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Showing posts from July, 2017

London - A Brief History: Part 5 - World Wars, 20th Century and London Today

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London - A Brief History: Part 5 - World Wars, 20th Century and London Today World Wars and the 20 th Century London The Blitz Devastation in London Source: National Archives London suffered heavily during World War I but was still the capital of a massive empire. Between World War I and II, London continued to expand geographically as the transport system expanded and allowed people to live in the suburbs; car ownership also facilitated this. London’s unemployment grew rapidly during the Great Depression of the 1930s, only to be followed by World War II. During The Blitz, London suffered extensive damage, and again fires raged through the City of London destroying it. Over one million houses in London were destroyed, and the death toll reached 40,000. Many escaped to the countryside, fearing for their lives. London went through a massive rebuilding project after WWII, and the 1950s and 1960s saw big tower blocks being built to house Londoners. During this time, many

London: A Brief History - Part 4: Politics, The Industrial Revolution and London’s Railway Age

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London: A Brief History - Part 4: Politics, The Industrial Revolution and London’s Railway Age Image: National Economics Editorial In 1707, the Kingdom of Great Britain came to be as the English and Scottish parliaments came together with the Acts of Union. London at the time was expanding in every direction: in the west towards Mayfair, the east saw an expansion of the Port of London, and bridges across the river allowed London to grow towards the south. A new phenomenon in London at the time was the coffeehouse where newspapers could be read, as printing presses became common. Fleet Street became synonymous with news. Eighteenth century London was also rife with crime with the death penalty being using for the vast majority of crimes. Public hangings, in areas such as Marble Arch, were common and big public spectacles. London went through a radical change in the 1800s. It became the world’s largest city and during the 19th century its population exploded f

London: A Brief History - Part 3: Disaster Strikes

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London: A Brief History - Part 3: Disaster Strikes Disaster: The Great Plague and the Great Fire of London Image Source: Wikipeda - Painter Unknown By the 1600s, the growth and continued expansion of London led to the influx of all classes of people and there were a large number of people who lived in extreme poverty in the city. Poverty became so rife that city sanitation was adversely affected as people disposed of their waste (both organic and human) out in the streets of the city and as a consequence, London became filthy and infested with rats and fleas. In 1665, the early victims of The Great Plague were first discovered in the poorer areas of London due to the deplorable living conditions. The spread of the plague was aided by the overpopulation of the area, which encouraged close contact between healthy and infected people, and even contact with rats and fleas. The disease spread quickly; the rich relocated to the countryside for safety while the poor h

London: A Brief History - Part 2: End of Roman London and the Vikings

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London: A Brief History - Part 2: End of Roman London and the Vikings London’s Fortune Changes: End of Roman London Londinium boasted an amphitheatre, a temple, a palace, bath houses and a large fort at its peak but as the proverb says “every beginning must have an end”. During the visit of Emperor Hadrian in 122AD, it was estimated that Londinium had a population of about 45,000 and was largely perceived as a cultural melting point, due to its cosmopolitan mix. However, by the 3rd century, Londinium’s fortunes began to change as a result of several factors, including: political instability in the empire, recession, as well as barbarian and pirate attacks. Over the next century, soldiers were constantly pegged away from Britannia to deal with barbarian attacks elsewhere and Emperor Constantine II recalled the last troops in 407 AD. A few years later, Emperor Honorius declined requests from Britain for military aid and this officially marked the end of Roman rule, thereb

London: A Brief History - Part 1: Roman London

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London: A Brief History - Part 1: Roman London The City Builds and Burns: Roman London (43 to 410 AD) Image Source: Wikipedia Today’s London started off as a civilian town called Londinium, established by the Romans a few years after the invasion of AD43. Londinium is believed to have been equivalent to the size of Hyde Park today, and the Roman army built a sturdy wooden bridge over the Thames, east of where today’s London Bridge is situated. As a result of the bridge and construction of roads from the Londinium port, there was an influx of merchants, traders and other urban dwellers in search of better living conditions and opportunities. Over the next few years, Londinium prospered and became an important town but this came to a halt when in 60AD, Queen Boudicca, of the Icene tribe of Norfolk, targeted Londinium as a show of her antagonism of Roman rule. Boudicca and her army razed Londinium to the ground, killing thousands in the process, and as a result orc