The capital of England, London has a enormous history which goes

back 2000 years. it has grown to become one of the most significantly
and cultural capitals of the world with a population of over 7 million
people. it has experienced many devasting wars, plagues and fires.
starting with the civilisation of the roman’s, then changing to many
other significant civilisations such as the Saxons, Tudors and Vikings.

It was the Romans who first built a city that turned into London,
bridged the Thames and construct road networks to connect London to
the rest of the country. from around ad50 - ad410 - as long as the
period that separates Queen Elizabeth 1 from our present Queen. this
was the largest city in Britannia. London was like a port where goods
where all imported from all over the world.

Not surprisingly, little is known of London in the period widely called

the Dark Ages. However, archaeologists have given us a small glimpse
of life at this time. The city was largely ruinous; yet at least one large
Roman house, with an underground heating system and private bath-
suite, was still being lived in, probably well into the late 5th century.
The occupants used (or at least hoarded) Roman coins from previous
decades and imported large amphora jars from the Eastern
Mediterranean. This trade with the distant Empire may indicate a brief
revival of London as a commercial centre. It has even been suggested
that, due to the troubled nature of the times, the return exports may
have been slaves. The city appears to have been known by the late
Celtic name of 'Caer-Lundein' and, may possibly, have been at the
centre of a small kingdom also encompassing St. Albans. However,
tales of King Arthur holding court at Westminster and pulling the Sword
from the Stone in St. Paul's Churchyard are merely apocryphal.

In some ways the medieval history of London can be said to have

begun on Christmas Day, 1066, when William the Conqueror was
crowned king of England in a ceremony at the newly finished
Westminster Abbey, just three months after his victory at the Battle of
Hastings.

William granted the citizens of London special privileges, but he also

built a castle in the southeast corner of the city to keep them under
control. This castle was expanded by later kings until it became the
complex we now call the Tower of London.

The Tower acted as royal residence, and it was not until later that it
became famous as a prison. During the medieval period it also acted
as a royal mint, treasury, and housed the beginnings of a zoo.

In 1097 William II began the building of Westminster Hall, close by the

abbey of the same name. The hall was to prove the basis of a new
Palace of Westminster, the prime royal residence throughout the
Middle Ages. On William's death his brother Henry needed the support
of London merchants to maintain his dubious grip on the throne. In
exchange, Henry I gave city merchants the right to levy taxes and elect
a sheriff.

By the early 12th century the population of London was about 18,000
(compare this to the 45,000 estimated at the height of Roman Britain).
In 1123 St. Bartholomew's Priory was founded in the city, and other
monastic houses quickly followed.

In history, the early modern era of modern history follows the late
Middle Ages. Historians refer to the period beginning in AD 1453 and
lasting to AD 1789.The early modern period is widely recognized as
being of profound historical importance. It encompassed upheavals in
church, state, politics and society, and it spans the transition from
baronial wars to constitutional monarchy, and from feudal society to
the emergence of the ‘fiscal military state’ and commercial society.
Internationally, it witnessed confessional wars and tensions over trade
and empire, as london jion the rest of the world.

The Victorian city of London was a city of startling contrasts. New

building and affluent development went hand in hand with horribly
overcrowded slums where people lived in the worst conditions
imaginable. The population surged during the 19th century, from about
1 million in 1800 to over 6 million a century later. This growth far
exceeded London's ability to look after the basic needs of its citizens.

A combination of coal-fired stoves and poor sanitation made the air

heavy and foul-smelling. Immense amounts of raw sewage was
dumped straight into the Thames River. Even royals were not immune
from the stench of London - when Queen Victoria occupied Buckingham
Palace her apartments were ventilated through the common sewers, a
fact that was not disclosed until some 40 years later.

Upon this scene entered an unlikely hero, an engineer named Joseph

Bazalgette. Bazalgette was responsible for the building of over 2100
km of tunnels and pipes to divert sewage outside the city. This made a
drastic impact on the death rate, and outbreaks of cholera dropped
dramatically after Bazlgette's work was finished. For an encore,
Bazalgette also was responsible for the design of the Embankment,
and the Battersea, Hammersmith, and Albert Bridges.

In 1834 the Houses of Parliament at Westminster Palace burned down.

They were gradually replaced by the triumphant mock-Gothic Houses
of Parliament designed by Charles Barry and A.W. Pugin.

The clock tower of the Houses of Parliament, known erroneously as Big

Ben, was built in 1859. The origin of the name Big Ben is in some
dispute, but there is no argument that the moniker refers to the bells of
the tower, NOT to the large clock itself.

In 1848 the great Potato Famine struck Ireland. What has this to do
with the history of London? Plenty. Over 100,000 impoverished Irish
fled their native land and settled in London, making at one time up to
20% of the total population of the city.
London had a big part in world war one and two. they were the ones
who were usually major in the war. having a very big effect such as
tipping the coin. the germans usually attacked london as they knew
london alone played a great part in the war. in the first world war the
germans used zeppelins to attack. in the second world war the
germans attacked london, which is called the blitz.

IRA bomb devastates City of London

A massive bomb ripped through the heart of the City of London, killing
one and injuring more than 40.

The explosion shook buildings and shattered hundreds of windows,

sending glass showering down into the streets below. A mediaeval
church, St Ethelburga's, collapsed; another church and Liverpool Street
underground station were also wrecked.

The cost of repairing the damage was estimated at more than £1bn.

To conclude londons history has been very interesting . It has lots of

twists and turns in the process of growing, MANY ATTACKS on london
has shown that london is strong so it is a threat to countries. it has also
help save the world from terrorism lots of times and the history of
london is structure of practically the world