Listen to some historical facts of London during the 16th and 17th centuries
A narrative montage of historical facts about London during the 16th and 17th centuries.
Courtesy of Folger Shakespeare Library; CC-BY-SA 4.0 (A Britannica Publishing Partner)
Transcript
[MUSIC PLAYING] SPEAKER 1: All right, so--
SPEAKER 2: At the beginning of the 16th century, London was a small city of 50,000 people.
SPEAKER 3: Actually a much more ethnically mixed city than most of us imagine today.
SPEAKER 2: The English Reformation was motivated by Henry VIII's desire to divorce his first wife, Catherine of Aragon.
SPEAKER 1: The Blackfriars--
SPEAKER 2: Blackfriars was the headquarters of the Dominican Order in London.
SPEAKER 1: The divorce of Catherine from Henry VIII took place there.
SPEAKER 2: Yeah. OK. So--
SPEAKER 1: Probably the most single most important place to congregate in all of London was Saint Paul's.
SPEAKER 2: London's cathedral, Saint Paul's, was a landmark.
SPEAKER 4: Saint Paul's was hit by lightning in 1561. And the spire was destroyed.
SPEAKER 2: By that time, London was also immersed in these religious controversies.
SPEAKER 1: Religious folk saw that as the word of God about the stuff going on there.
SPEAKER 2: There is lots of theatrical activity in London. But it was dispersed.
SPEAKER 5: Then around 1570--
SPEAKER 2: All of this theatrical activity began to migrate to Southwark.
SPEAKER 5: When in 1599, the Globe Theater moved there. Then the South Bank really became one of the big centers of the London theater scene.
SPEAKER 3: All across London in all directions-- north, south, east, west-- black people are seen living, working.
SPEAKER 2: There were also lots of religious refugees.
SPEAKER 4: Elizabeth, unfortunately in 1596 and 1601, three times she tries to deport people of color from London.
SPEAKER 5: Other venues were also important. So the late 16th, early 17th century, you have boy actors--
SPEAKER 2: Schoolboys--
SPEAKER 5: --at buildings that were repurposed from religious uses most importantly, at the Blackfriars.
SPEAKER 1: You would go to the Blackfriars to watch the divorce of Catherine in the place where the divorce of Catherine took place.
SPEAKER 2: One the reasons religion was such a divisive factor in society is that religious power was concentrated with the political power.
SPEAKER 4: There was a great deal of preaching going on in the city of London in the reign of James I and Charles 1. So--
SPEAKER 2: There were always rumblings underground. And those rumblings really started to erupt into serious disagreements within the Church of England in the 1620s.
SPEAKER 4: There were 108 parishes within the square mile of the city of London.
SPEAKER 2: --had truly begun to infect the politics of England in the 1630s.
SPEAKER 3: And then--
SPEAKER 2: --the Civil War in the 1640s.
SPEAKER 4: The Puritans were in power in London as elsewhere.
SPEAKER 5: In 1642, the theaters were closed.
SPEAKER 2: --ended with the shocking execution of the King in 1649.
SPEAKER 6: In 1660--
SPEAKER 2: Charles II came back to England, assumed the throne of England, and that was known as the Restoration.
SPEAKER 6: The theaters were reopened in London.
SPEAKER 3: Sadly, the English slave trade has already begun.
SPEAKER 4: The great fire of London of 1666 saw the destruction of Saint Paul's cathedral.
SPEAKER 2: Really decimated the inner core of the city of London.
SPEAKER 4: Rebuilding took 20 years or so.
SPEAKER 2: By the end of the century--
SPEAKER 4: One of the great skylines of any city in Europe.
SPEAKER 3: In London's growth as a major European capital, black people have contributed importantly to the economic, cultural, and social life of the city.
SPEAKER 2: A major mart and metropolis and one of the chief cities of the world.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
SPEAKER 2: At the beginning of the 16th century, London was a small city of 50,000 people.
SPEAKER 3: Actually a much more ethnically mixed city than most of us imagine today.
SPEAKER 2: The English Reformation was motivated by Henry VIII's desire to divorce his first wife, Catherine of Aragon.
SPEAKER 1: The Blackfriars--
SPEAKER 2: Blackfriars was the headquarters of the Dominican Order in London.
SPEAKER 1: The divorce of Catherine from Henry VIII took place there.
SPEAKER 2: Yeah. OK. So--
SPEAKER 1: Probably the most single most important place to congregate in all of London was Saint Paul's.
SPEAKER 2: London's cathedral, Saint Paul's, was a landmark.
SPEAKER 4: Saint Paul's was hit by lightning in 1561. And the spire was destroyed.
SPEAKER 2: By that time, London was also immersed in these religious controversies.
SPEAKER 1: Religious folk saw that as the word of God about the stuff going on there.
SPEAKER 2: There is lots of theatrical activity in London. But it was dispersed.
SPEAKER 5: Then around 1570--
SPEAKER 2: All of this theatrical activity began to migrate to Southwark.
SPEAKER 5: When in 1599, the Globe Theater moved there. Then the South Bank really became one of the big centers of the London theater scene.
SPEAKER 3: All across London in all directions-- north, south, east, west-- black people are seen living, working.
SPEAKER 2: There were also lots of religious refugees.
SPEAKER 4: Elizabeth, unfortunately in 1596 and 1601, three times she tries to deport people of color from London.
SPEAKER 5: Other venues were also important. So the late 16th, early 17th century, you have boy actors--
SPEAKER 2: Schoolboys--
SPEAKER 5: --at buildings that were repurposed from religious uses most importantly, at the Blackfriars.
SPEAKER 1: You would go to the Blackfriars to watch the divorce of Catherine in the place where the divorce of Catherine took place.
SPEAKER 2: One the reasons religion was such a divisive factor in society is that religious power was concentrated with the political power.
SPEAKER 4: There was a great deal of preaching going on in the city of London in the reign of James I and Charles 1. So--
SPEAKER 2: There were always rumblings underground. And those rumblings really started to erupt into serious disagreements within the Church of England in the 1620s.
SPEAKER 4: There were 108 parishes within the square mile of the city of London.
SPEAKER 2: --had truly begun to infect the politics of England in the 1630s.
SPEAKER 3: And then--
SPEAKER 2: --the Civil War in the 1640s.
SPEAKER 4: The Puritans were in power in London as elsewhere.
SPEAKER 5: In 1642, the theaters were closed.
SPEAKER 2: --ended with the shocking execution of the King in 1649.
SPEAKER 6: In 1660--
SPEAKER 2: Charles II came back to England, assumed the throne of England, and that was known as the Restoration.
SPEAKER 6: The theaters were reopened in London.
SPEAKER 3: Sadly, the English slave trade has already begun.
SPEAKER 4: The great fire of London of 1666 saw the destruction of Saint Paul's cathedral.
SPEAKER 2: Really decimated the inner core of the city of London.
SPEAKER 4: Rebuilding took 20 years or so.
SPEAKER 2: By the end of the century--
SPEAKER 4: One of the great skylines of any city in Europe.
SPEAKER 3: In London's growth as a major European capital, black people have contributed importantly to the economic, cultural, and social life of the city.
SPEAKER 2: A major mart and metropolis and one of the chief cities of the world.
[MUSIC PLAYING]