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QUICK FACTS ABOUT

LONDON

• London

is

located in

the south-east

of England on

the

banks

of

the river Thames.

• London

is

the biggest city in Britain and Europe

and

also

the

world's ninth-largest city.

• London

occupies over 620 square miles.

• London

has a population of 7,556,900.

• About

12 per

cent of Britain's

overall

population live

in

London.

• London has the highest population density in Britain, with 4,699

people per square

kilometre.

• London

is the seat of the central government in Britain.

• London

was

the

first

city in

the

world to

have an underground

railway known

as

the

Tube.

• The tallest

building in

London

is

the

Canary

Wharf

Tower which

is part of the London Docklands. It is

244 metres high.

• There are

100 theatres in London, including 50 in the West End.

THE

POPULATION

OF LONDON

London is the world's ninth-largest growing city with over 7 million

residents known as Londoners. It comprises 32 boroughs, of

which 13

are

«swallowing» many

villages

and

towns

in the

south-east of England.

Because of this, the

population

of

London

greatly

varies.

population

of

8,505,000.

The

age

structure

of people

living in

London

is not typical of

England

as

a

whole.

There is a

greater

proportion

of people aged

Almost

one

third(32%)

of Londoners

were born outside

the

UK. It

is around 2.3 million people.

People have come from all parts of the world to live in the British

capital.

They

have brought

with

them

different ways

of

living and

cultures.

There are more than 270 nationalities living in London. Many have

family

roots

in

Africa and

India,

formerly governed

by

the

British

Empire. This

gives

London

the largest non-white population of any

European city

and makes it so cosmopolitan.

Over 250 languages are spoken in London making it the most

linguistically diverse

city in the

world.

7. What makes London a

cosmopolitan city?

8. How many languages are spoken in the British capital?

THE HISTORY OF LONDON

The

Romans

London's history spans

nearly

2,000

years,

beginning

with

the

arrival of the Romans soon

after their invasion of Britain

in AD 43,

though people have lived in the London area

for more than 5,000 years,

but there used to be forests and marshes instead of a city.

London itself was begun by the Romans in AD 43. They called it

Londinium. First, the

Romans

landed in the area of Kent, made

their way

to the river Thames

and sailed up

it. They

knew

it was important

to

settlement

on the north bank. They chose

a spot in two small hills and

where

the

river became narrower, built a

bridge over the Thames, and

there

has

been London Bridge in the same

area ever since.

The

Romans laid out

buildings, streets and a

port. Very

soon the

settlement

of Londinium became the capital of Roman Britain. The

population of Roman

London

was between 12,000 and 20,000.

In AD 61 one

of the

native tribes rose up

against the

Romans.

around the city to protect it from

further invasion.

The Romans

ruled

Britain until AD 410.

The

Saxons and

the Vikings

Later, in the 5th

century,

the Anglo-Saxons settled west of

Londinium

and set

up

the

town of

Lundenwic.

Saxon London consisted

of many wooden huts with thatched roofs.

A disaster struck London in 842 when the Danish Vikings looted

London. They returned in 851 and

this time burnt

a large

part

of the

town.

The Saxon King, Alfred the

Great, totally defeated the Danes in

878 and they divided the country

between them. Alfred took the south

and the west while

the

Danes took

eastern England including

London.

The

Vikings

and

the

Saxons ruled England

jointly until

1042,

when

Edward

the Confessor became King of both the Vikings and the Saxons.

Edward the Confessor built a wooden palace at Westminster which

became

the

seat

of the

country's

government

not the city

of

London

itself. Edward also built Westminster Abbey.

The Norman Period of London

After Edward the Confessor's death in 1066 England

was conquered

by the

Normans.

The Norman

army

was led

by

William,

Duke

of

Normandy, who

then

became

King

of England, known as William the Conqueror. He ruled

the

country

until

1100 and was the

first to

be

crowned

in

Westminster

Abbey.

William granted the citizens of

London

special

privileges,

but built

the Tower of London to

keep them under control. He

began

the

building

of the

Palace of

Westminster. Westminster became the seat of the royal

court and government while the City

of

London

was

the

centre

of trade

and

commerce. In

1100 the population

of

London

was

around

18,000.

Tudor London

London grew in importance under the Tudor rule (1485-1603).

Henry

VII and Henry VIII were the first Tudor kings.

Tudor

was

their family name.

London

became the centre of trade and government

and

by the

end

of the Tudor era there were about 200,000 people living there.

King Henry VIII created palaces such as St. James's. He

is

also

famous for closing the city monasteries in 1536.

During

the reign of his daughter, Elizabeth I,

London

was a

wealthy

and

successful city. Theatre became popular, helped by

the

arrival

of William Shakespeare. The most famous theatre in London,

the

Globe,

was set up by him.

The river Thames was very important in the

Tudor

times

as

Britain's

navy

was

expanded. Dockyards were built and

the

ships were

sent to

explore

the

world.

The

first

Stuart King, James I came

to the throne in 1603. He was

already King

James VI of

Scotland.

He

united the

two countries under

one king.

In

1625

Charles II came to the throne.

In 1635 he opened Hyde

Park to the public and in 1637 created Richmond Park for hunting.

London

suffered two

disasters

in

later

Stuart

years. In 1665 the

Great Plague killed about 70,000 people.

The

bubonic

plague was brought

people lived in

very close quarters and hygiene standards were

very low.

In 1666

the Great

Fire

of London destroyed two thirds of the City.

The fire could be seen

from

forty miles

round the capital. It started as a

small fire and raged for

four days as an

enormous fire.

To prevent such a

disaster happening again King Charles

II ordered