November 27th, 2007 Posted in Ireland
Northern Ireland’s capital, Belfast, is its largest city and the second largest city on the island of Ireland. This once troubled city has been inhabited for thousands of years, dating back to the Bronze Age (from 3,500 B.C.E. to 1,100 B.C.E.).
Belfast developed into a full grown city in the 17th century, but it wasn’t until the 18th century that it established itself as a major industrial city. The Titanic was built in Belfast by Harland and Wolff, once the largest shipbuilders in the world.
In 1921, the Republic of Ireland gained its independence from the United Kingdom, and Belfast became the capital of newly established Northern Ireland. The city was bombed during WWII, but trouble didn’t begin brewing between the Republic and Northern Ireland until the 1960s.
Northern Ireland entered sad times when a civil rights movement turned into more than three decades of bombings, street violence and shootings.
In the past ten years things have straightened out between the Republic and Northern Ireland, and the city has become a progressive and peaceful place. Even political leaders from opposing sides have come together recently to repair the damage from the decades of destruction.
