Plymouth is a City status in the United Kingdom and unitary authority on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers River Plym to the east and River Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound. Since 1967 the City of Plymouth has included the suburbs of Plympton and Plymstock, which are on the east side of the River Plym.
Plymouth's history goes back to the Bronze Age, when its first settlement grew at Mount Batten. This settlement continued to grow as a trading post for the Roman Empire, until the more prosperous village of Sutton, the current Plymouth, surpassed it. In 1620 the Pilgrim Fathers left Plymouth for the New World and established Plymouth Colony - the second English settlement in what is now the United States of America. During the English Civil War the town was held by the Roundhead and was besieged between 1642 and 1646.
Throughout the Industrial Revolution Plymouth grew as a major shipping port, handling imports and passengers from the Americas, while the neighbouring town of Devonport grew as an important Royal Naval shipbuilding and dockyard town. The county boroughs of Plymouth and Devonport, Devon, and the urban district of Stonehouse, Plymouth were merged in 1914 to form the single county borough of Plymouth - ollectively referred to as ''Three Towns''. The city's naval importance later led to its targeting and partial destruction during World War II, an act known as the Plymouth Blitz. After the war the city centre was completely rebuilt.
Today the city is home to over 250,000 people, making it the List of urban areas in England by population. It is governed locally by Plymouth City Council and is represented nationally by three Member of Parliament (United Kingdom). Plymouth's economy is still strongly influenced by shipbuilding, but has become a more service-based economy since the 1990s. It has the 9th largest university in the United Kingdom by number of students, the University of Plymouth, and the largest operational naval base in Western Europe - NB Devonport. Plymouth has ferry links to France and Spain and an airport with European services.
