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Quelle: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_London
A Short History of London
In prehistoric times, London was probably a rural area with a few independent settlements.
Numerous finds have been made of weaponry from the Bronze and Iron Ages near the banks of
the Thames in the London area, many of which had clearly been used in battle. This suggests that
the Thames was an important tribal boundary.
Londinium was established as a civilian town by the Romans about seven years after the invasion
of AD 43. Early Roman London occupied a relatively small area, roughly equivalent to the size of
Hyde Park. The city grew rapidly over the following decades. During the 2nd century, Londinium
was at its height and replaced Colchester as the capital of Roman Britain (Britannia). Its population
was around 60,000 inhabitants. It had numerous public buildings, including the largest basilica
north of the Alps, temples, bathhouses, an amphitheatre and a large fort for the city garrison.
Political instability and recession from the 3rd century onwards, however, led to a slow decline.
At some time between 190 and 225 AD, the Romans built the defensive London Wall around the
landward side of the city. The wall was about 3 kilometres long, six metres high and 2.5 metres
thick. In the late 3rd century, Londinium was raided by Saxons (?) on several occasions. This led,
from around 255 onwards, to the construction of an additional riverside wall. The wall would
survive for another 1,600 years and mark London's perimeter for centuries to come. Six of the
traditional seven city gates of London are of Roman origin. By the 5th century, the Roman Empire
was in rapid decline, and in 410 AD, the Roman occupation of Britain came to an end.
Vikings (?) attacks dominated most of the 9th century, becoming increasingly common from
around 830 onwards. The city remained in Danish hands until 886, when it was captured by the
forces of King Alfred the Great of Wessex.
London's size and commercial wealth brought it a steadily increasing importance as a focus of
government activity. King Æthelred the Unready issued the Laws of London in 978. Following the
extinction of Cnut's dynasty in 1042 English rule was restored under Edward the Confessor. He
oversaw the foundation of Westminster Abbey. Edward's death at Westminster in 1066 without an
heir led to a dispute over the succession and to the Norman conquest of England. Having
occupied London, William the Conqueror was crowned king in Westminster Abbey.
During the Reformation London was the centre of Protestantism in England. Its close commercial
connections with the Protestant heartlands in northern continental Europe contributed to the
spreading of the Reformation.
London was rapidly rising in importance amongst Europe's commercial centres. Trade expanded
beyond Western Europe to Russia, the Levant [-‘-], and the Americas. This was the period of
mercantilism, and monopoly-trading companies such as the British East India Company (1600)
were established in London by Royal Charter. The British East India Company, which came to rule
India, was one of the key institutions in London and in Britain for two and a half centuries.
Immigrants arrived in London not just from all over England and Wales, but from abroad as well;
the population rose from an estimated 50,000 in 1530 to about 225,000 in 1605.
The late 16th and early 17th century saw the great flourishing of drama in London whose
outstanding figure was William Shakespeare.
The Great Plague, a disease which killed one fifth of the population, was immediately followed by
another catastrophe [-‘---]. In 1666, the Great Fire of London broke out. The fire destroyed about
60% of the City, including the Old St Paul's Cathedral. At that time, the Bank of England was
founded, and the British East India Company was expanding its influence. Lloyd's of London also
began to operate in the late 17th century. In 1700, London handled 80% of England's imports,
69% of its exports and 86% of its re-exports. A lot of luxury goods, such as coffee and tobacco,
were imported from the Americas and Asia. During the 19th century, London was transformed into
the world's largest city and capital of the British Empire. Its population increased from 1 million in
1800 to 6.7 million a century later. During this period, London became a global political, financial,
and trading centre. Only later on did Paris and New York begin to threaten its dominance.
19th century London was transformed by the coming of the railways. The first railway to be built in
London was a line from London Bridge to Greenwich, which opened in 1836. A new network of
metropolitan railways helped the development of suburbs in neighbouring counties from which
middle-class and wealthy people could commute to the centre. This drove the massive outward
growth of the city and of greater London. London entered the 20th century at the height of its
influence as the capital of the largest empire in history. London's population continued to grow
rapidly in the early decades of the century, and public transport was greatly expanded. A large
tram network and the first motorbus service began in the 1900s.
During World War I, London suffered under bombing raids carried out by German zeppelin
airships. Like the rest of the country, London endured severe unemployment during the Great
Depression of the 1930s. In the East End, where newly-arrived immigrants used to start out,
politically extreme parties of both right and left flourished during the 1930s. The population of
London reached an all-time peak of 8.6 million in 1939. Large numbers of Jewish immigrants
fleeing from Nazi Germany settled in London during the 1930s. During World War II, London had
to endure the “Blitz”, bombing raids by aircraft of the German Luftwaffe.
Starting in the mid-1960s, and partly as a result of the success of such UK musicians as the
Beatles and the Rolling Stones, London became a centre for worldwide youth culture, exemplified
by so-called Swinging London, which made Carnaby Street a brand name for youth fashion around
the world. From the 1950s onwards, London became home to a large number of immigrants,
largely from Commonwealth countries such as Jamaica, India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, which
dramatically changed the face of London, turning it into one of the most multicultural cities in
Europe. However, the integration of these new immigrants was not always easy. Racial tensions
emerged in events such as the Brixton Riots in the early 1980s.
From the beginning of "The Troubles" in Northern Ireland in the early 1970s until the mid-1990s,
London was exposed to repeated terrorist attacks by the IRA.
The London Plan, published by the Mayor of London in 2004, estimated that the population would
reach 8.1 million by 2016, and continue to rise thereafter. This was reflected in a move towards
more urban styles of building, including a greatly increased number of tall buildings, and proposals
for major enhancements to the public transport network. On 6 July 2005, London won the bid to
host the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics. However, celebrations were cut short when on 7 July
2005; London was the target of a series of terrorist attacks, which killed more than 50 civilians and
injured more than 700 others. – Meanwhile, the Olympics and Paralympics have been a great
success.
Recommended links: http://www.britainexpress.com/London/history-of-london.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_London
http://britannia.com/history/londonhistory/
http://www.picturesofengland.com/history/london-history.html
http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/Corporation/LGNL_Services/Leisure_and_culture/Local_history_and_heritage/corp_history.htm
http://pigeonhole.com.au/news/?p=12627