The History of Liverpool
Written Christmas 1910 by Dorothy Wane
The progress of Liverpool went on apace and in the reign of James I the town contained twenty-four
vessels navigated by seventy six men but the besieging of Liverpool during the Civil Wars greatly impeded it's progress. The town has always had a reputation of being very Tory and in these days Charles was not without friends here. Lord Strange, the eldest son of Earl of Derby who was appointed first mayor occupied and fortified Liverpool.
After much fighting in various parts of the country the Royalists fell back on Liverpool followed by Colonel Ashton, who stormed the outworks, got possession of the principal street, and shut the Royalists up in the Castle. Terms were asked, but refused by Ashton who assaulted, and drove them out of the town with a loss of three hundred prisoners, eighty killed and ten guns.
Thus the Parliamentary forces won the town for the first time and at once began to fortify it. The capture of Liverpool meant that the people's party could interrupt the supplies coming from Ireland, from the lord lieutenant to the king.
Many vessels were fitted out and did good work. In revenge, Chester was urged to attack Liverpool by sea, but this never happened although a force was started with that object. Later in the war, Prince Rupert, after capturing Bolton, attacked Liverpool with a large force. The town was in a strongly defensive position, being protected by the river and the pool on three sides and fortified on the fourth. Colonel Moore and his men defended it with splendid courage.
It took Rupert about a week to take it, and he lost 1500 men. It was captured by a night attack. Later in the campaign the Royalists, defeated at all points, fell back on Liverpool; they were besieged by Major-General Meldrum by land, and Colonel Moore blockaded. Treachery soon ended this siege, the soldiers delivering up their own officers.
This was the last siege of Liverpool. The Castle itself was destroyed as a fortress by order of Charles the Second, who did not like the spirit which the inhabitants of Liverpool had shown during the great Civil War; and the ruins of the castle were swept away in the rign of George the First. Charles the Second issued a charter in 1667 which diminished the priveleges of the burgesses.
However, in William III's reign, Liverpool received a decided impulse and the town began to advance in size, population and commerce. An act was passed in 1699 by which Liverpool became a parish.
A look at the following figures will give an idea of the increase in population of the town.
1624 - there were only 4 marriages, 35 christenings and 21 burials
1700 - there were 24 marriages, 131 christenings and 125 burials
From 1688 - 1709, Liverpool prospered greatly. A few adventurers inspired with the tales of the gold and precious things to be had in Africa, set sail from Liverpool. On their return their successful accounts of the wealth and their traffic in slaves operated like electricity on the Liverpool citizens. Thus the good kindhearted patriotic traffikers grew rich by inflicting the miseries of captivity, slavery and torture on thousands of their fellow creatures inasmuch that several of the principal streets have been marked out by the chains, and the walls of the houses cemented by the blood of Africans.
During the war between England and her colonies the slave trade suffered considerably. But in 1728, peace being established, the old slave traffic went on apace in spite of several men who opposed it and the Corporation presented the freedom of the borough to His Royal Highness, Duke of Clarence, as a memorial of their gratitude for his able opposition in the House of Lords to the bill for the abolition of slavery.
And so the controversy raged until finally the humanitarians won and obtained abolition. One of the bitterest jibes ever flung at Liverpool and its connection with the slave trade was that of the actor, George Frederick Cooke (1756-1812) - he came on drunk, was hissed and retorted - "I have not come here to be insulted by a set of wretches, every brick in whose infernal town is cemented with an African's blood".
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