Question
Give two reasons why the population of London expanded from the middle of the eighteenth century.
Explain any three reasons for which the population of London city expanded during the nineteenth century.
Solution
The three reasons which caused the population of London city to expand during the nineteenth century:
(i)The city of London was a powerful magnet for migrant populations, even though it did not have large factories. ‘Nineteenth century London,’ according to the historian Gareth Stedman Jones, ‘was a city of clerks and shopkeepers, of small masters and skilled artisans, of a growing number of semi skilled and sweated outworkers, of soldiers and servants, of casual labourers, street sellers, and beggars.’
(ii)Apart from the London dockyards, five major types of industries employed large numbers: clothing and footwear, wood and furniture, metals and engineering, printing and stationery, and precision products such as surgical instruments, watches, and objects of precious metal.
(iii)During the First World War (1914-18) London began manufacturing motor cars and electrical goods, and the number of large factories increased until they accounted for nearly one-third of all jobs in the city.
(i)The city of London was a powerful magnet for migrant populations, even though it did not have large factories. ‘Nineteenth century London,’ according to the historian Gareth Stedman Jones, ‘was a city of clerks and shopkeepers, of small masters and skilled artisans, of a growing number of semi skilled and sweated outworkers, of soldiers and servants, of casual labourers, street sellers, and beggars.’
(ii)Apart from the London dockyards, five major types of industries employed large numbers: clothing and footwear, wood and furniture, metals and engineering, printing and stationery, and precision products such as surgical instruments, watches, and objects of precious metal.
(iii)During the First World War (1914-18) London began manufacturing motor cars and electrical goods, and the number of large factories increased until they accounted for nearly one-third of all jobs in the city.
