It is also the city with the highest population in the UK. The population is just under 9million.[6] The city is the largest in westernEurope by population and area.
On theThames, London has been a central city since it was founded by theRomans two millennia ago asLondinium.[7] The Romans bridged the river Thames and built a road network to connect Londinium with the rest of the country.[8]
London's original city centre, theCity of London is England's smallest city. In 2011 it had 7,375 inhabitants on an area of1.12sqmi (2.90km2). The term "London" is used for the urban region which developed around this city centre. This area forms the region of London, the Greater London administrative unit led by theMayor of London and theLondon Assembly.
London is one of the world's most important political, economic and cultural centres.[9] London was the capital of theBritish Empire and so for almost three centuries the centre of power for large parts of the world.
The city has about 9.1 million inhabitants (2018). If one counts the entire metropolitan area of London (London Metropolitan Area), it has about 15 million people. Theclimate is moderate.
TheRomans built the city ofLondinium along the River Thames in AD43. The nameLondinium (and later 'London') came from theCeltic language of theAncient Britons. In AD 61, the city was attacked and destroyed. Then the Romans rebuilt the city, and London became an important trading hub.[10][11][12]
After the decline of the Roman Empire, few people remained in London. TheAnglo-Saxon people ofsub-Roman Britain were mainly agricultural. Once the Romans had gone, trade with Continental Europe got less. In the9th century, more people started living in London again. It became the largest city in England. However, it did not become the capital city of England again until the12th century. For a long time after the Romans, England was not unified, and so had no capital.
Trade grew and theEast India Company was founded as a monopoly trader. London became the mainNorth Sea port, and migrants went from England. The population rose from about 50,000 in 1530 to about 225,000 in 1605.[13]
The 16th century was a time of great change in the monarchy and the Church. The Church became theChurch of England. TheScottish Church stayed loyal to Rome andCatholicism. In England the Bible had already been translated. This meant meant ordinary people could know for the first time what the Bible actually said. Before that a congregation had to accept what their preacher said. Elizabeth I was the main driver of these changes.
In the 17th century the Stuart kings ruled:James I andCharles I. Charles Stuart was defeated byCromwell, so the century was remarkable in that respect. Cromwell marks the beginning of the modern system whereby Parliament is more important than the monarch. The war between Cromwell and Charles was bitterly fought. London was the key city, andOxford was also important.
The century also had two great disasters: theGreat Plague and theGreat Fire of London. The control of London by Cromwell and Parliament was one of the decisive factors in the civil war. Cromwell's victory was followed by his death in 1658, and the country for a time moved back to royal rule underCharles II.
The plague virus, carried by fleas on rats, came to Britain from Europe.[14]
TheGreat Fire of London broke out at the beginning of September 1666. Unfortunately there werewarehouses full oftimber,pitch,tallow,wine andtar. These caught fire and, in the end, all the riverfront buildings were destroyed. The fire eventually destroyed about 60% of the city, (mainly the City of London, rather than the large city we have today). Old St Paul's Cathedral was destroyed. Some fires burnt more widely, up to present-daySouthwark and evenHighgate.
After therailways were built, London grew much larger. Greater London has 33boroughs (neighbourhoods) and a mayor. The oldCity of London is only a square mile in size but has its ownLord Mayor.
In stages, London has several times increased in size by statute inParliament. The main motive for this has beentaxation, and the increase in houses in what was once countryside. Since taxation was paid to the counties surrounding London, there was a motive for absorbing the countryside into London. This happened in several stages.
Outside London, local taxes are paid to theCounty Councils; inside London they are paid to theGreater London Council. One county has been lost entirely (Middlesex) and all the others have lost land and revenue. The London Boroughs and the GLA (Greater London Authority) both raise taxes, and the representatives are elected. There is a London Plan which sets out the priorities. The number of local authorities which raise local taxes and spend it is 33: 32 London boroughs and theCity of London.
One aspect of itsgeology had big consequences. North of the Thames London is onchalk, which is easy (with modern equipment) to tunnel through. South of the Thames London is onclay, which was, and still is, much more difficult to dig out. So most of the subterranean engineering is north of the Thames. The road system south of the Thames is also inadequate by modern standards. This difference is reflected in the prices for property, the road transport, the Underground railway and the definition of "London" as a taxable area. The growth of London has been more vigorous North of the Thames, and has included the complete absorption of Middlesex, once a separate county.
2020 –COVID-19 did not affect London much until the Spring of 2020. From then until mid 2022, every aspect of life was affected. Government regulation of private life was almost unknown except in wartime (WWII). Many aspects of consumer activity have taken time to recover. Education of young people was interrupted, shops closed and all forms of live mass entertainment were banned.
London's largest industry is finance. This includes banks, stock exchanges, investment companies and insurance companies The Bank of England is in the City of London and is the second oldest bank in the world.
Tourism is one of London's biggest industries. London is the most visited city in the world by international tourists with 18.8 million international visitors per year. Within the UK, London is home to the ten most-visited tourist attractions. Tourism employed about 350,000 full-time workers in London in 2003. Tourists spend about £15 billion per year.[16]
London is a major retail centre, and in 2010 had the highest non-food retail sales of any city in the world, with a total spend of around £64.2 billion. The UK's fashion industry, centred on London, contributes tens of billions to the economy.
For the 19th and much of the 20th centuries London was a major manufacturing centre (see Manufacturing in London), with over 1.5 million industrial workers in 1960. Many products were made in London including ships, electronics and cars. Nowadays, most of these manufacturing companies are closed but some drug companies still make medicine in London.
The city has a huge network oftransport systems including trains,underground (metro) and five main airports.
TheVictorians built many train systems in the mid-19th century (1850s). Their main stations are in London, and the lines go to every part ofGreat Britain. There were originally five major companies but the five companies became a national rail network in modern times. Their terminals atKing's Cross,St. Pancras,Paddington,Waterloo andCharing Cross are still used as terminals.
There are fiveairports, though only one is actually in London (London City Airport). The most used airport isHeathrow Airport, although it is actually outside the city. There is the London end of the London–Birminghamcanal, which was important to the industrial 19th century. Really heavy goods can be best transported on water by canal or sea.
TheLondon Underground is a system ofelectrictrains which are in London. It is the oldest undergroundrailway in the world. It started running in 1863 as theMetropolitan Railway. Later, the system was copied in other cities, for exampleParis,New York,Moscow andMadrid. Even though it is called the London Underground, about half of it is above the ground. The "Tube" is the name used for the London Underground, because the tunnels for some the central lines are semi-round tubes running through the ground. The Underground has 274stations and over 250 miles (402km) oftrack. Over onebillion passengers used the Underground each year.
With the need for more rail capacity in London, theElizabeth line (also known asCrossrail) opened in May 2022.[17] It is a new railway line running east to west through London, with a branch toHeathrow Airport.[18] It is Europe's biggest construction project, with a £15billion projected cost.[19][20]
There is a blacktaxi system regulated by theMetropolitan Police, and various other private enterprise hire car companies. Efforts are being made to make roads safer forcyclists.
London has regular, lightrain throughout the year. July is the warmest month, with an average temperature atGreenwich of 13.6°C to 22.8°C. The coldest month is January, with an average of 2.4°C to 7.9°C. The average annualprecipitation is fairly low at 583.6mm, and February is normally the driest month.Drought is sometimes possible, especially during longerheatwaves in summer.Snow is uncommon but usually falls at least once each winter and heavy snow is rarer and does not happen every winter. While snow is uncommon incentral London itself, there is more snow in the outer areas; this is because the "urban heat island" the big city generates makes the city about 5°C warmer than surrounding areas in winter.
Temperature extremes in London range from40.2°C (104.4°F) atHeathrow Airport on 19 July 2022 down to−16.1°C (3.0°F) atNortholt on 1 January 1962.[22][23]
↑Technically, England does not have a capital because Parliament is for the whole United Kingdom. Pearsall, Judy & Trumble, Bill, eds. 2002.The Oxford English Reference Dictionary (2nd, rev ed). Oxford University Press.ISBN 978-0198606529
↑Leading European cities by gross domestic product in 2017/18.
↑Hingley, Richard 2018.Londinium: a biography: Roman London from its origins to the fifth century. London.ISBN 978-1-350-04730-3
↑Dunwoodie, Lesley. 2015.An early Roman fort and urban development on Londinium's eastern hill: excavations at Plantation Place, City of London, 1997-2003. Harward, Chiz. & Pitt, Ken. London: MOLA (Museum of London Archaeology).ISBN 978-1-907586-32-3
↑Wallace, Leslie 2015.The origin of Roman London. Cambridge University Press.ISBN 978-1-107-04757-0
↑Pevsner, Nikolaus 1962.London – The Cities of London and Westminster. Vol. 1 (2nd ed). Penguin Books, p48. ASIN [B0000CLHU5]
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