The Great Fire of London

In the aftermath of the Bubonic plague, which had decimated the population and ruined the living conditions, the Great Fire of London struck the medieval city at the end of a dry summer in 1666. The fire started as an innocent blaze in a bakery, but due to lack of immediate response, turned into a giant inferno that raged for 3 days and ravaged London (Tinniswood 42). Despite the suspicions of the paranoid city dwellers, the official statement issued by the Parliament on the cause of the Fire was that “nothing hath yet been found to argue it to have been other than the hand of God upon us, a great wind, and the season so very dry” (Barker and Jackson 147). These unlucky happenings caused great economic, architectural, and social problems to arise after the massive destruction. The Great Fire of London, although terribly destructive to the city, allowed London to improve living conditions, beautify the city, and ameliorate their economy.
After the Fire was put out, the city had been almost completely demolished, was severely economically damaged, and faced heavy inflation, so the government sought immediate funds to help solve these problems. At least 65,000 were homeless after the Fire, and people from all over England sent relief funds to London for food and storage of people’s belongings (Barker and Jackson 146). To help out the people that lived in the city, other people sent money that would help the citizens live without houses for a short amount of time, but not enough to significantly help the city get back on its feet and move people back into houses. It was not enough to even come close to repair everything lost. An estimated amount of loss was £3.96 million worth of houses were burned, £2 million worth of public buildings and £2 million worth of goods, a total of almost £10 million or about 15 million dollars (Tinniswood 128). Even though the actual amount of loss can’t be determined, the amount of money needed to repair the city was colossal. Inflation