The Great Fire & the Empire
The Great Fire of London (1666)
On September 2, 1666, a fire broke out in a bakery on Pudding Lane, which raged for four days and destroyed 80% of the City of London: 13,200 houses, 87 churches, and the old St Paul's Cathedral. Amazingly, "only" a few people died (officially: 6, probably more in reality). From the ashes, Sir Christopher Wren built the new St Paul's Cathedral and over 50 other churches. The Monument (61 meters, 311 steps, £5) at the fire's origin commemorates it.
The British Empire
In the 18th and 19th centuries, London became the capital of the largest empire in history. At its peak, the British Empire controlled a quarter of the world's population and land area. London was the undisputed center: the docks processed goods from around the world, the Bank of England dominated the global economy, and the museums filled with treasures from the colonies (the Rosetta Stone from Egypt, the Elgin Marbles from Greece, the Benin Bronzes from Nigeria — the debate over their return is more relevant today than ever).
Victorian London
Under Queen Victoria (1837–1901), London grew into the largest city in the world (6.7 million inhabitants in 1900). The Underground was opened (1863, the first subway in the world!), the major train stations were built (St Pancras, Paddington, King's Cross), the sewage system by Joseph Bazalgette was constructed (after the "Great Stink" of 1858 — the Thames smelled so foul that Parliament was evacuated), and the Victorian neighborhoods were established, which still shape London today.
