Manchester is one of the English most important cities. It is located in the northern part of England, not far from Liverpool. Today the population of Manchester is 438,000.

Manchester began, when was built by the Roman army about 80 AD. The fort was rebuilt in stone about 200 AD. Soon a civilian settlement grew up around the fort.

However in 407 the Roman army left Britain and the civilian settlement disappeared. The stone fort fell into ruin.

In 7th century the Saxons created a new village, . The surrounding area was thinly populated and was mostly forest. The Saxons called any Roman town or fort a caester. They called the old fort at Manchester Mamm caester. The village nearby took its name from the fort. By 1086 the settlement was called Mamecester. In time the name changed to Manchester. In 919 the king repaired the old Roman fort against the Danes.

At the time of the Normans in the 11th century Manchester was a small village, but things changed in the 12th century. The population of the country grew and trade and commerce developed rapidly. Many new towns were founded. The village of Manchester was made into a town in the early 13th century. In the year 1222 Manchester was granted the right to hold an annual . In the Middle Ages, a fair was like a market but was held only once a year. In the Middle Ages, Manchester was, at best, a medium sized town. It was certainly not nationally important. In Manchester there was a . In 1301 Manchester was given a charter, a document granting the townspeople certain rights.

In the early 18th century Manchester probably had a population of around 10,000. It was still a medium sized town. The town continued to be famous for manufacturing . The first theatre in Manchester opened in 1753. By 1756 the population had risen to over 16,000 (including Salford). In 1761 the Bridgewater canal was built to bring from a coalfield to the town. However in the late 18th century the industrial revolution began. The population of Manchester soared and by the end of the century it had reached 70,000.
The Manchester Chamber of Commerce was created in 1820. From 1828 horse drawn buses ran in the streets. In 1830 a railway to Liverpool opened.

In the early 19th century Manchester became world famous as . Wool, silk and cotton were manufactured and vast numbers of working people worked 12 hour days in the mills. There was also a paper making industry and iron foundries. Manchester University was founded in 1903. The central library was built in 1934.

In the second half of the century manufacturing industry declined and was, to a certain extent, replaced by service industries such as education and finance. Tourism also became in the late 20th century. In 1996 the city centre was devastated by but it was rebuilt. The rose from the ashes.