A combination of entrepreneurial daring and engineering know-how made Birmingham the manufacturing engine of Britain through the 19th century and most of the 20th. James Watt first commercially manufactured his steam engine here; the transatlantic cable and the Orient Express were Birmingham built, and this was the heartland of the British motor industry.
Birmingham also has several tasty claims to fame. George Cadbury made his choccies here and his his Bourneville Estate was an early planned community. In more recent times, Birmingham has become the heartland of that Anglo-Punjabi speciality, Balti cuisine.
