The historical evolution of London

As a transportation hub and an important city, London has a history of nearly two thousand years.

The earliest origin of London is not exactly recorded in history.

Many people think that London was founded by the Romans.

But archaeological research shows that before the Romans came here, there were traces of human activities such as farming, living and burying the dead.

In the first century AD, the Romans, under the leadership of Emperor Claudius, formally conquered this place, which later became Britain in 43 AD.

They built a settlement on the Thames and named it "London".

Later, the Romans built a wall here, and gradually established a larger city in the area surrounded by the wall.

Although Londinium looks like a Latin name, some scholars believe that the word comes from the language used by the Celts who originally lived in this place, which may refer to the wilderness or the place where rivers flow.

The record of London in Rome can be traced back to 50 AD, and the name London comes from the Celtic word London.

The Celts invaded England in 43 AD, and then they built a bridge over the Thames. After that, they found a favorable geographical position and built a port.

Around 50 AD, Roman merchants built another town by the bridge, and London was born.

In 6 1 A.D., Queen Budika led the people against Roman rule, and her army marched into London.

London was destroyed by war and rebuilt by Queen Budika after the war.

The rich in the city build houses with stones and bricks, while most poor people can only live in wooden houses.

In the second half of the 2nd century, a 6-meter-high stone wall around London was built in London. By this time, the population of London had grown to the largest town in Britain at that time.

In 407 AD, with the last Roman army leaving England, the towns of London began to decline.

A large number of residents left the city, and only a few fishermen and farmers lived in the city walls.

London has also lost its function as a city.

But not long after, London developed again, and a new city appeared in the wall surgery of Winter Gordon in London.

The new town is not big, and the population is only about 10000.

597 Roman monks came to London. They are Christians converted from Saxons.

In 604, a bishop was sent to London.

Silver coins were minted in London in 640.

In 842 and 85 1 year, the Danes invaded Britain twice, robbing and burning most towns.

The invading army occupied the northern and eastern territories of Britain, including London.

After the Anglo-Saxons, the Norman from northwest France left a deep impression on British history.

William, their leader, claimed the right to inherit the throne of Wang Di, an Anglo-Saxon confessor, and launched a large-scale attack.

In A.D. 1066, William succeeded in military action and became the British monarch William I, known as "William the Conqueror".

Although the capital of Britain was located in Winchester, southwest of London, in order to consolidate his position, William also built a strong Tower of London in East London to resist the invasion of rebels, which was also a means to declare his authority.

Under the Norman rule, London finally became the capital of Britain in the 12 century.

Scholars generally believe that Britain entered the so-called "Middle Ages" after Norman rule began.

The characteristics of this period include the gradual consolidation of kingship and the expansion of Christian church power.

London also gradually developed at this time, and evolved into a model in which two cities merged into one city of London.

In the East, the city of London was established on the basis of the ancient Roman city of London.

This place later developed into the city of London.

In the west, the city of Westminster has become the seat of the royal family and * * *.

During this period, the royal family built palaces in London one after another, and the church also built many churches and monasteries.

In London, the mayor's power is more and more stable, and business is developing rapidly.

The predecessors of many famous buildings in London were built during this period, including the famous London Bridge.

1 176 started construction and 1209 was completed. Since then, it has been demolished many times.

As for palaces, the famous palaces were built during this period.

Later, due to the fire, most buildings in the palace were destroyed.

The British Parliament was built on the site of the Palace of Westminster.

The only thing left in this ancient palace is the Jewel Tower, which is opposite to Westminster Hall and Parliament Building and next to the palace.

The development of the church at this time also left a footprint.

The famous churches built in this era include Westminster Abbey, St Paul's Cathedral and St bartholomew's Cathedral.

In addition, many monasteries were built during this period, the most famous example of which is the Charter House of Carthusian order.

London suffered the same plague as continental Europe from 14 to 17 century.

The deadly epidemic of the Black Death has drastically reduced the population of London.

It is estimated that only two thirds of the population survived.

1642, the war between British parliamentarians and royalists began.

The royalists tried to capture London at 1643, but the armies of the two sides met at 10 km west of St. Paul's Cathedral, and the fighting capacity of the Parliamentary Party was stronger than that of the Fang Party, so the royalist troops were repelled.

1666, a big fire broke out in London.

Including St. Paul's Cathedral, about 65,438+03,200 houses were destroyed by the fire.

About 800,000 people are displaced and homeless.

The king ordered the navy to help the victims sleeping in the city set up tents. In order to prevent this from happening again, the king ordered all houses built in London to use stones and bricks as building materials instead of wood.

The fire, which was allegedly caused by human error, destroyed almost all the buildings in London, but urban construction had a chance to start again.

/kloc-In the second half of the 7th century, some houses with fashionable design began to be built in Bloom *** ury in London and on the road leading to Knightsbridge. In the past century, several hospitals were built in these areas, including Westminster (1720) and Gay (1724). 1733), London (1740) and middlesex (1745).

London developed rapidly in 18 and 19 centuries. With the industrial revolution and commercial prosperity, the population of London has also increased.

1834, the parliament building was destroyed by fire and rebuilt.

The newly-built parliament building also includes a big clock, which we call Big Ben.

1859- 1875 sewer system was born due to cholera outbreak.

Since then, the death rate from infectious diseases has been greatly reduced.

/kloc-in the 20th century, many new museums were built in London, including the Victoria and Albert Museum (Victoria &; Albert, 1852), Science Museum (1857), Natural History Museum (188 1).

New Scotland Yard was built in 189 1 year.

The development of the British Empire has brought great business opportunities to Britain.

In order to facilitate the export of products and the import of raw materials and foreign products, many large docks have been built in East London.

The development of shipping industry is very vigorous.

By the beginning of the 20th century, London had a population of 6.6 million, making it the largest city in the world. Today, London is still the largest city in Europe.

The two world wars that broke out in the 20th century caused serious damage to London, and some of the damage suffered by London during the Second World War can still be seen today.

From 65438 to the early 1940s, Nazi German Air Force planes bombed British cities, including London, causing serious property and life losses.

As far as London is concerned, the eastern part of the city is the most seriously damaged, partly because it is a dock area and the starting point of a material supply line in London.

Many people living in London were forced to evacuate to other parts of Britain.

It is estimated that about 35,000 Londoners were killed, about 50,000 people were seriously injured, and tens of thousands of buildings were damaged or destroyed, including St. Paul's Cathedral and several churches in the City of London.

Although the post-war restoration work is still going on, many traces of war damage can still be seen today.

Even so, many new buildings have been built on the ruins.

Fashionable buildings and old houses are mixed together, which also adds some interesting places to the city appearance of London.

In 1944 after World War II, due to the rapid population expansion in London, the authorities proposed and planned to build a satellite city in the surrounding area 20-30 miles away from London to attract skilled workers from London to work in the satellite city, thus alleviating the pressure of overpopulation in London.

Since the 1950s, London has entered a prosperous era, and the automobile and aircraft manufacturing industries have developed rapidly.

The dock is also very busy, with 30 thousand employees.

But since the 1960s, it has been influenced by the gradual disintegration of the British Empire.

Although the number of immigrants to London decreased obviously from 1945, the population increased rapidly in the last few years of the 20th century.

The Thames River runs through London and divides the city into two parts: the north and the south.

Since the Romans settled down, bridges have been gradually built on the river, the most famous of which is the Tower Bridge in London.