Charlotte is the largest city in the state of North Carolina, as of 2008, the 20th largest city in the United States, and the largest city between Philadelphia and Jacksonville. It is also the fifth largest city on the east coast. It has a 2006 estimated population of approximately 630,478[4]. It is the county seat of Mecklenburg County,[5] and is located in the south-central part of the state in the Piedmont region, extending to the South Carolina border. The city's economy has and is continuing to mature starting in the 1990s and continuing through the 2000s to become dominated by financial services, as well as retail commerce. According to 2006 estimates, Charlotte is the 5th–fastest-growing among large U.S. cities[6] and the largest metro area between Atlanta and Washington, D.C.. A resident of Charlotte is referred to as a Charlottean (IPA: /ˌʃarləˈtiːən/).

Nicknamed The Queen City, Charlotte (as well as the county containing it) was named in honor of the German Princess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1744-1818) (Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg), who had become queen consort of King George III the previous year. During the American Revolution the British Commander in the Southern Colonies, General Cornwallis, occupied Charlotte but was driven out soon afterwards by the fierce opposition of the city's residents to British rule. Cornwallis famously wrote that Charlotte was "a hornet's nest of rebellion", leading to another city nickname: The Hornet's Nest.

As of 2006, the Charlotte metropolitan area had a population of 1,583,016. The Charlotte metropolitan area is part of a wider thirteen-county labor market region or combined statistical area that has an estimated population (as of 2008) of 2,491,650.[7]

© Copyright Juan C. Irizarry 2008. Please do not use my work without my direct written permission. All rights reserved.