Реферат: 4 capitals of Great Britain
Реферат: 4 capitals of Great Britain
Contents
Introduction.
London
Roman London (Londinium)
Saxon London ( Lundenwick)
London in the Middle Age
London in the 16th and 17th
centuries
The 18th century London
The Clock Tower of Wrens St.Paul’s Cathedral
Edinburgh
Hereford Mappa Mundi, featuring Edinburgh in 1300
An 1802 illustration of Edinburgh from the West
Cardiff
Origins of the Name
Medieval Cardiff
Owain Glyndŵr
Black Gold Trsansforms Cardiff
Double Birtday
Home of the Daleks
World’s First Fair Trade Capital
Famous Sons and Daughters
Sporting History
Belfast
Belfast in the 17th century
Belfast in the 18th century
Samson and Goliath
The City Hall During Construction
Recent history
Conclusion
Introduction
Great Britain
or United Kingdom, officially United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
Ireland, a parliamentary monarchy in northwestern Europe. The kingdom includes
the island of Great Britain, comprising England, Scotland, and Wales; and
Northern Ireland, an integral component of the kingdom, occupying part of the
island of Ireland. The Isle of Man and the Channel Islands in the English
Channel are not part of the United Kingdom; they are direct dependencies of the
British crown and have substantial internal self-governing powers. The United
Kingdom lies entirely within the British Isles. The total area of the kingdom
is 244,111 sq km (94,252 sq mi).
From 1801,
when Great Britain and Ireland were united, to 1922, when the Irish Free State
was established, the kingdom was officially designated the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland. Great Britain, along with other independent
countries and their dependencies and several associated states, is part of the
Commonwealth of Nations. The capital and largest city of Great Britain is
London.
So, the
history of 4 capitals situated in Great Britain can tell us a lot about the
country itself.
LONDON
London is the capital of the United Kingdom, its economic, political
and cultural center. It is one of the world's most important ports and one of
the largest cities in the world. London with its suburbs has a population of
about 11 million people. London has been a capital for nearly a thousand years.
Many of its ancient buildings still stand. But once London was a small Roman
town of the north bank of the Thames.
ROMAN LONDON (LONDINIUM)
The Romans
founded London about 50 AD. Its name is derived from the Celtic word Londinios,
which means the place of the bold one. After they invaded Britain in 43 AD the
Romans built a bridge across the Thames. They later decided it was an excellent
place to build a port. The water was deep enough for ocean going ships but it
was far enough inland to be safe from Germanic raiders. Around 50 AD Roman
merchants built a town by the bridge. So London was born.
The early
settlement at London did not have stone walls but there may have been a ditch
and an earth rampart with a wooden palisade on top. Then in 61 AD Queen
Boudicca led a rebellion against the Romans. Her army marched on London. No
attempt was made to defend London. Boudicca burned London but after her
rebellion was crushed it was rebuilt. Rich people built houses of stone or
brick with tiled roofs but most people lived in wooden houses.
By the end of the 2nd century stonewall was erected around London.
The wall was 20 feet high. Outside the wall was a ditch. In the middle of the
3rd century 20 bastions were added to the walls (a bastion was a semi-circular
tower projecting from the wall).
The population
of Roman London rose to perhaps 45,000, which seems small to us but it was the
largest town in Britain.
In the centre
of London was the forum. This was a square with shops and public buildings
arranged around it. The most important building in the forum was the basilica
or 'town hall’, which was 500 feet long and 70 feet high. In London there were
brickworks, potteries and glassworks. There were also donkey powered mills for
grinding grain to flour and bakeries.
London was
also an important port with wooden wharves and jetties. Grain and metal were
exported and luxury goods were imported. (Things like wine, olive oil, glass,
fine pottery, silk and ivory).
Rich citizens
had baths in their homes but there were several public baths near the city
gates. (Romans went to the baths to socialise not just to keep clean). Most
people in the town got their water from wells and used cess pools but there
were underground drains to remove rainwater. London also had an amphitheatre,
which could hold 8,000 people. Here gladiators fought to the death.
Cockfighting was also a popular sport.
SAXON LONDON
(LUNDENWIC)
The last Roman soldier left Britain in 407 AD. London was probably
abandoned. There may have been a few people living inside the walls by fishing
or farming but London ceased to be a town. But soon it rose again. A new town
appeared outside the walls on the site of Covent Garden. It was much smaller
than Roman London with perhaps 10,000 inhabitants.
In 597 monks from Rome began the task of converting the Saxons to
Christianity. In 604 a bishop was appointed for London.
By the 640's there was a mint in London making silver coins. In the
670's a Royal document called London 'the place where the ships land'. Early in
the 8th century a writer called London 'a trading centre for many nations who
visit by land and sea'. Saxon London consisted of many wooden huts with
thatched roofs. Slag from metal forges have been found proving there were many
blacksmiths at work in the town. Archaeologists have also found large numbers
of loom weights (used in weaving wool) Saxon craftsmen also worked with animal
bones making things like combs. The main export from Saxon London was wool,
either raw of woven. Imports included wine and luxury foods like grapes and
figs. Pottery and millstones were also imported. Slaves were also bought and
sold in London.
Disaster struck London in 842 when the Danes looted London. They
returned in 851 and this time they burned a large part of the town (an easy
task when all buildings were of wood). Then the Danes gave up just raiding and
turned to conquest. They conquered northern and Eastern England including
London.
King Alfred the Great totally defeated the Danes in 878 and they
split the country between them. The Danes took eastern England including London
while Alfred took the South and West. Despite the peace treaty Alfred's men
took London in 886. Alfred repaired the walls of the old Roman town. Until then
Londoners lived outside the Roman walls but during Alfred's reign they moved
inside the walls for protection. Soon foreign merchants came to live in London.
By the 10th century there were wine merchants from France at Vintners Place and
German merchants at Dowgate.
The Danes returned in 994 but this time the Londoners fought them
off. A writer said ' they proceeded to attack the city stoutly and wished to
set it on fire but here they suffered more harm and injury than they ever
thought any citizen could do them'.
'London Bridge is falling down'...so says the nursery rhyme. This is
believed to be derived from an event that took place in the early 11th century.
King Olaf of Norway attacked England but he was unable to sails up the Thames
past London Bridge. So he ordered his men to erect wood and wicker canopies
over their boats. They then approached London Bridge. Londoners on the bridge
threw down missiles but they were unable to stop the Vikings. At that time
London Bridge was made of wood. Olaf and his men tied ropes to the wooden
struts supporting it. They then rowed away and London Bridge collapsed. Some
historians question whether this event really happened or whether it was just a
legend that grew up around King (later Saint) Olaf.
Edward the
Confessor (1042-1066) built a wooden palace at Westminster. Later Parliament
met here. Because of this Westminster became the seat of government not the
city of London itself. Edward also built Westminster Abbey, which was
consecrated a few weeks before his death.
LONDON IN THE MIDDLE AGES
After the battle of Hastings an advance guard of Normans approached
London Bridge from the South but were beaten off. The Norman army then marched in
a loop to the west of London to cut it off from the rest of the country.
William occupied the royal palace at Westminster and the won over the Londoners
by making various promises. William was crowned king of England at Westminster
on 25 December 1066. William gave London a charter, a document confirming
certain rights. Nevertheless he built a wooden tower to stand guard over
London. It was replaced by a stone tower in 1078-1100. That was the beginning
of the Tower of London.
The population
of London at this time was perhaps 18,000, which seems very small to us but was
very large by the standards of the time. London grew in size through the 12th
century and some people began to build housed outside the walls. In 1176 the
wooden bridge across the Thames was replaced with a stone one.
A writer
described London about the year 1180:
London is
happy in its clean air, in the Christian religion, in the strength of its
fortifications, in its natural situation, in the honor of its citizens. The
Cathedral is St Pauls but there is also in London and its suburbs 13 large
monasteries, beside 126 parish churches. On the east side lies the tower, very
large and strong with 4 gates and turrets at intervals and runs around the
northern side of the city. To the north lie fields and meadows with small
rivers flowing through them, by these water mills are driven with a pleasant
murmur. To this city come merchants from every nation under heaven rejoicing to
bring merchandise in their ships'.
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