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Thehistory of Liverpool can be traced back to 1190 when the place was known as 'Liuerpul', possibly meaning a pool or creek with muddy water, though other origins of the name have been suggested. The borough was founded byroyal charter in 1207 byKing John, made up of only seven streets in the shape of the letter 'H'. Liverpool remained a small settlement until its trade withIreland and coastal parts ofEngland and Wales was overtaken by trade withAfrica and theWest Indies, which included theslave trade. The world's first commercialwet dock was opened in 1715 and Liverpool's expansion to become a major city continued over the next two centuries.
By the start of the nineteenth century, a large volume of trade was passing throughLiverpool. In 1830, theLiverpool and Manchester Railway was opened. The population grew rapidly, especially withIrish migrants; by 1851, one quarter of the city's population was Irish-born. As growth continued, the city became known as "the second city of theEmpire", and was also called "theNew York of Europe". During theSecond World War, the city was the centre for planning the crucialBattle of the Atlantic, and suffered ablitz second only to London's.
From the mid-twentieth century, Liverpool's docks and traditionalmanufacturing industries went into sharp decline, with the advent ofcontainerisation making the city's docks obsolete. Theunemployment rate in Liverpool rose to one of the highest in the UK. Over the same period, starting in the early 1960s, the city became internationally renowned for its culture, particularly as the centre of the "Merseybeat" sound which became synonymous withThe Beatles. In recent years, Liverpool's economy has recovered, partly due to tourism as well as substantial investment inregeneration schemes. The city was theEuropean Capital of Culture for 2008.
In theIron Age the area around modern-day Liverpool was sparsely populated, though there was a seaport atMeols. TheCalderstones are thought to be part of an ancientstone circle and there is archaeological evidence for native Iron Age farmsteads at several sites inIrby,Halewood andLathom. The region was inhabited byBrythonic tribes, theSetantii as well as nearbyCornovii andDeceangli.
The area came under Roman influence in about 70 AD, with the northward advance to crush thedruid resistance onAnglesey and to end the internal strife between the ruling family ofBrigantes. The main Roman presence was at the fortress and settlement atChester. According toPtolemy, the Latin hydronym for theMersey wasSeteia Aestuarium, which derives from the Setantii tribe.[1][2]
In 2007 evidence of a Roman tile works was found around theTarbock Island area of the M62 and various Roman coins and jewellery have been found in the Liverpool area.[3]
After the withdrawal of Roman troops, land in the area continued to be farmed by nativeBritons. TheHen Ogledd (Old North) was subject to fighting among four medieval kingdoms: the Anglo-SaxonKingdom of Mercia eventually defeated its rivalNorthumbria as well as the Celtic kingdoms ofGwynedd andPowys, with theBattle of Brunanburh perhaps taking place at nearbyBromborough. The settlements atWalton (Wealas tun meaning 'farmstead of theWealas'), andWallasey (Wealas-eg meaning 'island of the Wealas') were named at this time withWealas beingOld English for 'foreigner', referring to the nativeCeltic andRomanized inhabitants.[4][5]
The pseudo-historicalFragmentary Annals of Ireland appear to record the Norse settlement of theWirral in their account of the immigration ofIngimundr near Chester. This Irish source places this settlement in the aftermath of the expulsion of the Vikings fromDublin in 902 and an unsuccessful attempt to settle onAnglesey soon afterwards. Following these setbacks, Ingimundr is stated to have settled near Chester with the consent ofÆthelflæd, co-ruler of Mercia.[6] The Norse settlers eventually joined up with another group of Viking settlers who populated west Lancashire, and for a time had an independent Viking mini-state, with Viking placenames evident all over Merseyside.
Viking placenames include the suffix-by fromOld Norsebyr meaning village or farm, as found in Kirkby, West Kirby, Crosby, Formby, West Derby, Roby, Frankby, Greasby, Irby, Raby. The-teth suffix fromstathir meaning homestead as inToxteth andCroxteth. The-dale suffix comes fromdalr meaning valley as found in Kirkdale, Ainsdale, Birkdale. The prefixhale fromhalh meaning river meadow as found in Hale Bank and Halewood. The word Meols and suffix-mere come frommelr meaning sandbank as in Meols and Tranmere. The Norse nameThorsteinn is shown in Thursaston. Thething-vollr in Norse meaningassembly field is found in Thingwall place names on both sides of the Mersey in West Derby and Wirral.
In 1086, theDomesday Book survey listsRoger de Poitou as theSouth Lancashire tenant-in-chief forInter Ripam et Mersam lands between the Ribble and Mersey rivers, in theWest Derby Hundred and, at the time, the northern part ofCheshire. The Wirral settlements are administered as theHundred of Wilaveston from the village ofWillaston.
Liverpool itself is not listed in the Domesday Book but there is a large settlement listed atWest Derby (Derbei). Other settlements are named in the West Derby Hundred includingBootle (Boltelai),Kirkdale (Circhdele),Walton (Waletone),Toxteth (Stochestede),Smithdown (Esmidune),Wavertree (Wauretreu),Childwall (Cildeuuelle),Allerton (Alretune), Little and MuchWoolton (Uluentune), (Ulletone),Speke (Spec),Tarbock (Tarboc),Roby (Rabil),Huyton (Hitune),Knowsley (Chenulveslei),Kirkby (Cherchebi),Melling (Melinge),Maghull (Magele),Lydiate (Leidte),Sefton (Sextune),Thornton (Torentun),Litherland (Liderlant),Crosby (Crosebi),Formby (Fornebei),Ravenmeols (Mele),Little Altcar (Acrer),Ainsdale (Einulvesdel),North Meols (Otegrimele).
The name comes from the Old Englishliver, meaning thick or muddy, andpol, meaning a pool or creek, and is first recorded around 1190 asLiuerpul.[7][8] According to theCambridge Dictionary of English Place-Names, "The original reference was to a pool or tidal creek now filled up into which two streams drained".[8] The adjectiveLiverpudlian is first recorded in 1833.[8]
Although a smallmotte and bailey castle had earlier been built atWest Derby, the origins of the city of Liverpool are usually dated from 28 August 1207, whenletters patent were issued byKing John advertising the establishment of a new borough, "Livpul", and inviting settlers to come and take up holdings there. It is thought that the King wanted a port in the district that was free from the control of theEarl of Chester. Initially it served as a dispatch point for troops sent to Ireland, soon after the building around 1235 ofLiverpool Castle, which was removed in 1726.St Nicholas Church was built by 1257, originally as a chapel within the parish ofWalton-on-the-Hill.[9] In the 13th century Liverpool as an area consisted of just seven streets.
With the formation of a market on the site of the later town hall, Liverpool became established as a small fishing and farming community administered byburgesses and, slightly later, a mayor. There was probably some coastal trade around theIrish Sea and there were occasional ferries across the Mersey. However for several centuries it remained a small and relatively unimportant settlement, with a population of no more than 1,000 in the mid 14th century. By the early 15th century a period of economic decline set in and the county gentry increased their power over the town, theStanley family fortifying their house by building Stanley Tower on Water Street. This was a catalyst for a feud between the Stanley andMolyneux families since the Molyneux family had permission to live at the nearbyLiverpool Castle at that time. The resulting rivalry nearly spilled into a riot in 1424.[10] In the middle of the 16th century the population of Liverpool had fallen to around 600 and the port was regarded as subordinate toChester until the 1650s.
In 1571 the people of Liverpool sent a memorial toQueen Elizabeth I, praying relief from a subsidy which they thought themselves unable to bear, wherein they styled themselves "her majesty's poor decayed town of Liverpool". Some time towards the close of this reign,Henry Stanley, 4th Earl of Derby, on his way to theIsle of Man, stayed at his house, the Tower; at which the corporation erected a handsome hall or seat for him in the church, where he honoured them several times with his presence.
By the end of the sixteenth century, the town began to be able to take advantage of economic revival and the silting of theRiver Dee to win trade, mainly from Chester, to Ireland, the Isle of Man and elsewhere. In 1626, KingCharles I gave the town a new and improved charter.[9]
During theEnglish Civil War there were three sieges of Liverpool. After the Roundheads captured Liverpool in 1643, a second siege took place in June 1644 led byPrince Rupert of the Rhine who arrived in Liverpool with 10,000 men in an attempt to captureLiverpool Castle for the King. He camped in Everton during the siege and he is remembered in the area through placenames and inspired the nickname of 'Prince Rupert's Tower' for theEverton Lock-Up that was built over a century later in the area (this small jail is also depicted on theEverton Football Club badge). To defend the town the Roundheads dug a trench around much of the town. Prince Rupert succeeded in capturing the town and the castle but later that same year the Roundheads recaptured Liverpool.[11]
The first cargo from the Americas was recorded in 1648. The development of the town accelerated afterthe Restoration of 1660, with the growth of trade with America and theWest Indies. From that time may be traced the rapid progress of population and commerce, until Liverpool had become the second metropolis of Great Britain. Initially, cloth, coal and salt from Lancashire and Cheshire were exchanged for sugar and tobacco; the town's first sugar refinery was established in 1667.[12]
In 1699 Liverpool was made aparish on its own byAct of Parliament, separate from that of Walton-on-the-Hill, with two parish churches. At the same time it gained separate customs authority from Chester.[9]
In 1699 the first knownslave ship to sail from Liverpool departed, its name and number of victims unknown.[13] The last recorded slaving voyage out of Liverpool was in 1862, of a total of 4,973 such voyages.[13] One example is theLiverpool Merchant that set sail for Africa on 3 October 1699, the very same year that Liverpool had been granted status as an independent parish. It arrived in Barbados with a 'cargo' of 220 Africans, returning to Liverpool on 18 September 1700. By the close of the 18th century 40% of the world's, and 80% of Britain's activity in theAtlantic slave trade was accounted for by slave ships that voyaged from thedocks at Liverpool. In the peak year of 1799, ships sailing from Liverpool carried over 45,000 enslaved people from Africa.[9]
Liverpool merchants such as Foster Cunliffe and his apprenticeWilliam Bulkeley co-owned voyages for slaves, for Greenland whaling, and, especially during theSeven Years' War,privateering.[14] They traded also in tobacco and other commodities.[15] James Stonehouse recalled his father's ship being fitted out:"I was often taken on board. In her hold were long shelves, with ring bolts in rows in several places. I used to run along these shelves little thinking of what dreadful scenes would be enacted upon them. The fact is that [she] was destined for the African trade, in which she made many successful voyages. In 1779, however, she was converted into a privateer. My father, at the present time, would not perhaps be thought very respectable; but I assure you that he was so considered in those days. So many people in Liverpool were... "tarred with the same brush" that these occupations were... not at all regarded as derogatory."
Vast profits transformed Liverpool into one of Britain's foremost cities. Liverpool became a financial centre, rivaled by Bristol, another slaving port, and exceeded only by London. The first commercialwet dock in the world was built in Liverpool and completed in 1715, with a capacity of 100 ships. The commercial growth led to the opening of theConsulate of the United States in Liverpool in 1790, its first consulate anywhere in the world, and to many other social changes:"As a young boy, I have seen it ranked only as a third-class seaport. Its streets tortuous and narrow, with pavements in the middle, skirted by mud or dirt as the season happened. The sidewalks rough with sharp-pointed stones, that made it misery to walk upon them. I have seen houses, with little low rooms, suffice for the dwelling of the merchant or well-to-do trader, the first being content to live in Water-St. or Oldhall-St., while the latter had no idea of leaving his little shop, with its bay or square window, to take care of itself at night... The most enlightened of its inhabitants, at that time, could not boast of much intelligence, while [the] lower orders were plunged in the deepest vice, ignorance, and brutality... so barbarous were they in their amusements,bullbaiting andcock anddog fightings, andpugilistic encounters. What could we expect when we opened no book to the young... deriving our prosperity from two great sources - the slave trade and privateering... Swarming with sailormen flushed with prize money, was it not likely that the inhabitants generally would take a tone from what they daily beheld and quietly countenanced?...
As a man, I have seen the old narrow streets widening – the old houses crumbling... and the sea influence recede before improvement, education and enlightenment of all sorts. The three-bottle and punch drinking man is the exception now, and not the rule of the table."[16]
Richard Pennant was returned unopposed as one of the two Members of Parliament forLiverpool at a by-election in 1767. He then won two successive general elections, in1768 and1774. He was defeated in1780 general election, whenBamber Gascoyne (the younger) was returned instead. Pennant was given an Irish peerage, becoming Lord Penrhyn.[17] He was returned as an MP for Liverpool in the1784 general election. Between 1784 and 1790, when he stood down and was replaced byBanastre Tarleton, Penrhyn is reported to have made more than thirty speeches, all in vigorous defence of Liverpool trade or the West Indies. From 1788 to 1807, he was also Chairman of theLondon Society of West India Planters and Merchants.[18] In May 1788, Penrhyn and Bamber Gascoyne (the younger), were the only two Members who ventured to justify the slave trade. Penrhyn spoke frequently in defence of the slave trade 'denying the facts advanced, appealing to the prudence and policy of the House against their compassion'. On 12 May 1789 he told the House that 'if they passed the vote of abolition they actually struck at seventy millions of property, they ruined the colonies, and by destroying an essential nursery of seamen, gave up the dominion of the sea at a single glance'. Bamber Gascoyne continued as a Liverpool MP until 1796.[17]
Banastre Tarleton succeeded Lord Penrhyn as MP in 1790, and apart from one year, remained as an MP for Liverpool until 1812. He was a frequent speaker in the House of Commons, 'spirited and animated', in debate. In 1791 he visited Paris and was barred from the Jacobin Club because of his consistent and outspoken defence of the slave trade. His rhetoric was versatile; in 1794 he opposedWilliam Wilberforce's bid to veto the export of slaves to foreign countries as an attack on private property. In 1796 he thwarted a further bid to abolish the slave trade and went on to thwart the slave carrying bill. In 1803 his opposition to abolition of the slave trade was based on the danger fromNapoleon, adding in 1805 that Liverpool's growth and prosperity depended on the trade. By 1806 he believed that the United States would benefit more from abolition, and he 'was sorry to observe that ministers were much more active in injuring the trade of the country than in providing for its defence'.[19]
Even in Liverpool,abolitionist sentiment was expressed. The Liverpool-born politicianWilliam Roscoe was member for Liverpool in 1806–1807, and was able to vote forthe abolition of the slave trade in 1807.[20] This legislation imposed fines that did little to deter slave trade participants; 29 avowed slaving voyages left Liverpool in 1808, but none in 1809, two in 1810, and two more in 1811. In 1811Henry Brougham introduced theSlave Trade Felony Act 1811 which made slave traders liable to effective penalties includingpenal transportation for up to fourteen years.[21] Thereafter, though the trade continued in illicit forms, only one more slaving voyage, in 1862, is recorded from Liverpool.[13] Many merchants managed to ignore the laws and continued to deal in slave trafficking, supplying the markets that remained open inBrazil and elsewhere.
Slavery in British colonies was finally abolished in 1833, replaced by "apprenticeships", which ran until 1838 when they were abolished as well.[22]
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The international trade of the town continued to grow. While this did include slave trading, it encompassed a wide range of commodities. In particular,cotton, which Liverpool became the leading world market. From Liverpool, the textile mills of Manchester and Lancashire were supplied.
During the eighteenth century the town's population grew from some 6,000 to 80,000, and its land and water communications with its hinterland and other northern cities steadily improved. Liverpool was first linked by canal to Manchester in 1721, theSt. Helens coalfield in 1755, and Leeds in 1816. In 1830, Liverpool became home to the world's first inter-urban rail link to another city,Manchester, through theLiverpool and Manchester Railway and the maiden journey of Stephenson'sThe Rocket.[23]
Liverpool's importance was such that it was home to a number of world firsts. This included the world's first fully electrically powered overhead railway, theLiverpool Overhead Railway. It opened in 1893, predating more famous systems subsequently constructed inNew York City andChicago.
The urban area grew rapidly from the 18th century onwards. TheBluecoat Hospital for poor children was established in 1718. With the demolition of the castle in 1726, onlySt Nicholas Church and the historic street plan – with Castle Street as the spine of the original settlement andParadise Street following the line of the Pool – remained to reflect the town's mediaeval origins. The Town Hall, with a covered exchange for merchants designed by architectJohn Wood, was built in 1754, and the first office buildings, including theCorn Exchange, were opened in 1808.[24]
Throughout the 19th century Liverpool's trade and its population continued to expand rapidly. Growth in the cotton trade was accompanied by the development of strong trading links with India and the Far East, following the ending of theHonourable East India Company's monopoly in 1813. More than 140 acres (0.57 km2) of new docks, with 10 miles (16 km) of quay space, were opened between 1824 and 1858.[9] In 1848, Liverpool's publicabattoir, in the town centre, was considered the best in England. However, by 1900 it was said to be inferior to a private slaughterhouse.[25]
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Between 1845 and 1849, due to theGreat Famine, there was an influx ofIrish people into Liverpool. Almost 300,000 arrived in 1847, and by 1851 approximately 25 per cent of the town's population was Irish-born. The Irish influence is reflected in the unique place Liverpool occupies in UK and Irish political history, being the only local outside Ireland to elect a member of parliament from theIrish Parliamentary Party to the British parliament inWestminster.T.P. O'Connor represented the constituency ofLiverpool Scotland from 1885 to 1929.
As the town became a leading port of theBritish Empire, a number of major buildings were constructed. These includedSt George's Hall (1854) andLime Street Station. TheGrand National steeplechase was first run at Aintree in 1837.[26]
Between 1851 and 1911, Liverpool attracted at least 20,000 people from Wales each decade, peaking in the 1880s. One of the first Welsh-language journals,Yr Amserau, was founded in Liverpool byWilliam Rees (Gwilym Hiraethog), and more than 50 Welsh chapels were constructed.[27]
Early regular scheduled Liverpool transatlantic passenger travel began in the 1810s, with American lines such asBlack Ball Line (trans-Atlantic packet) andCollins Line. In the 1840s, Liverpool-based companies' emerged that includedCunard Line andWhite Star Line.
When theAmerican Civil War broke out, Liverpool became a hotbed of intrigue, andConfederate agentJames Dunwoody Bulloch set up a base of operations there. Given the crucial place cotton held in the town's economy, Liverpool became "the most pro-Confederate place in the world outside the Confederacy itself" per the historianSven Beckert.[28] TheConfederate Navy ship, theCSSAlabama, was built atBirkenhead on the Mersey, and theCSSShenandoah surrendered there (being the final surrender at the end of the war).[citation needed] The city was also the center of Confederate purchasing war materiel, including arms and ammunition, uniforms, and naval supplies to be smuggled byBritish blockade runners to the South.[29]
Liverpool was grantedcity status in 1880 and the following year itsuniversity was established. By 1901, the city's population had grown to over 700,000, and its boundaries had expanded to includeKirkdale,Everton,[30]Walton,West Derby (in 1835 and 1895),Toxteth andGarston.[9]
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During the first part of the 20th century Liverpool continued to expand, pulling in immigrants from Europe. In 1903 anInternational Exhibition took place inEdge Lane. In 1904, the building of theAnglican Cathedral began, and by 1916 the threePier Head buildings, including theLiver Building, were complete. This period marked the pinnacle of Liverpool's economic success, when it regarded itself as the "second city" of theBritish Empire.[9] The formerly independenturban districts ofAllerton,Childwall,Little Woolton and Much Woolton were added in 1913, and the parish ofSpeke added in 1932, with large housing developments, mostly by the local authority, being built over the next few years.[31]
Adolf Hitler's half-brother Alois and his Irish sister-in-lawBridget Dowling are known to have lived in Upper Stanhope Street in the 1910s. Bridget's alleged memoirs, which surfaced in the 1970s, said that Adolf stayed with them in 1912–13, although this is much disputed as many believe the memoirs to be a forgery.[32][33][34]
The maiden voyage ofTitanic in April 1912 was originally planned to depart from Liverpool, as Liverpool was itsport of registration and the home of ownersWhite Star Line. However, it was changed to depart fromSouthampton instead.
Aside from the largeIrish community in Liverpool, there were other pockets of cultural diversity. The area of Gerard, Hunter, Lionel and Whale streets, offScotland Road, was referred to asLittle Italy. Inspired by an oldVenetian custom, Liverpool was 'married to the sea' in September 1928. Liverpool was also home to a large Welsh population, and was sometimes referred to as the Capital of North Wales. In 1884, 1900 and 1929,Eisteddfods were held in Liverpool.
Economic changes began in the first part of the 20th century, as falls in world demand for the North West's traditional export commodities contributed to stagnation and decline in the city. Unemployment was well above the national average as early as the 1920s, and the city became known nationally for its occasionally violent religioussectarianism.[9]
WhenEverton F.C. won theFootball League First Division title in 1928, their centre-forwardDixie Dean scored aFootball League record of 60 goals in the same season.
TheGreat Depression hit Liverpool badly in the early 1930s with thousands of people in the city left unemployed. This was combated by a large amount of housing mostly built by the local council being constructed, creating jobs mostly in the building, plumbing and electrical trades. About 15 per cent of the city's population were rehoused in the 1920s and 1930s with more than 30,000 new council houses being built to replace the slums in the city.
The rising popularity of motor cars led to congestion in the city, and in 1934 the city gained its first direct road link with theWirral Peninsula, when the firstMersey Tunnel road was opened. The Queensway, as the new tunnel was named, linked Liverpool withBirkenhead at the other side of the Mersey. Many other buildings were built in the city in the 1930s to ease the depression and became local landmarks, with many buildings featuring American inspired architecture.[35]
During World War 2, Liverpool was the control centre for theBattle of the Atlantic. There were eightyair-raids on Merseyside, with an especially concentrated series of raids in May 1941 which interrupted operations at the docks for almost a week. Some 2,500 people were killed,[36] almost half the homes in the metropolitan area sustained some damage and some 11,000 were totally destroyed. Over 70,000 people were made homeless.[9]John Lennon, one of the founding members ofThe Beatles, was born in Liverpool during an air-raid on 9 October 1940. All four members of The Beatles were born in the city during the war, rising to fame in the early 1960s.
Thousands of Chinese sailors were recruited to aid the war effort and came to Liverpool, many forming relationships with local women. However, once the war was ended, they were mostly forcibly repatriated.[37][38]
Significant rebuilding followed the war, including massive housing estates and theSeaforth Dock, the largest dock project in Britain. However, the city has been suffering since the 1950s with the loss of numerous employers. By 1985 the population had fallen to 460,000. Declines in manufacturing and dock activity struck the city particularly hard. In 1956Liverpool Overhead Railway and its fourteen stations were closed and demolished and in 1957Liverpool Corporation Tramways closed after the last tram ran in Liverpool.
In 1955, theLabour Party, led locally by Jack andBessie Braddock, came to power in the City Council for the first time.
In 1956, aprivate bill sponsored byLiverpool City Council was brought beforeParliament to develop a water reservoir from theTryweryn Valley. The development would include the flooding ofCapel Celyn. By obtaining authority via an Act of Parliament, Liverpool City Council would not require planning consent from the relevant Welsh local authorities.
In the 1960s Liverpool became a centre ofyouth culture. The city produced the distinctiveMerseybeat sound, most famouslyThe Beatles, and theLiverpool poets.
From the 1970s onwards Liverpool's docks and traditional manufacturing industries went into further sharp decline. The advent ofcontainerisation meant that Liverpool's docks ceased to be a major local employer.Liverpool Central High Level railway station closed in 1972, as well as theWaterloo,Victoria andWapping tunnels. In 1974, Liverpool became ametropolitan district within the newly createdmetropolitan county ofMerseyside. In 1977Liverpool Exchange railway station closed, and in 1979 theNorth Liverpool Extension Line closed too. In 1972Canadian Pacific unitCP Ships were the last transatlantic line to operate from Liverpool.
The 1980s saw Liverpool's fortunes sink to their lowest postwar point. Although the 1970s, along with the rest of Britain, had brought economic difficulties and a steady rise in unemployment, the situation in Liverpool went from bad to worse in the early 1980s, with endless factory closures and some of the highest unemployment rates in the UK. An average of 12,000 people each year were leaving the city, and 15% of its land was vacant or derelict.[9]
In July 1981 the infamousToxteth Riots took place, during which, for the first time in the UK outsideNorthern Ireland,tear gas was used by police against civilians. In the same year, theTate and Lyle sugar works, previously a mainstay of the city's manufacturing economy, closed down. The docks had already declined dramatically by this stage, depriving the city of another major source of employment.
By 1985, unemployment in Liverpool exceeded 20%, around double the national average. About this time the scourge of heroin, always present in port cities, began to rise.
Liverpool City Council was dominated by the far-left wingMilitant group during the 1980s, under thede facto leadership ofDerek Hatton (although Hatton was formally only Deputy Leader). The city council sank heavily into debt, as the City Council fought a campaign to prevent central government from reducing funding for local services. Ultimately this led to 49 of the city's Councillors being removed from office by the District Auditor for refusing to cut the budget, refusing to make good the deficit and forcing the City Council into virtual bankruptcy. The conduct of Hatton and the militant tendency had even come under the scrutiny of Labour Party leaderNeil Kinnock, who was keen to remove the militant tendency from the party as part of the attempt to make it electable again. At the same time, theConservative government ofMargaret Thatcher was deeply unpopular in Liverpool, with the Conservatives share of the vote in most local council and parliamentary elections being consistently low throughout the 1980s.
On 15 April 1989 and subsequently 97Liverpool F.C. fans (mostly fromMerseyside but also from neighbouring parts ofCheshire andLancashire) died in theHillsborough disaster at anFA Cup semi-final inSheffield. This had a traumatic effect on people across the country, particularly in and around the city of Liverpool, and resulted in legally imposed changes in the way in which football fans have since been accommodated, including compulsory all-seater stadiums at all leading English clubs by the mid-1990s. Many clubs removed their perimeter fencing almost immediately after the tragedy and such measures at football grounds in England have long since been banned.
In particular it led to strong feeling in Liverpool because it was widely reported in the media that the Liverpool fans were at fault.The Sun sparked particular controversy for publishing such allegations in an article four days after the disaster. Sales of the newspaper in Liverpool slumped and many newsagents refused to stock it. Three decades later many people in the city still refuse to buyThe Sun and a number of newsagents still refuse to sell it. Other media outlets, including theDaily Star andDaily Mail, also printed stories in which the behaviour of Liverpool fans was alleged to have been a major factor in the tragedy.
There was further controversy surrounding the tragedy in March 1991 when a verdict of accidental death was recorded on the 95 people who had died at Hillsborough (the 96th victim did not die until 1993), much to the dismay of the bereaved families, who had been hoping for a verdict of unlawful killing, or an open verdict, to be recorded; and for criminal charges to be brought against South Yorkshire Police. This verdict was eventually replaced by one of unlawful killing at fresh inquest 25 years later.
It has since become clear thatSouth Yorkshire Police made a range of mistakes at the game, though the senior officer in charge of the event retired soon after.
The success of Liverpool FC was some compensation for the city's economic misfortune during the 1970s and 1980s. The club, formed in 1892, had won five league titles by 1947, but enjoyed its first consistent run of success under the management ofBill Shankly between 1959 and 1974, winning a further three league titles as well as the club's first twoFA Cups and its first European trophy in the shape of theUEFA Cup. Following Shankly's retirement, the club continued to dominate English football for nearly 20 years afterwards. By 1990, Liverpool FC had won more major trophies than any other English club - a total of 18 top division league titles, four FA Cups, fourFootball League Cups, fourEuropean Cups and two UEFA Cups.[39] The club's iconic red shirt had been worn by some of the biggest names in British sport of the 1970s and 1980s, includingKevin Keegan,Kenny Dalglish (who also served as manager from 1985 to 1991 and again from 2011 to 2012),Phil Neal,Ian Rush,Ian Callaghan andJohn Barnes. The club has since won their first Premier League title and a further three FA Cups, three League Cups, a UEFA Cup and two European Cups, and fielded a new wave of stars includingRobbie Fowler,Michael Owen,Jamie Carragher andSteven Gerrard.[40]
Everton F.C., the city's original senior football club, also enjoyed a degree of success during the 1970s and 1980s. The club had enjoyed a consistent run of success during the interwar years and again in the 1960s, but after winning the league title in 1970 went 14 years without winning a major trophy, although they did hold onto the First Division place which had been theirs since 1954. Then, in 1984, Everton won theFA Cup under the management ofHoward Kendall, who had once been a player at the club.[41] A league title win followed in 1985, along with the club's first European trophy – theEuropean Cup Winners' Cup.[42] By 1986, the city's two clubs were firmly established as the leading club sides in England as Liverpool finished league champions and Everton runners-up, and the two sides also met for the FA Cup final, which Liverpool won 3–1. The Everton side of the mid-1980s included some of the highest rated footballers in the English league at the time; goalkeeperNeville Southall, wingerTrevor Steven, forwardsGraeme Sharp andAndy Gray, and Gray's successorGary Lineker.
Everton have enjoyed an unbroken run in the top flight of English football since 1954, although their only major trophy since the league title in 1987 came in 1995 when they won the FA Cup.[43] Everton added another league title in 1987, with Liverpool finishing runners-up.[44]
Another all-Merseyside FA Cup final 1989 saw Liverpool beat Everton 3–2. This match was played just five weeks after the Hillsborough disaster.[45]
A similar national outpouring of grief and shock to the Hillsborough disaster occurred in February 1993 whenJames Bulger was killed by two ten-year-old boys, Jon Venables and Robert Thompson. The two boys were found guilty of murder later in the year and sentenced to indefinite detention.
The 1990s saw the continued regeneration of the city which had started in the 1980s. This is still happening in 2020.
A general economic and civic revival has been underway since the mid-nineties. Liverpool's economy has grown faster than the national average and its crime levels have remained lower than most other metropolitan areas in England and Wales, with recorded crime per head in Merseyside comparable to the national average—unusually low for an urban area.
In recent years, the city has emphasised its cultural attractions. Tourism has become a significant factor in Liverpool's economy, capitalising on the popularity of the Beatles and other groups of the Merseybeat era. In June 2003, Liverpool won the right to be namedEuropean Capital of Culture for 2008, beating other British cities such asNewcastle andBirmingham to the coveted title. The riverfront of the city was also designated as aWorld Heritage Site in 2004 until its revocation in 2021.
In October 2005, Liverpool City Council passed a public apology for the flooding ofCapel Celyn in Wales.[citation needed]
In October 2007, Liverpool and London continued with wildcat strikes, after the end of the officialCWU strikes, that had been ongoing since June in a dispute with theRoyal Mail over pay, pensions, and hours.
On November 11, 2021, a bomb inside a taxi detonated outside Liverpool Women’s Hospital. It has been recognised as a terror attack.
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