LONDON IN THE 18TH CENTURY

When considered with all its advantages, it is now what ancient Rome once was; the seat of liberty, the encourager of arts, and the administration of the whole world. So wrote the author of the unsigned article London in the 3rd edition (178897) of Encyclopdia Britannica. It is divided into 170 sections of varying length, among which are Its different names, Account of the great fire in 1666, London bridge, Horse guards, and Places of diversion, &c. The article's final sections (157170) attempt to quantify the magnitude of the metropolis, going so far as to project the amount and cost of weekly provisions for its inhabitants. The following text is presented in modern typography for ease in reading but otherwise retains the original spelling, capitalization, punctuation, and italicsincluding typographical errors. London in the 18th century The ennumerated subheadings (157, 158, etc.) are included in the margin of the printed article, but some rearrangement was necessary for their electronic reproduction. Subheading 165 Number of inhabitants is now placed in the midst of a sentence, while subheading 166 Weekly consumpt of provisions, which was originally located near the middle of the provisions list, is now at its beginning. See also the current Britannica article London. For a collection of similar historical documents, see BTW: London Classics.