Belfast was a small town of scant importance until the middle of the eighteenth century, overshadowed by nearby Carrickfergus, which had been a settlement since Scandinavian times. When Queen Victoria officially made Belfast a city in 1888, it was Ireland's second largest (and Great Britain's second fastest growing) municipality. The growth of such industries as linen- and rope-making, combined with tobacco packaging, shipbuilding, and engineering, resulted in something of a population boom in the town of Belfast at the close of the eighteenth century, so that, by the beginning of Victoria's reign, the population numbered 300,000. — Philip V. Allingham
Created 8 August 2009
Last modified 10 November 2023