A Look at the History of London

Whether or not you are an accomplished international traveler, you no doubt know where London, England is. We all know that across the pond there lies quaint Britain - the original mother country. While visiting the city it is easy to tell that London is no longer the small Medieval capital of story, but now a bustling metropolis and one of the cores of all modern global economy.

However, if one takes a more radical view of history, London may very well be one of the keys to understanding how the modern era came about...

In AD 42 the Romans, under Emperor Claudius, began a full-scale exploration and assimilation of Britain, known to them in Latin as "Britannica," hence the modern name, and claimed the island as a province of Rome. The natives of the British isles were, at the time, remnants of older Celtic and some Angle and Saxon tribes.

Most people do not realize that the Romans did not simply claim Britain but build all over the southern half of the island - supplying continental Europe with a vast amount of tin and other materials abundantly native to the British isles. The Romans were afraid to expand north, into modern Scotland, for fear of the Picts and other seemingly savage Scottish tribes.

Where London comes into play, however, may very well have changed the face of the earth. When Claudius' Romans approached the Thames, the major river of England, they took delicate measures to cross the waters and explore the northern banks. The Roman soldiers tested the depth of the river until they found a stretch shallow enough to cross to the other side. Once there, they probed the river bed searching for a gravel surface.

Bridge-building, at the time, was not sophisticated enough to build on a mud foundation, so when the Romans finally found a solid gravel surface they took great strides to build a bridge spanning the Thames. Little did these Roman explorers know that their bridge would later be known as the famous "London Bridge" and would be the focal point of British expansion and power.

For once the bridge was built, the area was able to take advantage of both the northern and southern shores of the Thames - a rich and vibrant area for not only cultivation, but trade. Early London, as it was built around this bridge, became a trade hub in England and began to bring the Romans a decent amount of profit and renown in their new province.

As the centuries rolled on, London became one of the largest cities in the West with constant trade and supply coming up the Thames from the Atlantic and other river ports. France and England were always enemies until the eve of the modern era, and their rivalry fueled many wars and conflicts that both strengthened and changed both factions.

London grew and grew until it became the united capitol of England and served as the heart of a beating empire. With each new pulse from the capital the British expanded and grew in power. Without this one city, much of Europe would not be the same. Crucial trade was directed through the city and British support in the Napoleonic and World wars was pivotal to their outcome.

Not to mention the birth of America could not have come without the eve of British society, focused around London, as well as all of the social influences that led to the later American revolution itself. The lesson inherent in this article is a simple one: one city, and by the same principle, one person, can have a tremendous impact upon the world. I doubt the Romans in AD 42 believed that the bridge they built would eventually contain the economic heartbeat of the modern era or spawn entire new countries.

It simply goes to show that history is a very dynamic entity, and its components, such as London and her beginnings, are often taken for granted.