Belfast
is situated on the north-east coast of Ireland at the mouth of the
River Lagan. The town grew up around a Norman castle built in 1178.
Partly destroyed in the sieges of the Civil War, Belfast was rebuilt
and during the 17th century the arrival of refugee Huguenot weavers
helped the city's textile trade. By the 18th century became Ireland's
principal manufacturing centre. Belfast's growing prosperity helped
to increase the population from 8,500 in 1750 to 20,000 by 1800.
The main trade in Belfast was cotton and
linen but after 1850 shipbuilding became
very important. The growth-rate in Belfast in the second-half of the
19th century was the greatest in the British Isles and by 1900 the
population of the city was 350,000.
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