The Port of Liverpool was an center of trade for the British Empire. It's docks and amanagement systems were state of the art before and during the Victorian age and the exhange of goods there made Liverpool a large and prosperous city.  The Port was a very busy place bustling with bankers, tradesmen and sailors. It consisted of many different kinds of buildings such as warehouses, port docks, a mercantile center with a post office, banks, and cultural buildings. In Mary Barton, it would have been overhwhelming for Mary Barton to find William's ship, the John Cropper, but due to the ports organization and large population, it attests to how she was easily able to find assistance. The Port of Liverpool continued to be influential to the trade and maritime power of England into the 20th century and influenced the design and innovation of ports around the world as well as the Britain's canal system which was pioneered in the port.

Centre, UNESCO World Heritage. “Liverpool – Maritime Mercantile City.” UNESCO World Heritage Centre, https://whc.unesco.org/pg.cfm?cid=31&id_site=1150.