19th Century London...

Victorian London

London became a magnet for immigrants from colonies and poorer parts of Europe, it was transformed into the worlds largest city and capital of the British Empire during the 19th Century. With its population expansion to 6.7 million within this period London became a global political, financial and trading capital. Throughout this position it was unrivalled until the following part of the century, when Paris and New York began to threaten its dominance.  

Although the city advanced with wealth in the 19th century it was also a city of poverty; millions lived in overcrowded and unsanitary slums. However Charles Dickens made the life of the poor famous in such novels as Oliver Twist.