Birth of Modern Europe
D-Band
Mr. Meyers
Kalle Condliffe

Since the Roman invasion of London in 43 AD, the city has been one of the most influential and prosperous capitals in Europe. Throughout its history, London has attracted trade and commerce due in large part to its location. The city lies close to the mouth of the Thames River, which places it in close vicinity to most of Western Europe and makes it one the most convenient and accessible centers of England. In addition, the depth of the Thames at London creates an ideal port for trade. Beginning with the erection of the original London Bridge by the Romans, London (Londinium) attracted many settlers and became a continental center for trade. London then survived the Middle ages to become successful under Anglo-Saxon rule. The city then survived the great plague and the great fire in 1666 and was again reborn as an economic center. It was in the midst of the rebuilding of the city that the Bank of England was founded, making London the financial center of Britain. From that point on, the city kept growing and expanding through the Georgian era, the 19th century, and the birth of the industrial revolution. There have been many economic highs and lows throughout London’s history however its location and convenience have made it one of the epicenters of world trade, commerce and finance for centuries in spite of revolt, war, invasion, and national devastation.

When the Romans invaded in 43 AD, they made the Thames the central spot of the city and furthermore of the entire Empire, this immediately led to the commercialization of the city and made it attractive to settlers. The city’s growing strength however did not guard it from coming under attack about twenty years later. In 60 AD, Queen Boudicca of the Iceni Tribe to the north burnt the city down in a rebellion against the Roman rule, and in doing so murdered many. The city did not regain its economic strength until procurator, Gaius Julius Alpinus, rebuilt the city and brought back trade.

The next major step in the growth of the city occurred in 200 AD, when the British administration divided itself into York and London. Naming them as its capitals, London became Britannia superior and York Britannia inferior. In the following two centuries, London survived much reorganization and through this maintained its place as financial capital. During this tumultuous period, London’s first mint was established in 288 AD.

The late fourth and early fifth centuries were marked by the Dark ages. During this period London’s Economy and its ability to trade took a dive along with the rest of the world. The only exception was minor slave trade.

During the middle ages, in approximately 450 London was taken over by the Anglo-Saxons. Throughout the mid 600’s, the city took back its economy and once again became a thriving center for trade and commerce, for Britain and Western Europe. In the 640’s, a trade settlement later named Lundenwic was established and by the 670’s, it was a huge market for international and local commerce. With the economy on the rise the first coins were minted since the roman occupation, they were called Lonuniu.

Despite their growing strength again came under attack in the mid-800s multiple times from the Vikings. The Vikings occupied the city from 871-872. By 878, King Alfred the Great assigned London a leader and re-established lundenburg. Slowly trade began to flourish and lvndonia coins were minted. In the early tenth century the King took over full power of the city and the economy surged, international trade expanded and the city’s industry took off. In the subsequent century there was a lot of political upheaval, power over Britain changed hands multiple times. For the most part, this did not largely affect the economy, however, when King Edward the confessor built the Abbey and palace at Westminster there was some economic stress.

In Norman London, the growing stability and power of the government and its people made London an even more substantial center for trade and increased the employment rate among citizens. The newly appointed William the conqueror was well liked because he wrote a charter that put London under his protection and created laws that granted personal freedoms that had not been enjoyed since the time of the Anglo-Saxons. With slight exceptions, the subsequent leaders followed the ways of William the conqueror and the people remained happy; Henry I and King John later enacted civil rights laws giving the people of London relative freedom. In addition to keeping the citizens happy, these leaders were skilled at keeping the economy successful, the stability in London led to more jobs and thus a better economy.

Medieval London experienced the introduction of guild system and an incredible boost in the economy. The success of Medieval London’s economy started in the small marketplaces around the city where the trade of meat, livestock and diary thrived. In addition, an increase in population led to an augment in importing and exporting within Britain. Due to the increase in trade, the city opened up multiple wharves. This led to greater continental popularity; soon foreign merchants were establishing bases in London. This fast pace, competitive environment required tradesmen and artisans to organize themselves into guilds. These union-like organizations allowed the various industries to raise prices and gain the so-called freedom of London.

The general peacefulness of Medieval London could not last forever, the reformation in London, during the Tudor era in the 1500’s, largely affected the economy in positive and negative ways along with almost every other aspect of society. The reformation was a movement across Europe that called for a move out of Catholicism and into other sects of Christianity, such as Protestantism. The capitalism that came out of the medieval period did not agree with the strict teachings of the Catholic Church and therefore the economy was one of the major causes of the reformation and the merchants and industrialists its beneficiaries. The poor however were badly affected by the reformation; the lack of monasteries and religious organizations left the poor without a source of aid and without good education. This led to the establishment of vocational schools founded by the merchants. The religious battles continued until the reign Queen Elizabeth I, this marked a return to relative tranquility.

Financial tranquility was maintained until the reign Charles I, in the beginning of the Stuart Era, when his trade limitations set the city apart from the continent. The citizenry was unhappy and there was civil unrest. Charles was subsequently executed in 1649 and the monarchy was not restored until the accession to the throne of Charles II in 1660. Not long after the Kings, accession to the throne, the great plague hit London in 1665, killing 68,000 people.

In 1666, London endured more devastation with The Great Fire in London. It started in a bakery and destroyed homes, riverside establishments, the water wheel, the royal exchange, the customs house, and many other structures. Only a fifth of the previously existing city was not ruined, 13,200 homes were destroyed. This obviously put a huge strain on the economy however, when it was time to rebuild, the gentry chose to establish their homes in the suburbs and with this, the actual city became even more commercial and prosperous. For the rest of the century the monarchy focused on rebuilding the city and restoring some of its architectural gems. In 1694, William Patterson established the bank of England in London. Although a commercial bank for it eventually became the central banking institution in England. Now in addition to being a growing center for trade and commerce London was a new center of finance.

In the mid 1700’s, during the Georgian era in London the city began to expand by creating more bridges across the Thames leading to more suburbs and thus increasing the population of the city. Although there was large Jacobite support remaining from 1688, the city stood behind the crown for the good of trade. Therefore, then ruler, Queen Ann had her sights set on improving trade and commerce. By 1750, the only bridge across the Thames was between London and Southwark. Consequently, Queen Ann built bridges at Westminster and Blackfrairs. In the 1760’s, the walls of the city that were still standing were broken down and the city expanded outwards, bringing more people into the city and thus boosting the economy.

The 19^th century was a turning point for London as well as the rest of the western world. The industrial revolution changed everything in terms of the economy, international trade and social structure in London. In 1805 Britain, attained naval supremacy and with this came great confidence for Britain. This became a time of great prosperity and was witness to architectural genius. In the Mid 1800’s, Buckingham palace was built and Regent Street was constructed. All of this opulence led to an increase in land value around the city, this caused the flight of the upper and middle classes to the suburbs. This made the class distinctions within the city more defined. Simultaneously, the industrial revolution was in full swing; the growth of factories and machinery was ubiquitous. Due to their size, these factories had to be placed in suburbs, forcing the lower class to commute and worsening their quality of life. In the midst of the growth of trade and upper and middle class prosperity, there was also a lot of poverty among the lower classes. However, the eventual move towards free trade and the efforts of reformers to enfranchise the working class did improve conditions somewhat. In addition to industry, the public railway system was established in 19^th century London, providing transportation for commuters, promoting trade and expanding colonialism.

London has been witness to massive upheaval, physical devastation and poverty and yet its location and expediency have allowed it to grow into a center of trade, commerce and finally finance, making it one of the most powerful and wealthy cities in the world. London has continued to live up this legacy today.