London at war and peace: crisis and reckoning, 1702-1951

White, Jerry (2017) London at war and peace: crisis and reckoning, 1702-1951. London Journal 42 (2), pp. 105-122. ISSN 0305-8034.

Abstract

War and its aftermath have affected in important ways the history of London and its people over the past three centuries. Patterns are distorted because of the predominance of war in London’s eighteenth century, its relative insignificance for much of the nineteenth century, and then its shattering impact during the two great wars of the twentieth century. Even so, some patterns are discernible: the relative economic buoyancy of wartime full employment and the resulting slump when war ends; a hastening of immigration as continental disruption brings refugees to London; metropolitan xenophobia as enemies are demonised; interruptions of the building cycle, leading to the temporary disruption of London’s growth or renewal, followed by a burst of development soon after. In all of this, the conjuncture of events, the politics of the time and the precise nature of the wars involved, all mark the uniqueness of each event, while recognising that wars produce shockwaves for London and its people whenever they occur.

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