Give two reasons why the population of London expanded from the middle of the eighteenth century.

(i) The city of London acted as a powerful magnet for the migrant population. The city offered all kinds of jobs for people of different status and class. There were jobs for clerks, shopkeepers, skilled artisans, labour class and soldiers also. By 1750, one out of every nine people of England and Wales lived in London. So, the population of London kept expanding through the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

(ii) Apart from the London dockyard, five major types of industries employed a large population. They were clothing and footwear, wood and furniture, metals and engineering printing and stationery and precision products such as surgical instruments, watches and objects of precious metal. During the First World War, London also started manufacturing motor cars and electrical goods. This increased the number of large factories, which in turn increased the number of people coming to the city in search of work.