Both a city and a metropolitian district, Manchester still holds great influence in England although it is no longer the second city.Located in the northwestern area of England it rose to prominence as the result of a boom in textile manufacturing at the time of the industrial revolution.
The boom at this time was so great that the expansion became quite remarkable. Factors such as the Manchester Ship Canal which allowed for exports to be made via Liverpool rather than London, access to cheap coal via the canal network and an early railway link with Liverpool all conspired to rapidly increase the size of the city which swallowed up it's already succesful near neighbours. Manchester became the focus for trading textiles on an international scale. The Royal Exchange which is where the trading was centred is still in use today but as a magnificent theatre in the round.
However expansion was possibly too rapid and when the downturn came, largely as a result of foreign competition, Manchester was ill prepared as it's infrastructure was obsolete and decaying. Large inner city slums grew and still exist today although most have been redeveloped with financial aid from the European Union. Manchester has undergone something of a rennaisance in recent years as typified by it's influence on the 'pop' scene and the success of Manchester United Football Club. It has made great progress and is once more a fascinating and vibrant city in which to live or work.