Leeds was a small manorial borough in the 13th century, becoming a major centre for the production & trading of wool in the 17th and 18th centuries, then a major mill town during the industrial revolution; wool was still the dominant industry, but flax, engineering, iron foundries, printing, & other industries were also important from being a market town in the valley of the River Aire in the 16th century, Leeds expanded and overtook nearby York in importance, absorbing surrounding villages to become a populous urban centre by the 20th century, having attained City status in 1893. Leeds is well known for being the location where carbonated water was invented in the 1760s (Source: Wikipedia).
