History of London

The topic of the second lecture was London’s history from AD 61 to the mid-nineteenth century Victorian era. The instructor demonstrated London’s growth in population and its consequent expanding city limits. Due to overcrowding of the city and overpopulation London’s city limits were constantly expanding toward the previously existing Roman wall. London’s population grew from 20,000 in 1066 to close to 9000,000 in 1801.

The next topic the instructor discussed was London’s progress in technology. London’s first bridge was built in 200 AD. The city’s next accomplishment was the Tower of London in the last decade of the 11^th century. The lecturer then recognizes London’s underground tube system in 1865 as a world-class achievement. Lastly, the instructor mentions London’s progress in architecture. Mentioning Westminster Abby, Tower of London, the Globe and Rose theatre, St. Paul’s Cathedral, the Old London Bridge and the Monument of Fire, which he claimed to be the city’s greatest architectural achievement.

This lecture was very interesting to me because the weekend prior to the lecture I had already visited the Tower of London, the London and Tower bridges, Westminster Abby, and read about the Fire of London. Learning of the history of London and all the sights he mentioned was intriguing because I could actually visualize where he was talking about and I was able to bring the history to life. His information furthered my knowledge of what I had seen the prior weekend and expanded my knowledge on British history. This lecture provided me with a great insight into the vast history of London and gave me the opportunity to appreciate all that I had already explored even more.