Historically Important Cities #4

The city was founded by the Spanish in the 16th century. It served as a springboard for the Spanish conquest of the Americas, becoming a stopping point for Spanish galleons returning to Spain.

It was founded during the administration of U.S. Pres. James Monroe by the American Colonization Society as a settlement for freed American slaves.

Its history stretches over 2000 years to its origins as an Iberian village named Barkeno. The city has been ruled by many, like the Muslims, Romans, and Carolingians.

It began as a Berber settlement, before Romans took possession of the area. It is known for having one of the world's largest artificial ports.

From 1788 to 1900, the city was the capital of the British colony of New South Wales. In 1901, the Australian colonies federated to become the Commonwealth of Australia, and it became the capital of the state of New South Wales.

The origin of the city dates to 1857, when a group of 87 Chinese tin miners founded a settlement at what is now the suburb of Ampang. Strategically commanding both river valleys, the community flourished as a tin-collecting centre despite its malaria-infested jungle location.

During the 16th to 17th centuries, the city grew up in five concentric divisions, formerly separated from one another by walls: the Kremlin ("fortress"), Kitaigorod ("walled town"), Bielygorod ("white town"), Zemlianoigorod ("earthworks town"), and Miestchanskygorod ("bourgeois town") outside the city walls.

In 711 AD, Berber troops from North Africa, under their leader Tarik ibn-Ziyad, landed at the foot of the Rock setting the Muslim conquest of Iberia into action. It was ceded to Britain following the War of the Spanish Succession of 1701-14.

It originated as a Roman city. It was the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance. It was politically, economically, and culturally one of the most important cities in Europe and the world from the 14th to 16th centuries.

The city served as Japan's capital and Emperors residence from 794, serving as a center of politics and culture for 1100 years.

The city began as a missionary settlement but soon became a fur-trading centre, a role that was enhanced after the conquest of New France by the British in 1763.

This city was right at the heart of the Industrial Revolution. It was the first industrialised city in the world.

Named Temasek before colonisation, it gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1959, leading to a city-state.

Though it may have been inhabited as early as 3000 BC, it was not a city until Greek colonists arrived in the area in the seventh century BC. The city had multiple names, of which Byzantium was one.

The name was given to the city’s original site by Portuguese navigators who arrived in January, and mistook the entrance of the bay for the mouth of a river. In 1763, it became the colonial capital.