Manchester began when a wooden fort was built by the Roman army on a plateau about 1 mile south of the present cathedral about 80 AD. The Romans called it Mamuciam (breast shaped hill) probably because the plateau resembled a breast. The fort was rebuilt in stone about 200 AD and later civilian settlement grew up around the fort.

In 7th century the Saxons created a tiny new village at Manchester.

A the time of the Normans in the 11th century Manchester was a small village but things changed in the 12th century. Population grew rapidly with commerce increased. During the 16th century and the 17th Manchester grew steadily larger and more important. By the late 16th century it may have had a population of 4,000. By the mid 17th century it probably had about 5,000 inhabitants.

Manchester continued to be famous for manufacturing wool, cotton, linen and silk. In 1729 a cotton exchange was built where cotton could be bought and sold.

In the early 19th century, Manchester became world famous as a manufacturing centre. Wool, silk and cotton were manufactured and vast numbers of working people worked 12 hour days in the mills.

Tourism also became an important industry in Manchester in the late 20th century. A Museum of Science and Industry opened in 1969. A Museum of Transport opened in 1979.





Now, the city's economy is largely service-based and, as of 2007, is the fastest growing in the UK, with inward investment second only to the capital.

Now, Manchester and North West England are served by Manchester Airport. This airport is the busiest in terms of passenger traffic in the UK outside London, serving 22.1 million passengers in 2007. Airline service exists many destinations in Europe, North America, the Caribbean, Africa, the Middle East and Asia (with more destinations from Manchester than from London Heathrow). A second runway was opened in 2001 and there have been continued terminal improvements.