Birmingham History, United Kingdom

Birmingham, UK - History: An Industrial Town becoming a natural hub of civilization

It is an uncommon feature for the name of a place to have originated from the entire key features that helped it flourish. Initially, Birmingham was a minor settlement deep within the forest, known as ‘ham’, for the tribe called ‘ing’ and was placed under the leader ‘Beorma’ or ‘Birm’. All this figures were derived from the 6th century, Saxon era, when the people around the settlement were not as civilized or technologically advanced, as they are now. If we compare its beginning to its present, then we can easily understand the diversification Birmingham has gone through.

The small settlement of Birmingham came a long way from being a small hamlet in the year 1086 AD, to becoming one of the leading manufacturing towns of Britain by the 20th century. Various factors aided the development of the small town starting from the improved water supply coming from Deritend Ford, which lay just across River Rea. Moreover, the abundant supply of coal, limestone and iron ore along with timber made the city a natural hub for Iron and Steel Productions.

It all started in the early twelfth century, when the Birmingham family gained the charter for market and later on got the authorization to hold a four day long fair at Whitsun. People were not restricted in trading. Much later in the early 14th century, came the listing of the craftsmen, provoking it to grow as one of the most popular marketplaces. As the city grew, the population started to tumble overboard, leading to a situation where there were around 200 houses with 1,500 people living in them.

The city flourished greatly and earned considerable respect after it supplied considerable quantity of arsenal during the English Civil Wars. It was around 1731, when the population of the city had risen up to 23,000 and the manufacturing industry was booming. Considering the period of Industrial Revolution, Birmingham became one of the most prolific metal manufacturing sections of Britain. However, it suffered greatly during the Depression era.

Moving from there, a number of changes have taken place in the city of Birmingham and the uprising of several service-oriented jobs has come over to balance the industrial and social life. 

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