Blantyre was founded in 1876 through the missionary work of the Church of Scotland. It was named after Blantyre, South Lanarkshire, Scotland, birthplace of the explorer David Livingstone. Livingstone's missionary endeavours saw the establishment of the St Michael and All Angels church. The church dates from 1891 and was famously built by a team of local workmen with no knowledge of European architecture or building techniques. Blantyre's historical importance is rivaled by no other Malawian city. It has many historic and cultural heritage resources, which constitute a vital part of the city and are crucial to its identity, cultural and social well-being and attractiveness to business and tourism. It became a British consular in 1883 and attained municipality status by 1895, making it Malawi's oldest municipality. By the time of World War I, Blantyre was diverse with Africans from neighbouring districts as well as South Asian traders.