The Historical Investigation Of Urban Development In Bristol And Liverpool In The 18th Century

Among all the British cities,London is no doubt the primate city,but other provincial cities have different development paths.Bristol and Liverpool are such examples,they are both important British provincial cities and became global-level ports as the country expanded worldwide.The former has been the very center of Southwest England since the Middle Age and it grew from trade and commerce.The great development in the first half of 18th century not only strengthened its status as the economic center in the west,but also improved the trade,manufacture,commerce and the handicraft of the city and its surrounding area.However,its geographical condition,which was once Bristol's advantage,has turned into a constraint for future development.Although several attempts were made,this situation did not improve much.The latter was once an unknown village by the sea,but the slave trade in the 18th century made this place a vital port of the country.During the process of British economic center transformation from the south to the north,by creating a flexible trade pattern,forming an efficient industry and cooperating with the surrounding area,Liverpool gradually became the most important port in England except London.This dissertation is based on the two-city's economic history of the 18th century,compares different factors that play important roles from three aspects,including historical and geographical status,trade materials,as well as urban industries,aiming to explore different developing paths of provincial cities in a country like Britain.To begin with,the dissertation illustrates the contrasts between these two cities'natural talent,which covers the geographical environment,locational factor and historical position.It is obvious that both two cities locate near the estuaries of a number of rivers.Bristol ranked higher than Liverpool in history,while Liverpool has greater potential in terms of port construction.Afterwards,according to the similarities and features of the two cities,the dissertation intensely studied their development in the 18th century from two specific aspects,trades and industries.These are the main descriptive parts of the dissertation.The second chapter illustrates the comparison from the trade perspective,which contains slavery and relative trades,commercial materials and patterns,as well as important merchant and merchants' organization.Both cities' trade scale kept expanding with some fluctuations during the 18th century.Bristol's golden age was in the first half of the 18th century,but in the latter half it began to stagnate.The city was exceeded by Liverpool in many trades and declined relatively after its flourish.The trade of Liverpool rose later than Bristol.Deriving from slave trade,it developed into various trade patterns,especially the sugar and salt trade.The trade scale even surpassed Bristol.Meanwhile,this chapter discussed the role that commercial organizations played.Such kind of organizations are coalitions between the government and merchants,they provide strong financial supports and security for trades,urban construction,infrastructure and industrial cooperation.But they are also influenced by cultural background and social climate.This article put emphasis on how the organizations affected the trades.The third chapter refers to the industries,which consist of the infrastructure construction of ports,turnpike and canal system,the distribution of urban manufacture and the relationship between the city and its hinterland.Lack of excellent physical condition,Bristol's port facilities improved slowly,the increase of its trade was affected somehow and the city status declined relatively.Despite the problem of traffic congestion,high trade cost and fierce competition from other cities,Bristol remained the agricultural market and trade center of Southwest England and some industries such as metal melting and sugar refining thrived.Liverpool took the advantage of natural condition,it cooperated well with its surrounding areas and produced industries like textiles and coals.The economic hinterland constantly enlarged.The two cities have a lot similarities in manufacture and industry,and there existed competition.By using data and charts,the advantages and disadvantages of the two cities could be compared objectively and concretely,in order to distinguish the difference between the impacts of objective conditions and subjective initiative.The former concludes natural conditions,the transformation of British regional economy,etc.The latter refers to the efforts of making use of the advantages to improve the urban environment and seize the economic opportunities.Finally,in combining the history background and the studies above,the fourth chapter analyses the impact of different factors and summarizes the developmental experiences of provincial cities.