King (1990, page x) argues that the dissolution of empire has been critical to the growth of world cities. How far does this apply to
London?
Modern patterns of development and growth have been shaped and influenced by the historical context of colonialism. Within this context relationships between capitalist and pre-capitalist states or colonies helped forge a world economy, which would later lead to processes of globalisation and the current economic world order.
Expansion in the world economy has been exacerbated by the freer flow of labour, goods, services and capital, which are features of the post-war, post-colonial world. King contends that these factors have been "critical to the growth of world cities." (King, 1990:
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H.G Wells described his impression of imperial London:
"It's a great place. Immense. The richest town in the world, the biggest port, the greatest manufacturing town, the imperial city - the centre of civilisation, the heart of the world." (Wells H.G, 1908:73)
In this essay I will be discussing the significance of King's argument with reference to the city of London. Imperial London will be introduced followed by a discussion of London's decline and its patterns of modern growth in order to ascertain how far King's argument applies to the City. Different types of growth are included, but emphasis is largely placed on the geographical and economic dimensions of London's change and development.
London's imperial role was crucial to the expansion of its fortunes.
Growth was inextricably linked with the colonial empire and took place in several key areas during the colonial interlude. London's Docklands represented a melting pot of colonial trade and commerce and were a critical facet of London's (and Great Britain's) economy that fed aspects of growth into the city centre and enabled it to thrive. In
1700 London handled 80% of the country's imports and 69% of its exports. Trade with colonies in the Caribbean, Southeast Asia and the
Indian Sub-Continent brought in tea, china, rice, tobacco and spices to the City and in 1799 the West India Company began to build docks on the Isle of Dogs
British East India Company played a significant yet strange part in the Indian. It was, at its inception, a commercial venture in the history of The British Empire, which was established in the year 1600 in the subcontinent. The main reason for entering the subcontinent was trade, making money and importing spices from South Asia. It was the Portuguese who used all their skills and their navigational technology to enter this great area first, and start trade in the most profitable manner they could. East India Company entered as an early and old-fashioned venture, and conducted a separate business with their private stockholders. Their approach and their trade lasted for many years until year 1657 (Farrington 5), when they made their base
In the seventeenth century, London was one of the most important and rapidly expanding capitals in Europe. Transforming from a medieval town made of wooden buildings and limited to the Roman City walls to a modern metropolis of brick and stone expanding beyond the original wall; however, this century was also filled with disaster. The Great Fire of 1666, transformed the City from its medieval roots to the modern City present today; however, first it brutally destroyed the City in a blaze of fire over a course of three days. Taking a historical look at the progression of the Great Fire of London and how there were increased consequences faced by the City due to the decisions made by an inexperienced city official, the reasons the City officials declined the plan that Wren presented for the rebuild of the City, and how the rebuilding caused a social divide in the City that is still present in contemporary London.
From around 1750 to 1900 Britain went through major changes or transformation in industry, agriculture and transportation that affected everybody’s lives. For some it generally improved their lives, however not all were so lucky. The industrial revolution brought with it many changes good for some and bad for others.
This company hired an English explorer, Henry Hudson, to seek great riches. He sailed into the Delaware Bay and New York Bay in 1609 and then ascended the Hudson River. He filed a Dutch claim to a wooded and watered area. The Dutch West India Company was less powerful than the Dutch East India Company, and was based in the Caribbean. It was more interested in raiding than trading.
1. Law enforcement agencies seek for lawbreakers to create problems in which they are fined for crimes they have committed. They want this to happen in order to create fines for these criminals in order for the agencies to make a certain amount of revenue from the fines that the lawbreakers pay as a consequence of their actions. Some laws that law enforcement agencies set up in order to create this type of revenue off of lawbreakers include speeding tickets. The action of speeding can cause more good than harm because of the amount of revenue that speeding tickets can produce, compared to the amount of speeding related automobile accidents that people who
A world city is a large city that has been outstripped its natural urban network and become part of an international global system. World cities have become the central connecting point for the multiplicity of linkages and interconnections that sustain the contemporary world economy, and its social and political systems. According to the 2004 GaWC studies world cities can be ranked based on their provision of ‘advanced producer services’ such as accountancy, advertising, finance and law. In 2008 the rankings according to the GaWC determined that London and New York were Alpha ++ cities whilst Sydney, Paris, Hong Kong and Singapore were Alpha
One of the ways the Industrial Revolution transformed European Society was by making cities busier, one way that happened was the cities got bigger. “87% of people lived in cities after the 1900’s before only 13% of people lived in the cities (Doc F).” Before the industrial revolution began a
The development of locomotives, and steamboats manufactured goods could now be sold around the globe. Families moved from the villages of their ancestors to new industrial towns and a new class of people emerged, workers who produced goods. The industrialist, the people who owned the factories, employed hundreds even thousands of people, and made enormous profits. A major concern was the growing numbers, the masses of the urban poor that arrived and settled in the city. While the industrial innovations brought wealth to some and jobs for others, it all came with a cost: pollution from coal powered factories turned the cities black. Lack of housing created the first urban slums.
In the past few months, the Brexit referendum attracted the attention from the whole world. The globalisation has made the world today far more connected than ever so that every country could be affected by this big event. The globalisation has had profound and lasting influences to UK economy. This essay will firstly focus on the pros and cons of globalisation, then discuss the UK sectors which benefited and suffered from globalisation respectively, finally analysis the overall effect of globalisation on the UK economy.
The “Great Recession” is commonly used to explain the massive economic contraction that occurred in the United States during the fourth quarter of 2007. However, the actions of the United States spanned to other nations, leaving massive effect on the global economy. One nation that took on serious financial burden during this recession was the United Kingdom. This nation first faced the effects of the Great Recession beginning in the first quarter of 2008. Overall, the initial mass effects on the nation can be attributed to the nation’s reliance on the financial sector. In fact, after partially stabilizing in 2009, the country struggled with a double-dip recession between 2010-12, and continues to struggle with some of these effects.
The Industrial Revolution of the 18th century changed Europe forever. At the front of this change was Great Britain, which used some natural advantages and tremendous thinking and innovation to become the leader of the Industrial Revolution.
The economy mostly seen in the early middle ages was feudalism, Europe’s form of government
Since the global financial crisis of 2008, the UK government has been implementing various policies to combat the recession and stimulate economic growth. This essay will look at how effective the fiscal and monetary policies used since the crisis are in achieving the four-macro economic objectives. In addition, I will provide my input on the best way the UK government can carry out these policies.
The outbreak of the First World War in August 1914 produced immediate changes. It is often said that war is the 'locomotive of history' - that is what drives it along. Certainly the First World War helped to produce major changes in Great Britain especially socially and economically.
The United Kingdom consists of four different countries. England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. This is an island nation in Northwestern Europe. Located at 55.371°N, 3.4360°W, this island is 93,628 mi2. This is Europe’s largest island. The official language of the island is English and the capital is London. The major religion is Christianity then Islam and Hinduism. There are multiple different ethnic groups in the United Kingdom some are British African, White/black British, Mixed, and Irish to name a few of them (United Kingdom).