Hull is a major port in the East Riding of Yorkshire. Its full name, Kingston upon Hull, dates from 1299 when Edward I acquired the town of Wyke from the Cistercian Meaux Abbey near Beverley. Hull prospered from the wool trade, whaling, and from international trade with northern Europe. This history of the town was published in 1796. Its author dedicated the book to the town’s MP, William Wilberforce, and it contains engraved plates of important public buildings, reflecting the town’s self-confidence at the end of the eighteenth century.