Liverpool Picturebook page. I took the Now pictures in April 2015.

Then and Now Photos