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Elena Terekhova
400 years of Belfast: Origins of the Town (Dis)advantages [0] - 22.01.2025
400 years of Belfast: IntroOn July 17th, 2011 Belfast welcomed me with cold drizzling rain. Finally, it’s Northern Ireland, or a substantial part of ‘Ulster’ if speaking in local terms; a part of the UK with a mixed Irish-British identity.
Head of the Institute of Irish Studies hosting the Summer School in Irish Studies, Dr. Dominic Bryan added more charm to the Belfast’s rainy greeting, being by coincidence the first genuinely ‘Ulster’ person I met: "Belfast is perhaps not a tourist attraction site. But it’s an enourmously interesting city!”
It proved to be. And from the newly-placed book quotes about Belfast hanging on the walls everywhere, starting from inside the airport corridors, to the long-existing murals of the city, Belfast, like "...Irish literature, Irish politics, never removes itself from history.” (Robert Tracy. "The Unappeasable Host: studies in Irish identities”.).
The new branding strategy of Belfast (2008) has created a ‘B’-shaped logo, meaning "Be … Belfast”. Anyway, some may argue the true sense of a logo, resembling a sloped heart by shape, is "love”: no way to conflict, division and sloping down to the worst times. Just love. Photo: Viktorija Bylaite © bordersoff
This series is about the 400 years of Belfast or so and it will not focus on only what we call ‘history’. All the articles are based on the International Summer School in Irish Studies experience, 18 July – 5 August 2011, Institute of Irish Studies, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast. Although written in a popular way the series represents a case-study serving a base for the student research project on City Branding, Ulyanovsk State University, Ulyanovsk.
The author expresses gratitude to the Institute of Irish Studies and the International Summer School staff for making the ongoing case-study possible and providing a learning experience of a lifetime.
The -ill-Legal Division
On July 1609 the Belfast area could have welcomed English colonists with the cold drizzling rain as well. They were the English-speaking Protestants and Scottish Presbyterians coming to the Irish land, mostly inhabited by the Irish Catholics. Ulster was underpopulated and undeveloped; Belfast had only 3000 people population by the 17th century.
From the early 17th century the Penal Laws curtailing the rights of all the Catholics in England, Scotland and Ireland had been applied by the English Monarch. The laws secured successful plantation of Ulster by the English and their dominance in many spheres, as Roman Catholics were barred from public office, serving in the armed forces, buying land and deprived of many other rights as well. Penal laws made Catholics’ disadvantaged, formed a notion of being separate and gave way to their subsequent settling in particular places, later on especially around their churches. The impact of the Penal laws, however, became greatly visible only in a couple of centuries when the number of Catholics in Belfast reached an extreme number of 34% by 1861.
The Riches that don’t Unite
The town of Belfast built on the point of confluence of the rivers Lagan and Fearset possessed unlimited resources for economic development. By 1663 there were 29 vessels owned in the town. The trade in Belfast port continued to expand and the original quay had to be enlarged to accommodate the number of entering ships.
Belfast implements the strategy of riverfront revitalization. Laganside Corporation (1989 - 2007) is internationally recognized as a regeneration agency for successfully turning the Laganside area into a vibrant part of the city centre to walk around, work, live and enjoy. Donegall quay is now ‘people-oriented’, becoming a common space of recreation and a ‘point of return’ to the river which has much lyricism alongside with profits. Photo: Liz Droel © bordersoff
18th century saw the new aspirations of Belfast. Geographical position as a port of entry of goods, and equally, culture; home-produced linen trade and exports of local produce made Belfast richer and its citizens more literate. The first daily newspaper ‘The News Letter’ was the first printed in Belfast in 1737 and remains the oldest English language general daily newspaper still in publication in the world. The growing ranges of exports and imports led to the markets’ growth and the Markets District formation. St’ George’s market, dating back to the early 17th century as an open market space ‘Friday Variety Market’ is now a popular tourist attraction known as one of the best markets in the UK and Ireland.
The introduced logo of St. George’s can clearly be seen from inside and outside the market. Photo: Mirela Dimitriu © bordersoff
However, 18th century Belfast had a reputation of the city of riots. The impact of religion was dominant. Belfast didn’t develop a good trade union culture and tradition as it had a split society and the differences between the ethnic groups were too deep.
Culture |29.01.2012 | Views: 1840
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