Let’s rewind to around 43 AD. The Romans showed up, looked at the Thames, and thought, “Hey, this is a decent spot for a bridge and a bit of trade.” They called it Londinium. It wasn’t the capital then—that honor went to Colchester, which is like being the class valedictorian while the cool, chaotic kid in the back row is about to steal your spotlight. Londinium grew fast because it was a hub for money, gossip, and goods.
But then the Romans left in the 5th century, and everything went a bit bananas. The Saxons arrived, and London took a hard fall. It became semi-abandoned, like a shopping mall that loses its anchor store. For a while, the capital was wherever the king happened to be sleeping that night—usually Winchester, which was the polite, well-behaved capital you’d bring home to meet your mum.
The Viking Plot Twist
Enter the Vikings. They were like that unpredictable relative who shows up at Thanksgiving, trashes the living room, and then leaves a weirdly useful gift. The Viking invasions in the 9th century pushed King Alfred the Great to get clever. He didn’t officially make London the capital, but he rebuilt it as a stronghold. Alfred was the guy who said, “We’re not losing this pub; we’re adding a moat.”
By the 10th century, King Athelstan (Alfred’s grandson) started holding key meetings in London. It was like when your group chat starts moving from WhatsApp to Telegram because WhatsApp is glitching. Winchester was glitchy; London had better walls and a river that didn’t freeze over as much. The shift was subtle but real.
A General View of London, the Capital of England Taken From an Eminence
