The etymology of the name and the origin of the town are equally uncertain, and there is not a single monument of antiquarian interest upon which to found a conjecture. About the beginning of the 16th century Belfast is described as a “town and fortress,” but it was in reality a mere fishing-village in the hands of the house of O’Neil. This sept had all along been opposed to the English, and had forfeited every baronial right; but in 1552 Hugh O’Neil of Clandeboye promised allegiance to the reigning monarch, and obtained the castle of Carrickfergus, the town and fortress of Belfast, and all the surrounding lands. His turbulent successors having been routed by the English, the town and fortress fell into the hands of Sir Thomas Smyth, a favourite of Queen Elizabeth, but were afterwards forfeited by him to the Lord-Deputy Sir Arthur Chichester, who, in 1612, was created Baron Chichester. At this time the town consisted of about 120 houses, mostly built of mud and covered with thatch, while the castle, a two-storied building, was roofed with shingles. In 1632 Thomas Wentworth, Earl Stafford, was appointed first lord-deputy of Ireland, and Belfast soon shared largely in the benefits of his enlightened policy, receiving, among other favours, certain fiscal rights which his lordship had purchased from the corporation of Carrickfergus. Two years after the rebellion of 1611 a rampart was raised round the town, pierced by four gates on the land side. In 1662, as appears by a map still extant, there were 150 houses within the wall, forming five streets and as many lanes; and the upland districts around were one dense forest of giant oaks and sycamores, yielding an unfailing supply of timber to the woodmen of Carrickfergus.

Throughout the succeeding fifty years the progress of Belfast surpassed that of most other towns in Ireland. Its merchants, in 1686, owned forty ships, of a total carrying power of 3300 tons, and the customs collected were close upon £20,000. When King William arrived at Belfast in 1690 there were only two places of worship in the town, the old corporation church in the High Street, and the Presbyterian meeting-house in Rosemary Lane,—the Roman Catholics not being permitted to build their chapels within the walls of corporate towns.

At the commencement of the 18th century Belfast had become known as a place of considerable trade, and what was then thought a handsome, thriving, and well-peopled town, with many new houses and good shops. During the civil commotions which so long afflicted the country, it suffered less than most other places; and it soon afterwards attained the rank of the “greatest town for trade in the north of Ireland.” James Blow and Co. introduced letterpress printing in 1696, and in 1704 issued the first copy of the Bible produced in the island. In September 1737, Henry and Robert Joy started the Belfast News Letter, which not only still maintains its existence, but haβ long been at the head of the Irish Conservative press. Twenty years afterwards the town contained 1800 houses and 8549 inhabitants, 556 of the latter being members of the Church of Rome. It was not, however, till 1789 that Belfast obtained the regular communication, which towns of less importance already enjoyed, with Dublin by stage coach,—a fact which is to be explained by the badness of the roads and the steepness of the hills betw een Newry and Belfast.

The increased freedom of trade with which Ireland was favoured, the introduction of the cotton manufacture by Robert Joy iu 1777, the establishment in 1791 of shipbuilding on an extensive scale by William Ritchie, an energetic Scotchman, combined with the rope and canvas manufacture already existing, supplied the inhabitants with employment, and increased the demand for skilled labour. The population now made rapid strides as well by ordinary extension as by immigration from the rural districts. At the close of last century there were about 20,000 inhabitants in the borough, and this total had risen in 1821 to 37,277, in 1831 to 53,287, in 1811 to 70,447, in 1851 to 87,062, in 1861 to 121,602, and in 1871 to 174,412— males 79,815, and females 94,597. In 1875 the population is estimated at 200,000. At the last census the fol lowing were the religious professions of the population, viz., Presbyterian, 60,249; Catholic, 55,675; Episcopal, 46,423; Methodist, 6775; Unitarian, 1498; and various, 3892. The number of persons who could read and write at the same date was 95,986; who could read, only 71,700; and who were illiterate, 46,726, or about 27 per cent, of the whole. The number of houses in 1871 amounted to 29,918, viz., inhabited, 27,961; uninhabited, 1761; and building 196.

Belfast Lough is exceedingly picturesque, whether entered by the Antrim or by the Down side of the channel. The outer harbour is one of the safest in the kingdom, great improvements having been made within the last thirty years on the more immediate entrance to the port. The course of the Lagan, which runs past the quays and down to Gramoyle, was originally most tortuous and somewhat difficult to navigate; but, about 1840, the late William Dargan was employed to make a straight cut from the lower part of the harbour and to deepen the channel, so that ships of large draught can be brought to the quays, which extend for about a mile below Queen’s Bridge on both sides of the river. There are also seven extensive docks and tidal basins supplied with the necessary con-veniencies for the shipping. The following table of vessels entered inwards shows the increase of shipping frequenting the port: — [table]

The exports from Belfast being largely conveyed by steamer to London, Liverpool, and Glasgow, and thence trans-shipped to their destinations, do not appear in the Board of Trade returns, as only the direct business with foreign countries, which does not reach any considerable amount, is registered in those tables. Thus other ports get credit for business which really belongs to Belfast. The best illustration of this is afforded by the Board of Trade returns for 1858. Belfast is there stated to have exported goods that year to the amount of £9,344, while the actual sum was £8,569,504. In 1810 the total value of exports was £2,904,820, and in 1835 £4,341,791; in 1852 the amount was £6,573,198, and for 1866 it ran up to £11,915,000. For some years past no official data have been published on this subject, but it may be safely estimated that the gross value of the exports from Belfast exceeds £20,000,000 annually.

The amount of customs and excise collected at the port in 1762 was £32,900, and in 1810 the sum was £428,174. As trade increased with London and Liverpool, a large share of the duties on goods disposed of in Belfast was paid to the merchants of those ports. In 1821 the customs amounted to £306,243, and in 1848 to £376,767. The customs paid in Belfast in 1851 reached £369,415, which, added to that paid in London and Liverpool (£184,750), made a total of £554,165. During the year 1874 the duty paid in Belfast on tea, wine, spirits, and tobacco, amounted to £1,215,191.

For nearly a century past the flax manufacture of Ulster has been gradually concentrating itself in Belfast. The introduction there in 1830, by T. and A. Mulholland, of machinery for the spinning of linen yarn, was followed by a rapid extension of the industry, and in 1811 there were 210,000 spindles at work. The succeeding ten years showed still greater increase. In 1851 there were 561,000 spindles in operation throughout Ireland, 630,000 in 1861, and 903,000 in 1871, of which about four-fifths had been set up in Belfast. Linen yarns from Belfast form a considerable item in the total export of manufactures. For some time after the trade was started, the average annual export was only about 1,000,000 lb weight; but in 1850 five times that quantity was despatched; in 1862,15,685,600 tt>, and in 1864, 24,075,520 lb.

The weaving of linen by means of power-looms, though long carried on in Dundee, Leeds, and other great seats of manufacture, is of comparatively recent introduction into Belfast,—being hardly known there five-and-twenty years ago. In 1859, however, there were 3000 looms engaged; in 1866 there were 10,500, and that number has now (1875) increased to about 12,500. A number of these have been fitted up for the damask trade, but the great proportion are used for plain linens, “sets” of which of great fineness are worked. The extent of the linen trade may be indicated by the number of persons employed, which amounted in 1871 to 8507, or about 5 per cent, of the population.

Cotton-spinning, which at one period formed a most extensive industry in Belfast, has greatly fallen off,—nearly all the mills having been converted to the spinning of flax.

The enterprise of the citizens of Belfast was well supported by the liberal system of tenure for building purposes granted by the late Lord Donegall and his predecessors. Sites for mills, factories, and other public works were obtained on very reasonable terms, and for all religious and charitable objects those lords of the soil bestowed ground free of rent. In 1851 the places of worship in Belfast open for service belonged—11 to the Episcopalians, 21 to Presbyterians, 8 to Wesleyans, and 4 to Roman Catholics. Since then there has been a large increase in the number; and there are now 19 Episcopalian churches, 28 Presbyterian, 16 Wesleyan Methodist, 6 Roman Catholic, 3 Unitarian, and 7 or 8 belonging to various other sects.

The River Lagan is crossed by three bridges, of which the principal is the Queen’s Bridge, opened in January 1843, and built on the site of the Old Long Bridge, which dated from 1686. Like most modern towns which have rapidly risen through commerce and manufactures, Belfast cannot boast of many architectural beauties. It would seem as if its people had been too deeply absorbed in the bustle of business to think of aesthetic superfluities. More recently, however, a higher style of building has been adopted; and some of the warehouses and shops show great taste in design and finish of workmanship.

The public buildings most worthy of notice are the White and Brown Linen Halls, the Corn Exchange, the Commercial Buildings, the Museum, the Albert memorial monument, the Northern, Belfast, Ulster, and Provincial Banks, the new theatre, the town-hall, and the range of buildings containing the offices for the customs, the inland revenue, and the postal departments. The county lunatic asylum is in the suburbs of the town; and in the neighbourhood of Queen’s College there is an extensive and well-kept botanic garden.

The chief educational establishments are the Royal Academical Institution, the Queen’s College (built of brick in the Tudor style and opened in 1849), the Government School of Design, the General Assembly’s College, the Catholic Institute, and the Wesleyan Institute; and altogether, in proportion to its extent, no town in the kingdom is better supplied with educational appliances than Belfast.

Belfast is governed by a corporation of 40 members— a mayor, 10 aidermen, and 29 councillors; and all matters connected with the docks and shipping are under the harbour commissioners, an important body elected by the ratepayers. The borough returns two members to parliament, and the county assizes are held there, as well as the quarter sessions, recorder’s court, and petty sessions.