The Government of London, 1500–1650

Abstract

During the sixteenth century London enjoyed considerable political stability, a reflection of a civic ideology which commanded a fair degree of support among the populace, a high degree of popular participation in local government, and a porous elite which continued to reflect the city's commercial interests. Although there were periodic clashes between the crown and the city, these never escalated into full-blown confrontations because of a basically symbiotic relationship between the two. However, religious tensions, which had been successfully contained in the sixteenth century, resurfaced under the early Stuarts and proved the key factor in the polarisation of city opinion in the events of 1640 to 1642. Another source of destabilisation was the growth of the suburbs which remained outside the jurisdiction of the aldermen. It is argued that the problems of the suburbs can be easily exaggerated but that the failure of the aldermen to show much interest in extending their authority into these new areas contributed to the fragmentation of metropolitan identity.