The brief history of London

The brief history of London

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.

By the 2nd century the Roman London had a population of 60,000. During the 7th century the Anglo-Saxons developed a new settlement about 1,000 yards upstream from old London, which is now known as Covent Garden. This blossoming city on the Thames river suffered repeated attacks from the Vikings until 886 when Alfred the Great, made peace and the Saxon city of Aldwych was established, which is now in the Modern city of Westminster.

The battle for London continued until 1066 when William the Conqueror, who was the Duke of Normandy, was crowned King of England in the new Westminster Abbey. The new King granted the citizens of London special privileges and built the Tower of London in the south-east section of the city to control their lifestyle. London continued to grow over the next 600 years through civil wars, the plague known as the Black Death, the Peasants Revolt, floods and other religious upheavals. Then in 1666 the city was almost completely destroyed by The Great Fire of London.

In the 18th century London became the world’s largest city and the first rapid transit system was built to handle its growing population. The rest, as they say, is history. The city is now a sprawling area of over 659 square miles, which has survived two 20th century World Wars and a number of internal catastrophes.

to found [tə faʊnd] – alapít
AD (Anno Domini) [æd] – Krisztus után
to be derived from [tə bi dɪˈraɪvd frɒm] – ered valahonnan
bold [bəʊld] – merész, bátor
to invade [tu ɪnˈveɪd] -megszáll
to decide [tə dɪˈsaɪd] – elhatároz, dönt
excellent [ˈeksələnt] – kitűnő
port [pɔːt] – kikötő
deep [diːp] – mély
inland [ɪnˈlænd] – szárazföld, belföld
Germanic raiders [dʒəˈmænɪk ˈreɪdəz] – Germán támadók/fosztogatók
merchant [ˈmɜːtʃənt] – kereskedő
population [ˌpɒpjʊˈleɪʃən] – népesség
to develop [tə dɪˈveləp]            – fejleszt, fejlődik
settlement [ˈsetlmənt] – település
upstream [ˌʌpˈstriːm] – ellentétes irányban
to be known as [tə bi nəʊn æz]  – úgy ismert, mint
blossoming [ˈblɒsəmɪŋ] – virágzó
to suffer something [tə ˈsʌfə ˈsʌmθɪŋ] – elszenvedni valamit
repeated [rɪˈpiːtɪd] – ismétlődő
attack [əˈtæk] – támadás
to make peace [tə meɪk piːs] – békét kötni
to be established [tə bi ɪˈstæblɪʃt] – megalapítva lenni
battle for something [ˈbætəl fə ˈsʌmθɪŋ] – harc valamiért
William the Conqueror [ˈwɪlɪəm ðə ˈkɒŋkərə] – Hódító Vilmos
to be crowned [tə bi kraʊnd] – megkoronázva lenni
to grant somebody something [tə ɡrɑːnt ˈsʌmbədi ˈsʌmθɪŋ] – adományoz, engedélyez
citizen [ˈsɪtɪzən] – állampolgár
special privilege [ˈspeʃəl ˈprɪvəlɪdʒ] – különleges kiváltság
south-east section [saʊθˈiːst ˈsekʃən] – délkeleti rész
to control [tə kənˈtrəʊl]- felügyel
to grow [tə ɡrəʊ] – nő, növekszik
civil war [ˈsɪvəl wɔː] – polgárháború
plague [pleɪɡ] – pestis
peasant revolt [ˈpesnt rɪˈvəʊlt] – paraszt felkelés
flood [flʌd] – árvíz
religious  [rɪˈlɪdʒəs] – vallásos, vallási
upheaval [ˌʌpˈhiːvəl] – felfordulás
to be destroyed [tə bi dɪˈstrɔɪd] – lerombolva lenni
almost [ˈɔːlməʊst] – majdnem
completely [kəmˈpliːtli] – teljesen
rapid [ˈræpɪd] – gyors
transit system [ˈtrænsɪt ˈsɪstəm] – tranzit rendszer
to handle [tə ˈhændəl] – kezelni valamit
sprawling [ˈsprɔːlɪŋ] – burjánzó
to survive [tə səˈvaɪv] – túlélni valamit
internal [ɪnˈtɜːnəl] – belső