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'.
Someone else
wrote:
'Amongst the
noble and celebrated cities of the world, that of London, the Capital of the
Kingdom of England is one of the most renowned, possessing above others,
abundant wealth, extensive commerce, great grandeur and significance'.
London was a
lively place. There was a horse market at Smithfield (originally smooth field)
where horse racing took place. Smithfield was also the site of public
executions, which always attracted large crowds. Londoners also loved dancing
on the open spaces that surrounded the town. They liked archery and wrestling
and men fought mock battles with wooden swords and shields. In Winter people
went ice skating on frozen marshes at Moorfield using skates made of animal
bones.
In the 12th or
13th century London was often spelt Lunden or Lundon. By the time of Chaucer in
the late 14th century it was spelt London.
In the 13th
century the friars came to London. Friars were like monks but instead of living
lives separate from the world they went out to preach. There were different
orders of friars each with a different colour of costume. Dominican friars were
called black friars because of their black costumes and the place where they
lived in London is still called Blackfriars. There were also grey friars
(Franciscans), white friars and crutched friars. (The word crutched is a
corruption of cruxed. Crux is Latin for cross and the cruxed friars had a cross
stitched onto their cloaks).
The Jews suffered from persecution during the Middle Ages. The first
Jews came to London in 1096 as refugees from Rouen after a massacre occurred
there. Jews in London lived in a ghetto in old Jewry. They were some of the
first people since Roman times to live in stone houses. They had to as wooden
houses were not safe enough! In 1189 a wave of persecution resulted in the
deaths of about 30 Jews. In 1264 rioters killed about 500 Jews in London. In
1290 all Jews were expelled from England.
In 1381 the
peasant revolt broke out. On 13 July the rebels marched on London and
sympathizers opened the gates to them. The king and his ministers took refuge
in the Tower of London while the rebels opened the prisons and looted the house
of John of Gaunt, an unpopular noble. On 14 July the king met the rebels at
Moorfield and made them various promises, none of which he kept.
The next day
the king went to mass at Westminster while he was away the rebels broke into
the Tower of London and killed the Archbishop of Canterbury and several royal
officials who had taken refuge there. They confronted the king on his way back
from mass. The mayor of London stabbed the leader of the rebels, fearing he was
going to attack the king. Afterwards the king managed to calm the rebels and
persuaded them to go home.
The population
of London may have reached 50,000 by the middle of the 14th century. At least a
third of the population died when the Black Death struck in 1348-49 but London
soon recovered. Its population may have reached 70,000 by the end of the Middle
Ages.
LONDON IN THE 16th AND 17th CENTURIES
The population
of London may have reached 120,000 by the middle of the 16th century and about
250,000 by 1600. In the Middle Ages the church owned about 1/4 of the land in
London. When Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries it released a great deal of
land for new buildings.
Nevertheless
the suburbs outside London continued to grow. In the late 16th century rich men
began to build houses along the Strand and by 1600 London was linked to
Westminster by a strip of houses.
Banqueting
House was built in 1622. In 1635 the king opened Hyde Park to the public. In
1637 Charles I created Richmond Park for hunting. Also in 1637 Queens House was
completed in nearby Greenwich.
Wool was still
the main export from London but there were also exports of 'Excellent saffron
in small quantities, a great quantity of lead and tin, sheep and rabbit skins
without number, with various other sorts of fine peltry (skins) and leather,
beer, cheese and other sorts of provisions'. The Royal Exchange where merchants
could buy and sell goods opened in 1571.
In the early
17th century rich men continued to build houses west of London. The Earl of
Bedford built houses at Covent Garden, on the Strand and at Long Acre. He also
obtained permission to hold a fruit and vegetable market at Covent Garden.
Other rich people build houses at Lincoln Inn Fields and at St Martins in the
Fields.
All this
happened despite outbreaks of bubonic plague. It broke out in 1603, 1633 and
1665 but each time the population of London quickly recovered.
In 1642 civil
war began between king and parliament. The royalists made one attempt to
capture London in 1643 but their army was met 6 miles west of St Pauls by a
much larger parliamentary army. The royalists withdrew. However the Puritan
government of 1646-1660 was hated by many ordinary people and when Charles II
came to London from France in 1660 an estimated 20,000 people gathered in the
streets to meet him. All the churches in London rang their bells.
The last
outbreak of plague in London was in 1665. But this was the last outbreak. In
1666 came the great fire of London. It began on 2 September in a baker's house
in Pudding Lane. At first it did not cause undue alarm. The Lord Mayor was
awoken and said "Pish! A woman might piss it out!". But the wind
caused the flames to spread rapidly. People formed chains with leather buckets
and worked hand operated pumps all to no avail. The mayor was advised to use
gunpowder to create fire breaks but he was reluctant, fearing the owners of
destroyed buildings would sue for compensation. The fire continued to spread
until the king took charge. He ordered sailors to make fire breaks. At the same
time the wind dropped.
About 13,200
houses had been destroyed and 70-80,000 people had been made homeless. The king
ordered the navy to make tents and canvas available from their stores to help
the homeless who camped on open spaces around the city. Temporary markets were
set up so the homeless could buy food. but the crowds of homeless soon
dispersed. Most of the houses in London were still standing and many of the
homeless found accommodation in them or in nearby villages. Others built wooden
huts on the charred ruins.
To prevent
such a disaster happening again the king commanded that all new houses in
London should be of stone and brick not wood. Citizens were responsible for
rebuilding their own houses but a tax was charged on coal brought by ship into
London to finance the rebuilding of churches and other public buildings. Work
began on rebuilding St Pauls in 1675 but it was not finished till 1711.
In the late
17th century fashionable houses were built at Bloomsbury and on the road to the
village of Knightsbridge. Elegant houses in squares and broad straight streets
were also built north of St James palace. Soho also became built up. As well as
building attractive suburbs the rich began to live in attractive villages near
London such as Hackney, Clapham, Camberwell and Streatham. In the east the poor
continued to build houses and Bethnal Green was 'swallowed up' by the growing
city.
French
Protestants fleeing religious persecution arrived in London. Many of them were
silk weavers who lived in Spitalfields which also became a suburb of London.
In the 17th
century wealthy Londoners obtained piped water for the first time. It was
brought by canal from the countryside then was carried by hollow tree trunks
under the streets. You had to pay to have your house connected. After 1685 oil
lamps lighted the streets. Hackney carriages became common in the streets of
London.
In 1694 the
Bank of England was formed. It moved to Threadneedle Street in 1734. To read a
history of banking click here.
The 18th
century London
The 18th
century was a period of rapid growth for London, reflecting an increasing
national population, the early stirrings of the Industrial Revolution, and
London's role at the centre of the evolving British Empire.
In 1707 an Act
of Union was passed merging the Scottish and the English Parliaments, thus
establishing The Kingdom of Great Britain. A year later, in 1708 Christopher
Wren's masterpiece, St. Paul's Cathedral was completed on his birthday.
However, the first service had been held on December 2, 1697; more than 10
years earlier! This Cathedral replaced the original St. Paul's which had been
completely destroyed in the Great Fire of London. This building is considered
one of the finest in Britain and a fine example of Baroque architecture.
The Clock
Tower of Wren's St. Paul's Cathedral
During the
Georgian period London spread beyond its traditional limits at an accelerating
pace. New districts such as Mayfair were built for the rich in the West End,
new bridges over the Thames encouraged an acceleration of development in South
London and in the East End, the Port of London expanded downstream from the
City. During this period was also the uprising of the American colonies. In
1780, the Tower of London held its only American prisoner, former President of
the Continental Congress, Henry Laurens. In 1779 he was the Congress's
representative of Holland, and got the country's support for the Revolution. On
his return voyage back to America, the Royal Navy captured him and charged him
with treason after finding evidence of a reason of war between Great Britain
and the Netherlands. He was released from the Tower on December 21, 1781 in
exchange for General Lord Cornwallis.
In 1762 George
III acquired Buckingham Palace (then known as "house") from the Duke
of Buckingham. It was enlarged over the next 75 years by architects such as
John Nash. It would not be until the 19th century, however, that the palace
would become the principle London royal residence.
A phenomenon
of 18th century London was the coffee house, which became a popular place to
debate ideas. Growing literacy and the development of the printing press meant
that news became widely available. Fleet Street became the centre of the
embryonic British press during the century.
18th century
London was dogged by crime, the Bow Street Runners were established in 1750 as
a professional police force. Penalties for crime were harsh, with the death
penalty being applied for fairly minor crimes. Public hangings were common in
London, and were popular public events.
In 1780 London
was rocked by the Gordon Riots, an uprising by Protestants against Roman
Catholic emancipation led by Lord George Gordon. Severe damage was caused to
Catholic churches and homes, and 285 rioters were killed.
In the year
1787, freed slaves from London, America, and many of Britain's colonies founded
Freetown in modern-day Sierra Leone.
Up until 1750,
London Bridge was the only crossing over the Thames, but in that year
Westminster Bridge was opened and, for the first time in history, London
Bridge, in a sense, had a rival.
The 18th
century saw the breakaway of the American colonies and many other unfortunate
events in London, but also great change and Enlightenment. This all led into
the beginning of modern times, the 19th century.
During the
19th century the number of crimes punishable by death rose to about 200. Some, such as treason or murder, were
serious crimes. The death sentence could be passed for picking pockets,
stealing bread or cutting down a tree. Minor crime was punished by being
sent to prisons, sometimes transported abroad for theft, whipped in public.
And nowadays
there are few places that offer such a variety of sights, entertainments,
educational and business opportunities, world- famous museums and theatres, and
superb shopping. London draws people from all over the world. Some come to
study, to work or on holiday. London is naturally a very English city, yet it
is the least typical of Britain as it is very cosmopolitan, containing goods, food
and entertainment, as well as people, from many countries of the world.
Edinburgh
During its prehistory in the Iron and Bronze Ages, man existed in
the area around Holyrood, Craiglockhart Hill and the Pentlands, leaving traces
of primitive stone settlements. At the time of its actual foundation, it was a
part of the Kingdom of Northumbria, an Anglian kingdom on the east side of
Great Britain, spanning from the River Humber to the Firth of Forth. The area
surrounding Castle Rock, then known as "Lookout Hill" become the
foundation point. On the hill Edwin of Northumbria a powerful Christian king
founded the fortress to secure the northern part of his territory against
invasion. This fortress was known in the Brythonic language as Din Eidyn, which
means "Edwin's fort" after the king. As the fortess grew, many houses
were re-located towards the ridge of castlehill. A layout began to form, when
householders would be given the option to be granted a "toft" or
stretch of garden behind the ridge. The name eventually developed through the
English language into first Edwinesburch and then into Edinburgh, the name it
is known by today. After the murder of St. Oswald King of Northumbria,
Edinburgh fell under the control of the Danelaw.
Battles between the Scots and various invaders for the custody of
Edinburgh Castle are a recurring theme in the history of Edinburgh. Castle
Rock, a volcanic crag now crowned by Edinburgh Castle, was created some 340
millions years ago during the Paleozoic Era. With three vertical sides, the
rock is a natural fortification. It is believed to have been used as a
stronghold as early as the first centuries of the first millennium.
When Agricola, the Roman Governor of Britain, advanced north in AD
79 he encountered the Celtic tribe of Votadinii, who controlled the Forth River
valley and are thought to have based themselves around site of Edinburgh
castle. There is archaeological evidence that the Roman army had a base near
Edinburgh too, and that they mixed with the locals on a daily basis. But the
Romans never really mastered Caledonia and by 211 they had retreated behind
Hadrian's wall, about a hundred miles to the south of the city, and by 410 they
had left Britain for good.
In the 7th century an English King, Edwin of Northumbria, pushed north
and won control of much of lowland Scotland. He built a fort on the strategic
castle rock and called it Dun Eadain meaning 'Fortress-on-a-Hill'. This fort
may have later become known as either Edwin's Burgh or Eadain's Burgh (there
has been much debate as to whether this is actually true) and later, obviously,
Edinburgh.
Hereford Mappa
Mundi, featuring Edinburgh in 1300
In the 10th century, with
the collapse of the Danelaw the Scots captured the position. Then in the 12th
century a small town flourished at the base of the castle known as Edinburgh,
along side which another community rose up to the East around the Abbey of
Holyrood, known as Holyrood, together in the 13th century these became Royal
Burghs. In consequence to Edinburgh's earlier Anglo-Saxon rule, Edinburgh and
the Border counties lay in a disputed zone between England and Scotland,
England claiming all Anglo-Saxon Domains as English territory, and Scotland
claiming all territory as far south as Hadrians Wall, the result being a long
series of border wars and clashes, which often left Edinburgh Castle under
English control. It was not until the 15th century when Edinburgh remained for the most
firmly under Scottish control, that King James IV of Scotland undertook, to
move the Royal Court from Stirling to Holyrood, making Edinburgh by proxy
Scotland's capital.
As Edinburgh
remained under Scottish Rule, with the nearby port and Royal Burgh of Leith,
Edinburgh flourished both economically and culturally. In 1603, following King James VI's
accession to the English and Irish Thrones, James VI instituted the first
executive Parliament of Scotland which met in the Great Hall of Edinburgh
Castle, later finding a home in the Tolbooth, before moving to purpose-built
Parliament House, Edinburgh, which is now home to the Supreme Courts of
Scotland[citation needed]. In 1639 disputes over the planned merger, between
the Presbyterian Church and the Anglican Church, and the demands by Charles I,
to reunify the divided St. Giles' Cathedral, led to the Bishops Wars, which in
turn led to the English Civil War, and the eventual the occupation of Edinburgh
by Commonwealth forces of Oliver Cromwell. In the 1670s King Charles II
commissioned the rebuilding of Holyrood Palace.
An 1802 illustration of Edinburgh from the West
During the last Jacobite rebellion Edinburgh was occupied by
Jacobite forces, after the retreat of Jacobite forces from Derby it was
re-occupied by British forces under the command of the Prince William, Duke of
Cumberland. Following the defeat of Jacobites there was a long period of
reprisals and pacification. At this time, the Hanoverian Monarch wished to
stamp his identity on Edinburgh and new developments to the North of the castle
were named in honour of the King and his Family; George Street, Frederick
Street, Hanover Street, Queen Street, Prince’s Street, Castle Street and with
control of the ‘Rose’ of England and the ‘Thistle’ of Scotland these names were
also allocated to Streets. The original plan for this build was to be
constructed in the form of King James VI’s Union Flag and this shape can be
detected when viewing the layout of the aforementioned streets from above.
Out of the mess left behind by the consequences of the Jacobite
rebellion came a number of Scottish Intellectuals, many from Edinburgh,
including Adam Smith, who felt it was time to put the history of the Clans of
Scotland behind them and that this was a time for Scotland to modernise. They
promoted the idea of Britishness, and led Great Britain and the British Empire
into a golden age of economic and social reform and prosperity. It was during
this period, that Edinburgh expanded beyond the limits of its city walls, with
the creation of the New Town, following the draining of the Nor Loch, which has
since become Princes Street Gardens. Edinburgh became a major cultural centre,
earning it the nickname Athens of the North because of the Greco-Roman style of
the New Towns' architecture, as well as the rise of the Scottish/British
intellectual elite in the city, who were increasingly leading both British and
European intellectual thought. Edinburgh is particularly noted for its fine
architecture, especially from the Georgian period. In 17th-century Edinburgh, a
defensive city wall defined the boundaries of the city. Due to the restricted
land area available for development, the houses increased in height instead.
Buildings of 11 stories were common, and there are records of buildings as high
as 14 stories,[citation needed] and thus are thought to be the pioneers for the
modern-day skyscraper. Many of the stone-built structures can still be seen
today in the old town of Edinburgh.
In the 19th century Edinburgh like many cities industrialised, but
most of this was undertaken in Leith, which meant that Edinburgh as a whole did
not grow greatly in size. Glasgow soon replaced it as the largest and most
prosperous city in Scotland, becoming the industrial, commercial and trade
centre, while Edinburgh remained almost purely Scotland's intellectual and
cultural centre, which it remains to this day as one of the greatest cultural
centres of the UK.
Cardiff
Cardiff’s rich
culture has a diverse range of influences, from the Romans and Normans of
antiquity to the industrial revolution and the coal industry - which
transformed Cardiff from a small town into a thriving, international city.
Origins of the
Name
There are two rival theories regarding the precise origins of the
name Cardiff or Caerdydd in Welsh. There is uncertainty concerning the origin
of "Caerdydd" — "Caer" means "fort" or
"castle," but although "Dydd" means "Day" in
modern Welsh, it is unclear what was meant in this context. Some believe that
"Dydd " or "Diff" was a corruption of "Taff", the
river on which Cardiff castle stands, in which case "Cardiff" would
mean "the fort on the river Taff" (in Welsh the T mutates to D).
A rival theory favours a link with Aulus Didius Gallus who was a
Roman governor in the region at the time the fort was established. The name may
have originated as Caer Didius – The Fort of Didius.
Roman origins
Cardiff lies at the centre of three river systems, the Taff, the Ely
and the Rhymney. Its location allowed its first residents to control trade and
movement along these rivers, giving them power over a large area. The first
people to take advantage of this location were the Romans who set up a fort
here on the site of Cardiff Castle about AD55-60. Some of the original Roman
walls can still be seen and the new interpretation centre, opened in June 2008,
is set against the backdrop of the original Roman foundation walls. This
dominating fort protected its inhabitants until about AD350-375 when it was
abandoned at the end of Roman rule in Britain.
The Vikings and the Normans also made their presence felt in
Cardiff, and in 1091 Robert Fitzhamon began work on the castle keep, which has
been at the heart of the city ever since.
Medieval Cardiff
Today, much of
Cardiff's Roman remains are lost beneath the medieval castle. The castle dates
from the 11th century, when the Normans conquered Glamorgan. It was begun by
William the Conqueror on his return from St David's in Pembrokeshire, in 1081.
This is supported by an inscription on a coin found within the castle grounds
which suggests that William may have established a mint at the castle.
Cardiff Castle
was originally built in wood. In the 12th century, Robert Consol, Duke of
Gloucester, rebuilt it in stone. At this time, the Castle's west and south
walls were raised, building upon the ruined walls of the Roman fort.
The medieval
town spread out from the castle's South Gate. Interestingly the High Street
lines up with the Roman rather than the medieval south gate, suggesting it
dates from this earlier period.
The Medieval
town probably developed in two stages. The first stage was within a relatively
small enclosure marked out by Working Street and Womanby (Hummanbye) Streets'
both names are linked to old Norse. In the second stage of its development,
Cardiff expanded south. The town was then enclosed and defended to the east by
a bank and ditch and eventually a stone gate. To the west, the town was
protected by the meandering river Taff.
Owain Glyndŵr
In 15th century, town was destroyed by Owain Glyndŵr's Welsh
army. The Castle lay in ruin until Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, restored
the defences and castle buildings in 1423. Beauchamp also constructed the
octagonal tower, now known as Beauchamp's tower.
Much of the rest of the castle and walls dates to the 19th century,
when the third Marquis of Bute employed William Burges to restore, refurbish
and rebuild it.
Black Gold transforms Cardiff
In the late
19th Century, the 2nd Marquess of Bute built the Glamorganshire canal, which
linked Merthyr Tydfil with Cardiff and the Cardiff docks, to take advantage of
the huge coal reserves in the area. This saw Cardiff become the biggest coal
exporting port in the world, resulting in Edward VII granting Cardiff city
status in 1905. The port reached its peak in 1913, with more than 10 million
tons going through the port. As Cardiff exports grew, so did its population;
dockworkers and sailors from across the world settled in neighbourhoods close
to the docks, known as Tiger Bay, and communities from up to 45 different
nationalities, including Norwegian, Somalian, Yemenese, Spanish, Italian,
Caribbean and Irish, helped create the unique multi-cultural character of the
area.
Double birthday
After going
into decline in the 70's and 80's Cardiff's docks and city centre have now been
regenerated. Cardiff Bay is now a thriving waterside development, and the
construction of the Millennium Stadium in the city centre helped transformed
Cardiff into a true European capital city. In 2005 Cardiff celebrated its
centenary as a city and 50 years as capital of Wales, and enjoyed a year-long
calendar of events, festivals and parties which marked the double anniversary.
Home of the Daleks
Terry Nation,
creator of Doctor Who’s arch-enemies, the Daleks, was born in Cardiff, and in
2005 the Daleks returned to their place of birth for the new BBC Wales series
of Doctor Who. The second season of Doctor Who, starring David Tennant and
Billie Piper was also filmed in and around Cardiff. A new Doctor Who spin-off
series, called Torchwood, was also filmed and is set in the Welsh capital.
World’s first FairTrade capital
In March 2004
Cardiff was designated as the world’s first FairTrade Capital City in
recognition of its support for the scheme. To gain this status Cardiff Council
had to ensure that FairTrade products are available in a number of cafes,
stores and supermarkets in Cardiff, as well as serving FairTrade teas and
coffees in its own canteens and meetings.
Famous sons and daughters
Cardiff has
produced many famous names in the last century. Children’s author Roald Dahl
was born in Cardiff in 1916, and the Norwegian Church where he was christened
is now used as an arts centre and café. In the sports world Ryan Giggs,
Colin Jackson and Dame Tanni Grey Thompson often fill the headlines, and Shirley
Bassey and Charlotte Church are the city’s home grown musical divas.
Captain Scott
and the South Pole
In 1910
Captain Robert Scott set off from Cardiff in the ship the ‘Terra Nova’ on his
ill-fated trip to the South Pole. Cardiff connections to Scott include a
memorial sculpture in Cardiff Bay, a memorial lighthouse erected in Roath Park
and the Discovery pub in Lakeside, home to photos from the expedition. The
Captain Scott room in the Royal Hotel, where he ate his farewell dinner, was
also reopened earlier this year.
Sporting history
Cardiff has a
long association with sport. In 1958 the city hosted the Britsh Empire and
Commonwealth Games, now better known as the Commonwealth Games. The Empire
swimming pool, however, was demolished to make way for the Millennium Stadium –
which hosted the Rugby World Cup final in 1999. The stadium again made sporting
history in 2005, when Wales won the Six Nations Grand Slam Championship for the
first time in over 20 years. Cardiff will also host an Ashes cricket Test match
in 2009, and football matches during the 2012 London Olympic Games.
So, in keeping
with its dynamic character, Cardiff is noted for visionary architecture. Dip
into the past at its two most extraordinary landmarks, Cardiff Castle in the
centre and Castell Coch just outside the city. Both were transformed in the
19th century into Gothic dream palaces. The gleaming white Civic Centre with
its domed City Hall is an early 20th-century classic. Then for the shape of the
future, head for Cardiff Bay, one of the world's largest regeneration projects
dominated by the new and innovative Wales Millennium Centre. Victorian edifices
have been joined by chic restaurants, stylish clubs and shops beside a newly
created freshwater lake, making it the most exciting place to hang out, day or
night.
Belfast
The history of Belfast as a settlement goes back to the
Bronze Age, but its status as a major urban centre dates to the eighteenth
century. Belfast today is the capital of Northern Ireland. Belfast was,
throughout its modern history, a major commercial and industrial centre. It
suffered in the late twentieth century from a decline in its traditional
industries, particularly shipbuilding. The city's history has been marked by
violent conflict between Catholic and Protestant communities which has caused
many parts of the city to be split into 'Catholic' and 'Protestant' areas. In
recent years the city has been relatively peaceful and major redevelopment has
occurred, especially the inner-city and dock areas.
BELFAST
IN THE 17TH CENTURY
The city of Belfast began in the early 17th century. The name
Belfast is a corruption of the Gaelic words Beal Feirste meaning mouth of the
sandy ford.
In 1177 an Englishman called John de Courcy built a castle there.
However the actual town of Belfast grew up after 1609 when king James began his
policy of settling Englishmen and Scots in Ulster. Sir Arthur Chichester was
granted land in Ulster including Belfast Castle, which he rebuilt in 1611. A
small town soon grew up in its shadow.
By 1611 there were Englishmen, Scots and Manxmen living in the
thriving community of Belfast. In 1613 Belfast was made a corporation and
afterwards it sent 2 MPs to parliament. However the corporation was partly
controlled by the Chichester family, the lords of the manor. Belfast was run by
an official called a sovereign assisted by 12 burgesses (merchants). Each year
the burgesses drew up a short list of 3 of themselves and Chichester chose one
to be the sovereign. Chichester's consent was required for new by laws.
Ordinary people had no part in the government of the town.
Later in the 17th century Belfast traded with the North American
colonies. Tobacco was imported from there. Sugar was imported from the West
Indies and refined in Belfast.
By the late 17th century Belfast probably had a population of about
1,500-2,000. It was swelled by French Protestants, fleeing religious
persecution in their own country, who introduced linen weaving to Belfast.
Other industries in Belfast were brewing, rope making and sail making.
In 1680 Belfast gained a piped water supply (using wooden pipes).
After 1686 each householder was supposed to hang a lantern outside his house at
night during the winter months. The first bridge over the Lagan was erected
after 1682.
BELFAST IN THE 18th CENTURY
Belfast Castle
burned down in 1708. In the 18th century Belfast grew rapidly. The population
of Belfast was only about 2,500 in 1700 but it grew to about 8,000 in 1750 and
about 13,000 by 1780. By 1800 Belfast had a population of around 20,000. In the
late 18th century a new suburb grew up across the Lagan.
Belfast gained its first newspaper in 1737. Belfast gained its first
bank in 1752 and its first theatre by 1768.
During the 18th century increasing amounts of linen were exported
from Belfast. (The linen was woven in people's homes in the surrounding
countryside not woven in factories). In 1701 less than 200,000 yards of linen
was exported from Belfast. By 1773 the figure had risen to 17 million yards.
The White Linen Hall was built in 1788. Cotton spinning was introduced into
Belfast in 1777. However it never had the same importance as linen.
In 1785 a
Harbour Board was formed with responsibility for the upkeep of the harbour.
Shipbuilding in Belfast began in 1791.
Belfast
thrived in the 18th century as a merchant town, importing goods from Great
Britain and exporting the produce of the linen trade. Linen at the time was
made by small producers in rural areas. The town was also a centre of radical
politics, partly because its predominantly Presbyterian population was
discriminated against under the penal laws, and also because of the influence
of the Scottish Enlightenment. Belfast saw the founding of the Irish Volunteers
in 1778 and the Society of the United Irishmen in 1791 - both dedicated to
democratic reform, an end to religious discrimination and greater independence
for Ireland. As a result of intense repression however, Belfast radicals played
little or no role in the Irish Rebellion of 1798.
Samson & Goliath
In the 19th century, Belfast became Ireland's pre-eminent industrial
city with linen, heavy engineering, tobacco and shipbuilding dominating the
economy. Belfast, located at the western end of Belfast Lough and at the mouth
of the River Lagan, was an ideal location for the shipbuilding industry, which
was dominated by the Harland and Wolff company which alone employed up to
35,000 workers and was one of the largest shipbuilders in the world[1]. The
ill-fated RMS Titanic was built there in 1911. Migrants to Belfast came from
across Ireland, Scotland and England, but particularly from rural Ulster, where
sectarian tensions ran deep. The same period saw the first outbreaks of
sectarian riots, which have recurred regularly since.
Originally a town in County Antrim, Belfast county borough was
created when Belfast was granted city status by Queen Victoria in 1888.[2]
The City Hall
during construction.
By 1901, Belfast was the largest city in Ireland. The city's
importance was evidenced by the construction of the lavish City Hall, completed
in 1906. Since around 1840 its population included many Catholics, who
originally settled in the west of city, around the area of today's Barrack
Street. West Belfast remains the centre of the city's Catholic population (in
contrast with the east of the City which is predominantly Protestant). Other
areas of Catholic settlement have included parts of the north of the city,
especially Ardoyne and the Antrim Road and the Markets area immediately to the
south of the city centre.
Conditions for the new working class were often squalid, with much
of the population packed into overcrowded and unsanitary tenements. The city
suffered from repeated cholera outbreaks in the mid-19th century. Conditions
improved somewhat after a wholesale slum clearance programme in the 1900s.
Belfast saw a bitter strike by dock workers organised by radical
trade unionist Jim Larkin, in 1907. The dispute saw 10,000 workers on strike
and a mutiny by the police, who refused to disperse the striker's pickets.
Eventually the Army had to be deployed to restore order. The strike was a rare
instance of non-sectarian mobilisation in Ulster at the time.
Recent history
The city in
general has seen significant redevelopment and investment since the Belfast
Agreement. The formation of the Laganside Corporation in 1989 heralded the
start of the regeneration of the River Lagan and its surrounding areas. Other
areas that have been transformed include the Cathedral Quarter and the Victoria
Square area. However communal segregation has continued since then, with
occasional low level street violence in isolated flashpoints and the
construction of new Peace Lines.
Belfast saw
the worst of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. However, since the Good Friday
Agreement in 1998, there has been major redevelopment in the city including
Victoria Square, the Titanic Quarter and Laganside as well as the Odyssey
complex and the landmark Waterfront Hall. In the largely nationalist west of
the city which bore the brunt of much of the social unrest a Sainsburys Super Market
is opening.
Conclusion
It has
occurred historically that four main nations have settled on the territory of
the United Kingdom. They live in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Main cities of these areas are London, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Belfast. Telling
of these cities shows us the national peculiarities of people living on the
territory of Great Britain. Despite the existing national differences they are
very connected culturally and economically. So, the English, the Scottish, the
Welsh and the Irish are the citizens of the united state and they all are
devoted to their queen.