London is in fact two cities - 'The City of London' usually just called 'The City', and 'Westminster', which lies to its west. For all intents and purposes the West End (everything to the immediate West of the City) is now the centre of London - the East End (home of Cockney culture) is traditionally a poor working class and industrial area, currently undergoing something of a renaissance. There are slums within half a mile of the biggest concentration of financial power in the world - largely due to an invisible barrier between the City and the East End.
Londinium was founded by the Romans at a convenient crossing of the Thames, though it had been convenient for the local inhabitants too. Tacitus describes a flourishing trading city existing in AD 67. The area was marshy but there was a low hill, roughly where the Bank of England now stands and it was here that the Romans chose to build a typical Roman city, primarily for military reasons. Their forum was where Leadenhall market now stands.
They believed that Britain was a kind of El Dorado, and that they'd make their fortune here, as previous legions had grown rich off the Amber that Germans didn't seem to value. The river was navigable a long way inland, and tidal, which made it easy to get boats in and out.
There's a great amount of Roman archeology about - the Museum of London leads digs whenever any building is erected, and as that's often, we know a great deal about the Roman period.
England at that time was inhabited by a hodge-podge of tribes and small kingdoms, and the Romans had little difficulty subduing them - despite some noble efforts at defence. The locals assimilated Roman culture, and after a couple of hundred years were more Roman than the Romans. When the Romans pulled out, pressured by frontier wars, the Saxons took over. They hated living in the old walled Roman city and established their own city of long huts, roughly where Covent Garden is today. This duality still persists - the 'City' is essentially Roman Londinium, and 'Westminster' is the Saxon add-on. When new invaders swept the country the Saxons and their kin moved back into the safety of the old Roman City, now quite deserted, and it was here that London originated.
By the time the Normans took over from the Saxons, the basis of the mercantile capital was already laid: a charter of citizens rights and a confederation of tradesmen, providing a counterweight to the aristocracy. London was a leading trading port of western Europe - merchants from Italy, the Netherlands, France and Germany lived around the river - which had only one crossing - the Old London Bridge, until 1769. Food and wine came in, wool and leather went out. Due to the wool trade's centre in East Anglia - near the old Boston - London was for a time England's second city. However the establishment of merchant's guilds with the mayor at their head re-established London's place as capital. They grew up as 'misteries' or trades during the medieval period, (the 'Mystery Plays, still performed, are religious plays which were enacted by guildsmen).
These medieaval guilds and livery companies exist today, and preserve fine buildings across the City - the Weavers' company dates back to 1130, the saddlers' company goes back to 1272, Wax Chandlers' Company to 1358, though the Launderers' guild was formed as late as 1960. Naploeon's jibe that Britain was a nation of shopkeepers is true: with a living to protect from invaders, and trading routes and privileges to protect overseas, it was unsurprising that they made doughty fighters, as the French leaned to their cost at Crecy and Agincourt. |
