Edinburgh History
An Historic Capital, This history of Edinburgh
Edinburgh: Rich in History, Full of Life
Until the late 18th century, Edinburgh consisted, almost exclusively, of what is now known as the Old Town (the area where you¿ll find the Castle, Royal Mile and Grassmarket).
The world famous University was founded in 1583, setting in motion the city's educational and professional development. The Bank of Scotland was founded in 1695, the first of many new ventures that would see Edinburgh established as a leading financial capital by the end of the 20th century.
1707 saw the Act of Union, which joined Scotland and England together politically, and moved power from Edinburgh's old parliament to London's Westminster.
By the late 18th century, Edinburgh was home to a rapidly expanding population of 35,000. The rich lived right on top of the poor, often quite literally, as housing was in the form of tenements which were several storeys high, with the poor living on the lower floors and the rich on the more desirable upper and middle floors.
These conditions led to many rich people leaving the city for London. In 1752 a leaflet was printed to try to encourage the wealthy to stay in the city. Over ten years later the competition to design a New Town, to attract the wealthy back to Edinburgh, was launched.
The winner was James Craig, whose design inspired the New Town's grid like system of streets (including Princes Street and Queen Street, named to celebrate the Act of Union). Building began in 1767 and, what was then the world's largest planned city development, was completed in 1810.
In 1822 King George IV made his historic visit to the city. By then, Edinburgh was already Britain's most important financial city outside London, and, due to its neo-classical architecture, was known as `the Athens of the North'.
