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Manchester is a city in North West England, which in 2002 had a population of around
420,000. The city is situated in the centre of the large metropolitan county of
Greater Manchester, which has population of about 2,514,000. Manchester is one of
Britain's largest metropolitan conurbations, set in the old county of Lancashire,
on the west side of the Pennine Hills, which form the backbone of the country. The
term "Manchester" is often loosely used to refer to the Greater Manchester conurbation,
rather than the city of Manchester, which is a metropolitan borough.
Places in the borough of Manchester include: Ardwick,
Burnage, Chorlton-cum-Hardy,
Didsbury, Fallowfield,
Gorton, Hulme,
Levenshulme, Miles
Platting, Moston,
Newton Heath, Rusholme,
Withington, Whalley Range and
Moss Side.
Industry
Manchester is an international centre. "The Times" newspaper places 80 of its top
100 companies in the city and over 60 Foreign and International Banks operate from
here. Some 46,000 students currently study for Higher Education at its colleges
and universities. More than 90 world airlines fly into Manchester Airport from 165
destinations worldwide. In 1993 over 13 million people passed through the airport
terminal, and that figure is soon expected to surpass 22 million. It is also, by
virtue of its central location within the British Isles, an excellent base for tourism.
Of all towns and cities in England, Manchester attracts the third highest number
of foreign visitors
History
Manchester has been inhabited for more than 2000 years, The Manchester area was
settled in Roman times and was known as Mamucium, meaning "breast shaped hill".
In the 14th Century Manchester became home to a community of Flemish weavers, who
settled in the town to produce wool and linen and began the cloth trade Manchester
remained a market town until the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century. Its
damp climate made it and the surrounding area ideal for cotton mills, such as Quarry
Bank Mill. Its growth was also aided by its proximity to Liverpool's ports and the
emerging rail and canal networks. The city of Manchester and innumerable small towns
and villages surrounding it saw the rapid growth of factories.
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