Read the excerpt from a reference article on London then

Last updated: 4/27/2023

Read the excerpt from a reference article on London then answer the following question The capital of England and the United Kingdom London has thrived for nearly two millennia as a center of commerce and culture Founded by the Romans in about 43 CE the mainstay of the city has always been its proximity to the Thames River allowing it to become a center of trade and maritime power Still more strife arose during Charles I s reign with London at the center of severe political struggles between the king and Parliament London became the refuge of the Parliamentarians and thus the target of royalist forces Londoners helped to rout the royalists at nearby Brentford in 1642 Under Oliver Cromwell Jews began to settle in London as a distinct community they had been banished in 1292 participating in Cromwell s government and attaining English citizenship By the beginning of the 19th century London s population was over one million The hub of the world s economy the city prospered as the British Empire reached its high point of expansion and power under Queen Victoria By the 19th century London could be considered the Hub of the world s economy Defensive center of London World s poorest city