Blantyre

Blantyre (UK: /ˈblænˌtaɪə/) is Malawi's centre of finance and commerce, and its second largest city, with a population of 800,264 as of 2018[update]. It is sometimes referred to as the commercial and industrial capital of Malawi as opposed to the political capital, Lilongwe. It is the capital of the country's Southern Region as well as the Blantyre District. Blantyre was founded in 1876 through the missionary work of the Church of Scotland. It was named after Blantyre, South Lanarkshire, Scotland,[3] birthplace of the explorer David Livingstone.[4] The site was chosen by Henry Henderson, who was joined there on 23 October 1876 by Dr T. T. Macklin and others. Dr Macklin took over the leadership of the mission and began the work of building; but it was not until 1878 that the first ordained minister, Rev. Duff MacDonald, joined the mission. The original missionaries, for various reasons, faced local opposition and three of them were recalled.[5]