105-592: Bristol , a port city in the South West of England , on the banks of the River Avon , has been an important location for maritime trade for centuries. In the time of Anglo-Saxon England , Bristol was the principal port for the export of English slaves to Ireland . Bristol was the leading English port in the transatlantic slave trade in the 17th and 18th centuries. It has been estimated that Bristol merchants traded over 500,000 enslaved African people. Before
210-470: A Roman road ); another was at the present-day Inns Court . Isolated Roman villas and small forts and settlements were also scattered throughout the area. Bristol was founded by 1000; by about 1020, it was a trading centre with a mint producing silver pennies bearing its name. By 1067, Brycgstow was a well-fortified burh , and that year the townsmen beat back a raiding party from Ireland led by three of Harold Godwinson 's sons. Under Norman rule,
315-411: A statue of Colston was pulled down from its plinth by protestors and pushed into Bristol Harbour. The statue was recovered on 11 June and has become a museum exhibit. Bristol City council consists of 70 councillors representing 34 wards, with between one and three per ward serving four-year terms. As of May 2024, no party has an overall controlling majority, but Green Party are the largest group on
420-591: A car, van, motorbike or taxi, 2.2% commute by rail and 9.8% by bus, while 19.6% walk. The Runnymede Trust found in 2017 that Bristol "ranked 7th out of the 348 districts of England & Wales (1=worst) on the Index of Multiple Inequality." In terms of employment, the report found that "ethnic minorities are disadvantaged compared to white British people nationally, but this is to a greater extent in Bristol, particularly for black groups." Black people in Bristol experience
525-417: A compulsory load line on ships. By 1867, ships were getting larger and the meanders in the river Avon prevented boats over 300 ft (90 m) from reaching the harbour, resulting in falling trade. The port facilities were migrating downstream to Avonmouth and new industrial complexes were founded there. Some of the traditional industries including copper and brass manufacture went into decline, but
630-687: A developed area between the Bristol city boundary and the M4, M5 and M32 motorways (now in South Gloucestershire) was so named as part of a 1987 plan prepared by the Northavon District Council of Avon county. The West of England Combined Authority was created on 9 February 2017. Covering Bristol and the rest of the old Avon county with the exception of North Somerset, the new combined authority has responsibility for regional planning, roads, and local transport, and to
735-548: A footbridge across the River Frome in the docks of Bristol, was opened in 1999. Several Bristol banks, such as the Bristol Old Bank, were founded by prominent slave traders and merchants, such as Isaac Elton. They have amalgamated and changed names many times before becoming part of other institutions, notably NatWest . Residents in Bristol could financially benefit from the slave trade in a myriad of ways. This
840-508: A growth of just under 40% in a two-year period. As tourism grows, the demand for vacation property increases in conjunction. Saint Kitts & Nevis also acquires foreign direct investment from their unique citizenship-by-investment programme, outlined in their Citizenship Act of 1984. Interested parties can acquire citizenship if they pass the government's strict background checks and make an investment into an approved real estate development. Purchasers who pass government due diligence and make
945-509: A lesser extent, education and business investment. The authority is led by the Mayor of the West of England , Dan Norris . Bristol's boundaries can be defined in several ways, including those of the city itself, the developed area, or Greater Bristol . The city council boundary is the narrowest definition of the city itself. However, it unusually includes a large, roughly rectangular section of
1050-589: A minimum investment of US$ 400,000, into qualifying government-approved real estate, are entitled to apply for citizenship of the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis. Many projects are approved under the citizenship-by-investment programme. The country hosts an annual St. Kitts Music Festival . Robert L. Bradshaw International Airport serves Saint Kitts. The Basseterre Ferry Terminal facilitates travel between Saint Kitts and sister island Nevis. The narrow-gauge (30 inches ) St. Kitts Scenic Railway circles
1155-686: A shallow 3-kilometre (2 mi) channel known as " The Narrows ". Saint Kitts became home to the first Caribbean British and French colonies in the mid-1620s. Along with the island of Nevis, Saint Kitts was a member of the British West Indies until gaining independence on 19 September 1983. The island is one of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles . It is situated about 2,100 km (1,300 mi) southeast of Miami , Florida , US. The land area of Saint Kitts
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#17327720238031260-487: A shipbuilding and manufacturing centre. By the 14th century, Bristol, York and Norwich were England's largest medieval towns after London. One-third to one-half of the population died in the Black Death of 1348–49, which checked population growth, and its population remained between 10,000 and 12,000 for most of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the 15th century, Bristol was the second most important port in
1365-486: A song entitled "The Bristol Slaver" covering the subject. M Shed in Bristol explore Bristol's involvement in the transatlantic slave trade in their "Bristol People" gallery. It features a section on the legacies of the slave trade on some of Bristol's public institutions. It features the antislavery movement as the beginning of a display on modern public protests including the Bristol Bus Boycott , treating
1470-436: A sum of money for the building. Some buildings and institutions such as schools were named after their slave trading benefactors; for example, Colston Hall, Colston Girls School and Colston Primary School (since renamed to Bristol Beacon , Montpelier High School , and Cotham Gardens Primary School respectively) were named after Edward Colston , Bristol's most famous philanthropist, a Bristol-born slave trader, senior manager of
1575-554: A widow of Leigh-upon-Mendip , bequeathed her interest of £130 in this ship to her grandson Thomas Bridges, indicating that the vessel was owned in the City of Bristol. Due to the over-crowding and harsh conditions on the ships, it is estimated that approximately half of each cargo of slaves did not survive the trip across the Atlantic. Bristol became one of the biggest centres of the transatlantic slave trade between 1725 and 1740, when it
1680-475: Is 106 mi (171 km) west of London, 77 mi (124 km) south-southwest of Birmingham and 26 mi (42 km) east of the Welsh capital Cardiff . Areas adjoining the city fall within a loosely defined area known as Greater Bristol . Bath is located 11 mi (18 km) south east of the city centre, Weston-super-Mare is 18 mi (29 km) to the south west and the Welsh city of Newport
1785-503: Is 19 mi (31 km) to the north west. The climate is oceanic ( Köppen : Cfb) , milder than most places in England and United Kingdom. Located in southern England, Bristol is one of the warmest cities in the UK with a mean annual temperature of approximately 10.5 °C (50.9 °F). It is among the sunniest, with 1,541–1,885 hours of sunshine per year. Although the city
1890-517: Is Mount Liamuiga, formerly Mount Misery, a dormant volcano 1,156 metres (3,793 ft) high. The youngest volcanic centre is Mt. Liamuiga , 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) in diameter and rising to an elevation of 1,155 metres (3,789 ft). Its last eruption was 1,620 years ago, corresponding with the Steel Dust series of pyroclastic deposits on the western flank. The Mansion Series of pyroclastic deposits and andesite with basalt layers occur on
1995-507: Is about 168 km (65 sq mi), being approximately 29 km (18 mi) long and on average about 8 km (5.0 mi) across. Saint Kitts has a population of about 40,000, the majority of whom are of African descent . The primary language is English , with a literacy rate of approximately 98%. Residents call themselves Kittitians . The island is named after the Christian Saint Christopher ; "Kit"
2100-472: Is also home to several institutions of higher education, including Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine , Windsor University School of Medicine , and the University of Medicine and Health Sciences . The capital of the two-island nation, and also its largest port, is the town of Basseterre on Saint Kitts. There is a modern facility for handling large cruise ships there. A ring road goes around
2205-488: Is estimated that profits of 5-20% were made from the trading of black slaves. Between 1730 and 1745, it became the leading English slaving port. By the 1730s, an average of 39 slave ships left Bristol each year, and between 1739 and 1748, there were 245 slaving voyages from Bristol (about 37.6% of the whole British trade). In the final years of the British slave trade, Bristol's share of it decreased to 62 voyages, or 3.3% of
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#17327720238032310-692: Is partially sheltered by the Mendip Hills, it is exposed to the Severn Estuary and the Bristol Channel . Rain is fairly evenly distributed throughout the year, with autumn and winter the wetter seasons. The Atlantic Ocean influences Bristol's weather, keeping its average temperature above freezing throughout the year, but winter frosts are frequent and snow occasionally falls from early November to late April. Summers are warm and drier, with variable sunshine, rain and clouds, and spring weather
2415-459: Is represented by 5 constituencies, East , North East , North West , South , and Central . The city has a tradition of political activism. Edmund Burke , MP for the Bristol constituency for six years beginning in 1774, insisted that he was a Member of Parliament first and a representative of his constituents' interests second. Women's-rights advocate Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence (1867–1954)
2520-633: Is therefore estimated that merchants in Bristol were responsible for more than 500,000 enslaved African people being shipped to the Caribbean and North America. The triangular trade was a route taken by slave merchants between England, Northwest Africa and the Caribbean during the years 1697 to 1807. Bristol ships traded their goods for enslaved people from south-east Nigeria and Angola , which were then known as Calabar and Bonny. They exchanged goods produced in Bristol like copper and brass goods as well as gunpowder, which were offered as payment of shares in
2625-1035: Is unsettled. The weather stations nearest Bristol for which long-term climate data are available are Long Ashton (about 5 mi (8 km) south west of the city centre) and Bristol Weather Station, in the city centre. Data collection at these locations ended in 2002 and 2001, respectively, and following the closure of Filton Airfield, Almondsbury is the nearest weather station to the city. Temperatures at Long Ashton from 1959 to 2002 ranged from 33.5 °C (92.3 °F) in July 1976 to −14.4 °C (6.1 °F) in January 1982. Monthly high temperatures since 2002 at Filton exceeding those recorded at Long Ashton include 25.7 °C (78.3 °F) in April 2003, 34.5 °C (94.1 °F) in July 2006 and 26.8 °C (80.2 °F) in October 2011. The lowest recent temperature at Filton
2730-596: Is unusual among major British towns and cities in its larger black than Asian population. These statistics apply to the Bristol Unitary Authority area, excluding areas of the urban area (2006 estimated population 587,400) in South Gloucestershire, Bath and North East Somerset (BANES) and North Somerset—such as Kingswood, Mangotsfield, Filton and Warmley. 56.2% of the 209,995 Bristol residents who are employed commute to work using either
2835-694: The Archbishop of Canterbury . The Royal African Company , based in the City of London , controlled all trade between the Kingdom of England and Africa from 1672 to 1698. At this time, only ships owned by members of the Royal African Company could trade with Africa for anything. Slaves were an increasingly important commodity at the time, since the English colonisation of the Caribbean and
2940-921: The Ashton Court Estate , South Bristol crematorium and cemetery, High Ridge common and Whitchurch, with a further area around Frenchay Farm. The belt extends outside the city boundaries into surrounding counties and districts, for several miles in places, to afford a protection from urban sprawl to surrounding villages and towns. According to the 2011 census , 84% of the population was White (77.9% White British , 0.9% White Irish , 0.1% Gypsy or Irish Travellers and 5.1% Other White ); 3.6% mixed-race (1.7% white-and-black Caribbean, 0.4% white-and-black African, 0.8% white and Asian and 0.7% other mixed); 5.5% Asian (1.6% Pakistani , 1.5% Indian , 0.9% Chinese , 0.5% Bangladeshi , and 1% other Asian); 6% Black (2.8% African, 1.6% Caribbean , 1.6% Other Black ), 0.3% Arab and 0.6% with other heritage. Bristol
3045-534: The IRA , in 1974 and again in 1978 . The 20th-century relocation of the docks to Avonmouth Docks and Royal Portbury Dock , 7 mi (11 km) downstream from the city centre, has allowed the redevelopment of the old dock area (the Floating Harbour). Although the docks' existence was once in jeopardy (since the area was seen as a derelict industrial site), the inaugural 1996 International Festival of
3150-728: The Igneri people, members of the Arawak group. Around 1300 AD, the Kalinago , or Carib people arrived on the islands. These agriculturalists quickly dispersed the Igneri, and forced them northwards to the Greater Antilles . They named Saint Kitts "Liamuiga" meaning "fertile island", and would likely have expanded further north if not for the arrival of Europeans. A Spanish expedition under Christopher Columbus arrived and claimed
3255-453: The Kennet and Avon Canal , which had fully opened in 1810 as the main route for the transport of goods between Bristol and London. Competition from Liverpool (beginning around 1760), disruptions of maritime commerce due to war with France (1793) and the abolition of the slave trade (1807) contributed to Bristol's failure to keep pace with the newer manufacturing centres of Northern England and
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3360-644: The Levallois technique , indicate the presence of Neanderthals in the Shirehampton and St Annes areas of Bristol during the Middle Palaeolithic . Iron Age hill forts near the city are at Leigh Woods and Clifton Down , on the side of the Avon Gorge , and on Kings Weston Hill near Henbury . A Roman settlement, Abona, existed at what is now Sea Mills (connected to Bath by
3465-611: The Norman conquest of England in 1066, English slaves were exported to Ireland from a number of ports, including Chester , but Bristol was the main centre, and slaves were brought there from all over the country for export. This trade was brought to an end when William the Conqueror reluctantly agreed to ban the Anglo-Irish slave trade, as a result of a vigorous campaign by Wulfstan, Bishop of Worcester , supported by Lanfranc ,
3570-578: The Old English Brycgstow , meaning "assembly place by the bridge" or simply "site of the bridge", presumably in reference to a crossing over the Avon. The final l is an unetymological addition that first appears in the 12th century. An older form of the name survives as the surname Bristow , which is derived from the city. Archaeological finds, including flint tools believed to be between 300,000 and 126,000 years old made with
3675-677: The Royal African Company and member of the Society of Merchant Venturers . The Georgian House in Bristol was built for John Pinney (1740–1818) who owned several sugar plantations in the West Indies. From 1762 to 1783, Pinney lived on the island of Nevis , running his plantations, but in 1783 he returned to England and settled in Bristol. When Pinney moved to Bristol, he brought two black attendants with him, Fanny Coker and Pero Jones, both of whom he had bought in 1765. Pero
3780-547: The UNESCO World Heritage Site at Brimstone Hill and the now-crumbling Fort Charles . Since 1783, Saint Kitts has been affiliated with the Kingdom of Great Britain , which became the United Kingdom . The island originally produced tobacco , but farmers switched to sugarcane in 1640 because of stiff competition from the colony of Virginia . The labour-intensive cultivation of sugar cane
3885-558: The West Midlands . The tidal Avon Gorge, which had secured the port during the Middle Ages, had become a liability. An 1804–09 plan to improve the city's port with a floating harbour designed by William Jessop was a costly error, requiring high harbour fees. During the 19th century, Samuel Plimsoll , known as "the sailor's friend", campaigned to make the seas safer; shocked by overloaded vessels, he successfully fought for
3990-402: The confluence of the rivers Frome and Avon. Bristol received a royal charter in 1155 and was historically divided between Gloucestershire and Somerset until 1373 when it became a county corporate . From the 13th to the 18th century, Bristol was among the top three English cities, after London, in tax receipts. A major port , Bristol was a starting place for early voyages of exploration to
4095-620: The 1640's, during the English Civil War , the city was occupied by Royalists , who built the Royal Fort House on the site of an earlier Parliamentarian stronghold. Fishermen from Bristol, who had fished the Grand Banks of Newfoundland since the 16th century, began settling Newfoundland permanently in larger numbers during the 17th century, establishing colonies at Bristol's Hope and Cuper's Cove . Growth of
4200-631: The 16th century, Bristol merchants concentrated on developing trade with Spain and its American colonies. This included the smuggling of prohibited goods, such as food and guns, to Iberia during the Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604) . Bristol's illicit trade grew enormously after 1558, becoming integral to its economy. The original Diocese of Bristol was founded in 1542, when the former Abbey of St. Augustine (founded by Robert Fitzharding four hundred years earlier) became Bristol Cathedral . Bristol also gained city status that year. In
4305-622: The 3rd highest level of educational inequality in England and Wales. St Kitts Saint Kitts , officially Saint Christopher , is an island in the West Indies . The west side of the island borders the Caribbean Sea, and the eastern coast faces the Atlantic Ocean . Saint Kitts and the neighbouring island of Nevis constitute one country: the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis . Saint Kitts and Nevis are separated by
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4410-526: The Americas in the 17th century had created sugar, rum, tobacco, and cotton plantations, which all needed plentiful cheap labour. The Society of Merchant Venturers , an organisation of rich merchants in Bristol, wanted to participate in the African slave trade, and after much pressure from them and traders in other English cities, including Liverpool and Hull , the Royal African Company's monopoly over
4515-586: The British Empire was abolished in 1807 however the institution itself was not outlawed until 1834. Following the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland 's Slave Compensation Act of 1837, which compensated slave owners for the loss of what was considered their property, according to the Bristol Museums, plantation owners based in Bristol claimed over £500,000, equivalent to £2bn in 2020. The folk duo Show of Hands have written and performed
4620-524: The British country house", outlining the historic links to slavery of many country houses in the south west of England. New Room, Bristol has an exhibition about the abolitionist John Wesley and the Methodist response to slavery. Bristol Bristol ( / ˈ b r ɪ s t əl / ) is a city , unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England ,
4725-637: The Future 's 2008 Sustainable Cities Index. Local initiatives include Sustrans (creators of the National Cycle Network , founded as Cyclebag in 1977) and Resourcesaver, a non-profit business established in 1988 by Avon Friends of the Earth. In 2014 The Sunday Times named it as the best city in Britain in which to live. The city received the 2015 European Green Capital Award , becoming
4830-480: The Middle Range to the southeast. This Middle Range is another stratovolcano 976 m in height with a small summit crater containing a lake. Next in line is the 900 metres (3,000 ft) South East Range, 1 Myr in age, consisting of four peaks. Ottley's dome and Monkey Hill dome are on the flanks, while the older volcanoes represented by Canada Hills, and Conaree Hills lie past the airport and Basseterre on
4935-547: The New World. At the height of the Bristol slave trade , from 1700 to 1807, more than 2,000 slave ships carried an estimated 500,000 people from Africa to slavery in the Americas. The Port of Bristol has since moved from Bristol Harbour in the city centre to the Severn Estuary at Avonmouth and Royal Portbury Dock . The city's modern economy is built on the creative media, electronics and aerospace industries;
5040-556: The Sea held in and around the docks affirmed the area as a leisure asset of the city. From 2018, there were lively discussions about a new explicative plaque under a commemorative statue of one of the city's major benefactors in the 17th and 18th centuries. The plaque was meant to replace an original which made no reference to Edward Colston 's past with the Royal African Company and the Bristol Slave Trade . On 7 June 2020
5145-556: The abolition campaign as the start of a British tradition of society campaigning. M Shed held a workshop on Bristol and the Transatlantic slave trade from September 2019 to July 2020. This workshop encouraged students to investigate historic objects, modern attitudes and opinions and to consider how Bristol was changed by its involvement in the slave trade. M Shed also held a workshop in February 2020 on "Slavery, public history and
5250-566: The arrest, trial and subsequent acquittal of a local slaver captain named Kimber. The city was associated with Victorian engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel , who designed the Great Western Railway between Bristol and London Paddington , two pioneering Bristol-built oceangoing steamships ( SS Great Britain and SS Great Western ), and the Clifton Suspension Bridge . The new railway replaced
5355-560: The castle. A third bomb-damaged church nearby, St Nicholas was restored and after a period as a museum has now re-opened as a church. It houses a 1756 William Hogarth triptych painted for the high altar of St Mary Redcliffe . The church also has statues of King Edward I (moved from Arno's Court Triumphal Arch ) and King Edward III (taken from Lawfords' Gate in the city walls when they were demolished about 1760), and 13th-century statues of Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester (builder of Bristol Castle ) and Geoffrey de Montbray (who built
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#17327720238035460-423: The city and trade came with the rise of England's American colonies in the 17th century. Bristol's location on the west side of Great Britain gave its ships an advantage in sailing to and from the New World, and the city's merchants made the most of it, with the city becoming one of the two leading outports in all of England by the middle of the 18th century. Bristol was the slave capital of England: In 1755, it had
5565-551: The city's walls) from Bristol's Newgate . The rebuilding of Bristol city centre was characterised by 1960s and 1970s skyscrapers , mid-century modern architecture and road building . Beginning in the 1980s some main roads were closed , the Georgian-era Queen Square and Portland Square were restored, the Broadmead shopping area regenerated, and one of the city centre's tallest mid-century towers
5670-1111: The city, and its surrounding land has been protected from development as The Downs and Leigh Woods. The Avon estuary and the gorge form the county boundary with North Somerset , and the river flows into the Severn Estuary at Avonmouth . A smaller gorge, cut by the Hazel Brook which flows into the River Trym , crosses the Blaise Castle estate in northern Bristol. Bristol is sometimes described, by its inhabitants, as being built on seven hills, like Rome. From 18th-century guidebooks, these 7 hills were known as simply Bristol (the Old Town), Castle Hill, College Green, Kingsdown, St Michaels Hill, Brandon Hill and Redcliffe Hill. Other local hills include Red Lion Hill, Barton Hill , Lawrence Hill , Black Boy Hill, Constitution Hill, Staple Hill , Windmill Hill , Malborough Hill, Nine Tree Hill, Talbot, Brook Hill and Granby Hill. Bristol
5775-605: The city-centre docks have been redeveloped as cultural and heritage centres. There are a variety of artistic and sporting organisations and venues including the Royal West of England Academy , the Arnolfini , Ashton Gate and the Memorial Stadium . The city has two universities; the University of Bristol and the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol). It is connected to the world by Bristol Airport ; to
5880-412: The city-council boundary, such as Kingswood , Mangotsfield , Stoke Gifford , Winterbourne , Almondsbury , Easton in Gordano , Whitchurch village, Filton , Patchway and Bradley Stoke , but excludes undeveloped areas within that boundary. Bristol lies within a limestone area running from the Mendip Hills in the south to the Cotswolds in the northeast. The rivers Avon and Frome cut through
5985-399: The council. Between 2012 and 2024, the council was led by a directly elected mayor, the Mayor of Bristol . The post was abolished following a 2022 referendum, in which voters chose to replace it with a council committee system. The lord mayor of Bristol is a figurehead elected each May by the city council. The lord mayor is Councillor Andrew Varney. In the House of Commons , Bristol
6090-401: The country, trading with Ireland, Iceland and Gascony . It was the starting point for many voyages, including Robert Sturmy 's (1457–58) unsuccessful attempt to break the Italian monopoly of Eastern Mediterranean trade. New exploration voyages were launched by Venetian John Cabot , who in 1497 made landfall in North America. A 1499 voyage, led by merchant William Weston of Bristol, was
6195-424: The dismay of the Nevisians and Anguillans. Anguilla left this arrangement in 1971, after an armed raid on Saint Kitts in 1967. Sugar production continued to dominate the local economy until 2005, when, after 365 years of having a monoculture , the government closed the sugar industry . This decision was made because of huge losses and European Union plans to greatly cut sugar prices. For purposes of governing,
6300-401: The early 1900s by the Royal Edward Dock. Another new dock, the Royal Portbury Dock , opened across the river from Avonmouth during the 1970s. As air travel grew in the first half of the century, aircraft manufacturers built factories. The unsuccessful Bristol International Exhibition was held on Ashton Meadows in the Bower Ashton area in 1914. After the premature closure of the exhibition
6405-420: The enslaved captives were transported across the Atlantic to the Americas in the Middle Passage under brutal conditions. Plantation goods such as sugar, tobacco, rum, rice, cotton and a few slaves (sold to the aristocracy as house servants) returned across the Atlantic to England. Some household slaves were baptised in the hope this would lead them to be freed. The Somersett Case of 1772 clarified that slavery
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#17327720238036510-465: The enslaved, from which the British economy benefited. Some Bristol slave merchants were also importers of goods produced in the plantations. This meant that the Bristol economy was intrinsically linked to slave-produced Caribbean goods such as sugar, rum, indigo and cocoa. These goods were imported for sugar refining, tobacco processing and chocolate manufacturing; all important local industries which employed thousands of working-class people in Bristol and
6615-465: The first UK city to receive this award. In 2019 Bristol City Council voted in favour of banning all privately owned diesel cars from the city centre. Since then, the plans have been revised in favour of a clean air zone whereby older and more polluting vehicles will be charged to drive through the city centre. The Clean Air Zone came into effect in November 2022. The city has green belt mainly along its southern fringes, taking in small areas within
6720-447: The first expedition commanded by an Englishman to North America . During the first decade of the 16th century Bristol's merchants undertook a series of exploration voyages to North America and even founded a commercial organisation, 'The Company Adventurers to the New Found Land', to assist their endeavours. However, they seem to have lost interest in North America after 1509, having incurred great expenses and made little profit. During
6825-410: The history of the Irish slave trade from Bristol, which he provocatively claimed continued into the reign of Henry VII . Hannah More , originally from Bristol, and a good friend of both Wilberforce and Clarkson, published "Slavery, A Poem" in 1788, just as Wilberforce began his parliamentary campaign. His major speech on 2 April 1792 likewise described the Bristol slave trade specifically, and led to
6930-428: The import and processing of tobacco flourished with the expansion of the W.D. & H.O. Wills business. Supported by new industry and growing commerce, Bristol's population (66,000 in 1801), quintupled during the 19th century, resulting in the creation of new suburbs such as Clifton and Cotham . These provide architectural examples from the Georgian to the Regency style, with many fine terraces and villas facing
7035-475: The industry in 2005. Tourism is a major and growing source of income to the island, although the number and density of resorts is less than on many other Caribbean islands. Transportation , non-sugar agriculture, manufacturing and construction are the other growing sectors of the economy. Saint Kitts is dependent on tourism to drive its economy. Tourism has been increasing since 1978. In 2009, there were 587,479 arrivals to Saint Kitts compared to 379,473 in 2007,
7140-428: The island and offers passenger service from its headquarters near the airport, although the service is geared more for tourists than as day-to-day transportation for residents. Built between 1912 and 1926 to transport sugar cane from farms to the sugar factory in Basseterre, since 2003 the railway has offered a 3.5-hour, 30-mile circle tour of the island on specially designed double-decker open-air coaches, with 12 miles of
7245-456: The island for Spain in 1493. The first English colony was established in 1623, followed by a French colony in 1625. The English and French briefly united to pre-empt a Kalinago ambush. They massacred the local Kalinago , and then partitioned the island, with the English colonists in the middle and the French on either end. In 1629 , a Spanish force sent to clear the islands of foreign settlement seized St. Kitts. The English settlement
7350-416: The island is divided into nine parishes : Saint Kitts & Nevis uses the Eastern Caribbean dollar , which maintains a fixed exchange rate of 2.7-to-one with the United States dollar . The US dollar is almost as widely accepted on the island as the Eastern Caribbean dollar. For hundreds of years, Saint Kitts operated as a sugar monoculture , but due to decreasing profitability, the government closed
7455-466: The largest number of slave traders in the country with 237, as against London's 147. It was a major supplier of slaves to South Carolina before 1750. The 18th century saw an expansion of Bristol's population (45,000 in 1750) and its role in the Atlantic trade in Africans taken for slavery to the Americas. Bristol and later Liverpool became centres of the Triangular Trade . Manufactured goods were shipped to West Africa and exchanged for Africans;
7560-490: The limestone to the underlying clay, creating Bristol's characteristically hilly landscape. The Avon flows from Bath in the east, through flood plains and areas which were marshes before the city's growth. To the west the Avon cuts through the limestone to form the Avon Gorge, formed largely by glacial meltwater after the last ice age . The gorge, which helped protect Bristol Harbour, has been quarried for stone to build
7665-615: The most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon , it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. The county is in the West of England combined authority area, which includes the Greater Bristol area ( eleventh most populous urban area in the United Kingdom) and nearby places such as Bath . Iron Age hillforts and Roman villas were built near
7770-441: The neighbouring village of Kingswood , often in the open air. Wesley published a pamphlet on slavery, titled Thoughts Upon Slavery, in 1774 and the Society of Friends began lobbying against slavery in Bristol in 1783. The city's scions remained nonetheless strongly anti-abolitionist. Thomas Clarkson came to Bristol to study the slave trade and gained access to the Society of Merchant Venturers records. One of his contacts
7875-447: The northern flank, along with mudflows . This volcano has a crater 900 metres (3,000 ft) wide and 244 metres (801 ft) deep, plus two distinct parasitic domes consisting primarily of andesite , Brimstone Hill and Sandy Point Hill which is coalesced with Farm Flat. Brimstone Hill is noted for having limestone on its flanks, which was dragged upward with the formation of the dome 44,400 years ago. Mt. Liamuiga partially overlays
7980-609: The perimeter of the island with smaller roads branching off it; the interior of the island is too steep for habitation. Saint Kitts is 10 km (6.2 mi) away from Sint Eustatius to the north and 3 km (1.9 mi) from Nevis to the south. St. Kitts has three distinct groups of volcanic peaks: the North West or Mount Misery Range; the Middle or Verchilds Range and the South East or Olivees Range. The highest peak
8085-417: The plantations. It is estimated that by the late 1780s, Bristol earned £525,000 per year from all of these slave-related commercial activities. Since this was past the peak of Bristol's participation in the slave trade, it is likely that Bristol's earnings from the commercialisation of enslaved Africans and related activities were much higher in the earlier 18th century. Whilst the Bristol economy benefited, it
8190-663: The rest of the Great Britain via Bristol Temple Meads and Bristol Parkway mainline rail stations; by road by both the south-west to West Midlands M5 and the London to South Wales M4 (which connect to the city centre by the Portway and M32 ). Bristol was named the best city in Britain in which to live in 2014 and 2017; it won the European Green Capital Award in 2015. The name derives from
8295-492: The road, and at right angles to it. In the early 19th century, the romantic medieval gothic style appeared, partially as a reaction against the symmetry of Palladianism , and can be seen in buildings such as the Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery , the Royal West of England Academy , and The Victoria Rooms . Riots broke out in 1793 and 1831; the first over the renewal of tolls on Bristol Bridge, and
8400-513: The second against the rejection of the second Reform Bill by the House of Lords . The population by 1841 had reached 140,158. The Diocese of Bristol had undergone several boundary changes by 1897 when it was "reconstituted" into the configuration which has lasted into the 21st century. From a population of about 330,000 in 1901, Bristol grew steadily during the 20th century, peaking at 428,089 in 1971. Its Avonmouth docklands were enlarged during
8505-517: The site was used, until 1919, as barracks for the Gloucestershire Regiment during World War I . Bristol was heavily damaged by Luftwaffe raids during World War II ; about 1,300 people living or working in the city were killed and nearly 100,000 buildings were damaged, at least 3,000 beyond repair. The original central shopping area, near the bridge and castle, is now a park containing two bombed churches and fragments of
8610-516: The slave trade was broken in 1698. As soon as it was broken, Bristol commenced its participation, although it is thought that unlawful involvement in the trade had preceded this. What is thought to have been the first "legitimate" Bristol slave ship, the Beginning , owned by Stephen Barker, purchased a cargo of enslaved Africans and delivered them to the Caribbean. Some typical slave prices were then £20, £50, or £100. In her will of 1693, Jane Bridges,
8715-403: The socioeconomic circumstances of the city's Afro-Caribbean residents. Local support of fair trade was recognised in 2005, when Bristol became a fairtrade zone . Bristol is both a city and a county, since King Edward III granted it a county charter in 1373. The county was expanded in 1835 to include suburbs such as Clifton , and it was named a county borough in 1889 when that designation
8820-457: The southeast flank. The Salt Dome Peninsula contains the oldest volcanic deposits, 2.3–2.77 Myr in age, consisting of at least nine Pelean domes rising up to 319 metres (1,047 ft) in height, which includes Williams Hill and St. Anthony's Peak . During the last ice age , the sea level was up to 91 metres (300 ft) lower and St. Kitts and Nevis were one island along with Saba and Sint Eustatius (also known as Statia). St. Kitts
8925-489: The surrounding areas. The slave trade significantly influenced the growth of racist theory as a method for society to justify itself. Stories of slave rebellions, runaways and attacks on plantation owners in the colonies were printed in the British press to perpetuate the myth that Black people were unreasonable and violent. Street names such as Guinea Street, Jamaica Street, Codrington Place, Tyndall's Park , Worral and Stapleton Roads are references to Bristol's involvement in
9030-570: The town had one of the strongest castles in southern England . Bristol was the place of exile for Diarmait Mac Murchada , the Irish king of Leinster , after being overthrown. The Bristol merchants subsequently played a prominent role in funding Richard Strongbow de Clare and the Norman invasion of Ireland . The port developed in the 11th century around the confluence of the Rivers Frome and Avon , adjacent to Bristol Bridge just outside
9135-432: The town walls. By the 12th century, there was an important Jewish community in Bristol which survived through to the late 13th century when all Jews were expelled from England. The stone bridge built in 1247 was replaced by the current bridge during the 1760s. The town incorporated neighbouring suburbs and became a county in 1373, the first town in England to be given this status. During this period, Bristol became
9240-494: The trade in Great Britain – in comparison, Liverpool's share increased to 62% (1,605 voyages). In 1750 alone, Bristol ships transported approximately 8,000 of the 20,000 enslaved Africans sent that year to the British Caribbean and North America . An estimated 2108 slaving ventures departed from Bristol between 1698 and 1807. The average number of enslaved people on a ship was considered to be in excess of 250. It
9345-406: The transatlantic slave trade. Using the wealth generated from the slave trade, merchants invested in purchasing land, cultural buildings and upgrading ships in Bristol. The Theatre Royal, Bristol , which is the second oldest working theatre in the country, was built as a result of very wealthy subscribers (that directly or indirectly benefited from businesses involved in the slave trade) each pledging
9450-459: The voyages by Bristol tradesmen and manufacturers. The ships set sail to St Kitts , Barbados and Virginia to supply English colonies requiring free or cheap labour to work on sugar and tobacco plantations, with enslaved Africans. Alongside slaves, the colonies were supplied with a wide range of goods for the plantations by the Bristol ships; this included guns, agricultural implements, foodstuffs, soap, candles, ladies' boots and "Negro cloths" for
9555-540: The western Severn Estuary ending at (but not including) the islands of Flat Holm (in Cardiff , Wales) and Steep Holm . This "seaward extension" can be traced back to the original boundary of the County of Bristol laid out in the charter granted to the city by Edward III in 1373. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has defined a Bristol Urban Area , which includes developed areas adjoining Bristol but outside
9660-432: Was abolished by an Act of Parliament which became law on 1 August 1834. This emancipation was followed by four years of forced enslavement, put in place to protect the "planters" (plantation owners) from losing their free labour force. 1 August is now celebrated as a public holiday and is called Emancipation Day . In 1883, Saint Kitts, Nevis , and Anguilla were all linked under one presidency, located on Saint Kitts, to
9765-506: Was born in Bristol, and the left-winger Tony Benn served as MP for Bristol South East in 1950–1960 and again from 1963 to 1983. In 1963 the Bristol Bus Boycott , following the Bristol Omnibus Company 's refusal to hire black drivers and conductors, drove the passage of the UK's 1965 Race Relations Act . The 1980 St. Pauls riot protested against racism and police harassment and showed mounting dissatisfaction with
9870-523: Was demolished. Bristol's road infrastructure changed dramatically during the 1960s and 1970s with the development of the M4 and M5 motorways , which meet at the Almondsbury Interchange just north of the city and link Bristol with London (M4 eastbound), Swansea (M4 westbound across the Severn Estuary ), Exeter (M5 southbound) and Birmingham (M5 northbound). Bristol was bombed twice by
9975-561: Was formerly a common diminutive of "Christopher". Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park , a UNESCO World Heritage Site , is the largest fortress ever built in the Eastern Caribbean. The island of Saint Kitts is home to the Warner Park Cricket Stadium , which was used to host 2007 Cricket World Cup matches. This made Saint Kitts and Nevis the smallest nation to ever host a World Cup event . Saint Kitts
10080-472: Was illegal in England. At the height of the Bristol slave trade from 1700 to 1807, more than 2,000 slave ships carried a conservatively estimated 500,000 people from Africa to slavery in the Americas. In 1739, John Wesley founded the first Methodist chapel, the New Room , in Bristol. Wesley, along with his brother Charles Wesley and George Whitefield , preached to large congregations in Bristol and
10185-633: Was introduced. On 1 April 1974, Bristol became a local government district of the county of Avon . On 1 April 1996, Avon was abolished and Bristol became a unitary authority . The former Avon area, called Greater Bristol by the Government Office of the South West (now abolished) and others, refers to the city and the three neighbouring local authorities— Bath and North East Somerset , North Somerset and South Gloucestershire previously in Avon. The North Fringe of Bristol ,
10290-521: Was originally settled by pre-agricultural, pre-ceramic "Archaic people", who migrated south down the archipelago from Florida. In a few hundred years they disappeared, to be replaced by the ceramic -using and agriculturalist Saladoid people around 100 BC, who migrated to St. Kitts north up the archipelago from the banks of the Orinoco River in Venezuela . Around 800 AD, they were replaced by
10395-427: Was primarily from investing in the slave voyages, which were sometimes funded by as many as eight investors. They also benefited from industries which facilitated the slave trade, for example, employment in the production of goods that were exported to the plantations and to Africa, employment in the ships which carried enslaved Africans and local goods and, from the handling and further refinement of cargoes received from
10500-565: Was primarily the merchants that owned the ships who made significant material gains in their personal family wealth. The merchants were organised as a group in the Merchant Venturers Society. Given their status with holding leadership positions in Bristol, the Society was able to successfully oppose movements to abolish the slave trade in the late 1700s in order to maintain their power and source of wealth. The slave trade in
10605-541: Was rebuilt following the 1630 peace between England and Spain. The island alternated repeatedly between English (then British ) and French control during the 17th and 18th centuries, as one power took the whole island, only to have it switch hands due to treaties or military action. Actions included the Siege of Brimstone Hill and the Battle of Saint Kitts . Parts of the island were heavily fortified, as exemplified by
10710-460: Was the owner of the Seven Stars public house , who boarded sailors Clarkson sought to meet. Through these sailors he was able to observe how slaver captains and first mates "plied and stupefied seamen with drink" to sign them up. Other informants included ship surgeons and seamen seeking redress. When William Wilberforce began his parliamentary abolition campaign on 12 May 1788, he recalled
10815-497: Was the reason for the large-scale importation of African slaves . The importation began almost immediately upon the arrival of Europeans to the region even though sugarcane wasn't cultivated for another two hundred years on the island, leading some to discredit the earliest claims of imported African labour. The purchasing of enslaved Africans was outlawed in the British Empire by an Act of Parliament in 1807. Slavery
10920-693: Was twelve years old when bought along with his two sisters, Nancy and Sheeba, then six years old. There is related original documentation held by the University of Bristol library, for example, the record of when Pinney bought Pero and his two sisters and proof of their age when bought. Pero's sisters Nancy and Sheeba were left behind to work on the Montravers plantation in Nevis. Pero died in 1798, aged 45 in Ashton, Bristol. Built in his memory, Pero's Bridge ,
11025-519: Was −10.1 °C (13.8 °F) in December 2010. Although large cities in general experience an urban heat island effect, with warmer temperatures than their surrounding rural areas, this phenomenon is minimal in Bristol. Bristol was ranked as Britain's most sustainable city (based on its environmental performance, quality of life, future-proofing and approaches to climate change, recycling and biodiversity), topping environmental charity Forum for
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