London is a city with a tremendous history. Attempts to learn from it might yield too many lessons for the unwary.
The Great Fire of 1666 was the biggest blaze London had ever seen. It started, famously, from a baker’s oven in a shop on Pudding Lane. Around midnight, some tinder placed near the oven caught on fire, and consumed the shop.
The fire ate everything in its path – taking the shop, street, waterfront and after four days, had destroyed all four-fifths of London. In a city with a memory as long as that of London, the fire ought to have served as a warning for urban planners.
But its official death toll painted a meek picture. According to official reports at the time, only six people had died, though 70,000 people lost their homes. For some, this was seen as a miracle, prompting the poet John Dryden to compose “Annus Mirabilis – The Year of Wonders, 1666.”
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