LONDON HISTORY

Word London possibly derived from Celtic - Londinios (the place of the bold one) Around 50 AD Romans created military depot in this ideal location with access to river It immediately became HQ of the Roman Procurator in Britain 61 AD burnt to the ground by native British tribe and 40 years later it was rebuilt and it first appears as Londinium In the middle of third century Londinium was most important and advanced center in Britain with population over 30 000

When Romans withdrew from Britain, Londinium became Saxon trading town In the ninth century the Danes sacked and burned the city but it was rebuilt again by Alfred in 883 After the Norman Conquest, which began in 1066, William the Conqueror had himself crowned at Westminster Abbey The city became true capital under the rule of Edward III Between 1500 and 1800 the size of city grew steadily and by the year 1800 it had nearly one milion inhabitants

Although the number of inhabitants grew there was enormously high death rate and average life lenght of an Englishman was 29 years From 14th to 19th century illnesses like plague or cholera killed tens of thousands people in few major outbreaks

In 1666 came the great fire of London, which at first did not cause undue alarm, but the wind caused the flames to spread rapidly People formed chains with leather buckets and worked hand operated pumps all to no avail The mayor was advised to use gunpowder to create fire breaks but he was reluctant, fearing the owners of destroyed buildings would sue for compensation The fire continued to spread until the king took charge and ordered sailors to make fire breaks, but at the same time the wind dropped and the fire was extinquished

During industrial revolution the urbanization of London continued but there was still many poor and unemployed people drinking themselves into insensibility One doctor reported that one of every eight Londoners drank themselves to death The city became diverted with the poor in the eastern part and the merchant and professional classes in the west In 1780 Gordon Riots broke out – the poor attacked, looted and burned the houses of the weatlhy ones and troopers were required to restore order

In the end of the 19th century the population of London was 3 million and one century later it was over 8 million In 1834 the parliament burned down but it was rebuilt and the great clock tower known as Big Ben was added There was lack of space for ships on Thames during the 18th century so the city deciede to build many docks in the 19th century and so London continued to be a great port

During the World War I, London was bombed by German zeppelins causing a great deal of terror and 700 deaths In the World War II, London was bombed again by the german Luftwaffe The face of London was again changing during the post war period as major construction inititatives, mostly high rise blocks of flats addressed the urgent need for housing in the capital

When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.