05_595377_ch01.qxd 11/17/05 10:40 AM Page 16 PART ONE AN OVERVIEW of LONDON LONDON OFFERS SOMETHING FOR EVERY MOOD, desire, and interest, and there are so many ways to appreciate it. Music, sports, architecture, theater, fashion, antiques, gardens, nightlife . London is an amazing place today, but it takes on even more interesting dimensions when you know what it was yesterday. A bit of the history of this town on the Thames is just as useful for the discerning visitor as a street map. So, here we go. THE LONG LIFE of an ANCIENT CITY LONDON’S HISTORY, PERHAPS BECAUSE THE city is situated on the banks of a wide river cutting through a large island, is initially one of invasion and conquest. Because of England’s system of monarchy, her later history is one of bloody factionalism and revolving perse- cutions. As the empire began to take shape, British blood was shed on foreign soil, as England’s sovereignty was propped up by the exploitation of foreign continents and by the labor of the impover- ished workers in London. But throughout all of it, the history of the city of London has been the history of commerce: This port city has beckonedCOPYRIGHTED to artisans and sailors, farmers, MATERIAL prostitutes, and wheelers and dealers of all shades of corruption for two millennia. London shows no signs of flagging in its appeal in the third millennium. Some of the highlights from London’s past can be found in the Museum of London, where you can wander from the prehistoric banks of the Thames all the way through to the Millennium Bridge, seeing the everyday sights of London’s long life that you won’t find anywhere else, such as the underground heating system of Roman Londinium, or an Anderson shelter from the days of the Blitz. The 05_595377_ch01.qxd 11/17/05 10:40 AM Page 17 THE LONG LIFE OF AN ANCIENT CITY 17 museum’s overall style is nostalgic and cheerful, although you do get to look into a dismal cell of the notorious Newgate Gaol. It’s a great experience for the young and the old, the well-informed and the merely curious. WHEN ROME RULED LONDINIUM JULIUS CAESAR’S FAMOUS REMARK ABOUT how Britons were sim- ply not good slave material was sour grapes: in 55 B.C. and 56 B.C., he tried to subdue England twice and failed. In A.D. 43, the Romans again sent an army to conquer the island. This time they built a bridge over the Thames at the narrowest crossing, near the present London Bridge. Soon, this Roman fort called Londinium grew into a thriving port of commerce, as luxury goods from all over the Roman Empire arrived and were exchanged for corn, iron, and—Julius Cae- sar notwithstanding—slaves. Roman historian Tacitus wrote that Londinium was “famed for commerce and crowded with merchants,” a description that would remain accurate for the next 2,000 years (and will doubtless continue to do so). Roadways, the most ubiqui- tous and long-lasting feature of Roman rule, soon headed in every direction from this trading post and were well traveled by Romans and Britons in search of adventure and wealth. After a period of Pax Romana (peace imposed by ancient Rome on its dominions), the Roman rule became increasingly unbearable to the local tribes. Queen Boudicca (Also spelled Boudicea) of the Iceni tribe led a vio- lent revolt, invading Londinium, massacring everyone in sight, and burning the camp to the ground. The revolution was short lived, however; Londinium was rebuilt with a huge wall around it, encom- passing what is presently the City and Barbican area. A piece of the wall is preserved near the Museum of London, and there’s a heart- stirring statue of the ferocious Boudicca by Westminster Bridge. In 410, the sun was setting on the Roman Empire. The troops were withdrawn, leaving the sprouts of the newly-adopted Christian faith behind. London then went into a decline; when new invaders arrived, they superstitiously stayed away from the Roman ruins, which were soon buried in the silt of the river, not to be rediscovered until after the Blitz of World War II. THE SAXON’S LUNDENWIC AFTER THE SAXONS CAME OVER THE NORTH SEA in about 450 to settle in southeast England, London slowly began its rise from Roman ashes to again become a trading post, called Lundenwic. After presiding over a pagan society, King Ethelbert became a Christian convert, and the first cathedral of St. Paul was built. The Saxon kings spent most of the next five centuries fighting Viking invaders and fortifying their kingdom and its capital at Winchester, in the west country. London has King Alfred to thank for rebuilding it after Danish invaders left it 05_595377_ch01.qxd 11/17/05 10:40 AM Page 18 18 PART 1 AN OVERVIEW OF LONDON in ruins, as well as for lighting a few other candles in those dark ages. The tenth century saw a new prosperity as neighborhoods and parishes were formed on the banks of the Thames River. In the 11th century, the Danes finally won the day, and England was forced to accept the Danish King Canute as its leader. He put London on the map as the capital of the kingdom, and by 1042, when Edward the Confessor took the scepter, London was poised on the brink of a great architectural leap forward. Westminster Abbey and the Palace at Westminster gave the raucous commercial port a dignity that was soon complemented by the construction of the White Tower, the tallest building at the Tower of London. WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR IN 1066, AT THE BATTLE OF HASTINGS, a Norman army led by William conquered the Saxon armies, and with that victory spelled a new dawn for London. William decided to have his coronation in Westminster Abbey, which has remained a tradition since that time. He saw that London was perfectly placed to be a rich capital and located the impressive stronghold of the White Tower on the Thames to show the inhabitants of this headstrong city just who was in charge. However, he was also a smart politician and granted free- doms to the Saxon-dominated church and the local governors that ensured a pleasant and profitable back-scratching for all concerned. London grew rich under the watchful eye of the monarchs, who knew the key to their power lay in the wealth and acquiescence of London’s merchants and churchmen. In 1180, William Fitzstephen, in the pref- ace to his Life of Thomas à Becket, sang high praises of London: “It is blessed by a wholesome climate . in the strength of its fortifica- tions, in the nature of its site, the repute of its citizens, the honour of its matrons; happy in its sports, prolific in noble men. I can think of no other city with customs more admirable. The only plagues of London are the immoderate drinking of fools and the frequency of fires.” He forgot that other plague of London: the plague. A VIBRANT MEDIEVAL PORT MEDIEVAL LONDON WAS A CRAZY SALAD OF streets, alleys, mar- kets, outdoor brothels, bear-baiting pits, pubs, and theaters. The vibrancy of the streets was matched in energy by the jostling for power among the court, the burgesses, and the church. In 1215, the Magna Carta, which attempted to limit the excesses and power of the king and establish personal rights and political freedom for the nobil- ity, was signed by King John, who was forced to do so by rebellious barons and the newly created lord mayor of London. Soon Parlia- ment and the House of Commons were created, and England became a place of liberty and justice for at least a few more than before. Though the Magna Carta was designed to free the aristocracy from 05_595377_ch01.qxd 11/17/05 10:40 AM Page 19 THE LONG LIFE OF AN ANCIENT CITY 19 the despotism of a monarch, it contained the fateful word freemen and so signaled at least theoretical rights for the common people. The port was thriving with houses and warehouses lining the river- banks, and the power of the guilds and merchants grew apace. The po- sition of London as one of the world’s great ports, crowded with thousands of people living in appalling sanitary conditions, led to the first outbreak of plague. The Black Death of 1348 traveled across the English Channel from the European continent, which was reeling from the disease. Nearly half of London’s population succumbed to the plague, which was carried by rats that multiplied in the filthy streets and fetid sewers. The general unrest and loss of labor led to the ill-advised poll tax imposed in 1381 by a financially strapped court—a shilling a person, regardless of income or situation. The Peasant’s Revolt, led by Jack Straw and Wat Tyler, put every future monarch on notice that Lon- doners had a breaking point that should be avoided. After a riotous spree of looting, burning, and murder, the rebels were overcome, and a young King Richard II restored order, but the point was well-taken: the poll tax was quietly dropped. A new intellectual age dawned around this time. In the 1390s, Geoffrey Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales, and in 1476 William Caxton set up his printing press at Westminster. The numerous and wealthy monasteries became centers for teaching and learning, and literacy began creeping into the merchant and upper classes, setting the scene for the Renaissance culture of the Tudor era.