London About & Short History

Almost everyone is familiar with the history of the capital of the United Kingdom. The Romans called the city Londinium when they arrived in 43AD. By the 2nd century the Roman London had a population of 60,000. During the 7th century the Anglo-Saxons developed a new settlement about 1,000 yards up stream from old London, which is now known as Covent Garden. This blossoming city on the Thames river suffered repeated attacks from the Vikings until 886 when Alfred the Great, made peace and the Saxon city of Aldwych was established, which is now in the Modern city of Westminster.

The battle for London continued until 1066 when William the Conqueror, who was the Duke of Normandy, was crowned King of England in the new Westminster Abbey. The new King granted the citizens of London special privileges and built the Tower of London in the south-east section of the city to control their lifestyle. London continued to grow over the next 600 years through civil wars, the plague known as the Black Death, the Peasants Revolt, floods and other religious upheavals. Then in 1666 the city was almost completely destroyed by The Great Fire of London.

In the 18th century London became the world’s largest city and the first rapid transit system was built to handle its growing population. The rest, as they say, is history. The city is now a sprawling area of over 659 square miles, which has survived two 20th century World Wars and a number of internal catastrophes. It continues to share the center of attention with the US, when it comes to world issues and international statue.