London is in southeastern England on the River Thames about 50 miles upstream the North Sea. The Port of London has been vital to the city’s economy since the country’s Saxon era.

In 100 AD, the Romans then rebuilt a new city and made it capital of the province of Britannia. In the 2nd Century, about 60 thousand people lived there. Troubles in the Roman Empire led to decline in the city during the 3rd Century, and it was practically abandoned by the 400s.

In the 7th Century, a new Anglo-Saxon settlement called Lundenwic appeared in today’s Covent Garden. A working harbor existed at the mouth of the River Fleet until Vikings destroyed the city in 851 AD. Twenty years later, King Alfred the Great made peace and located the settlement at the site of the old Roman city, calling it. Shipbuilding was important during the reign of Alfred the Great.

Until the late 10th Century, the Port of London prospered as a political and international trading center. But the Vikings returned, and the Danish King Canute forced King Ethelred the Unready out of the city. King Canute ruled until he died in 1042. His son, Edward the Confessor, re-founded Westminster Abbey and its Palace, and the Anglo-Saxons took control of the biggest and richest city in England.

In 1066, William the Conquerer was crowned after winning the Battle of Hastings. Though Westminster was the royal residence and home to the English court throughout the Middle Ages, London was the rich center for trade. In the 12th Century, when the two cities grew together, London became the capital of England.

By 1300, almost 100 thousand people lived in the Port of London. But the Black Death eliminated about a third of its people. Britain defeated the Spanish Armada in 1588, bringing stability to England and allowing London to continue to grow. Henry VIII established the Royal Dockyards in the mid-1500s, and the city became England’s main naval shipbuilding yard. That industry still exists but in a much smaller way.

Scotland’s James VI ascended to the throne in 1603, but plague visited the city again. The Black Plague of 1665-1666 was punctuated by the Great Fire of London in 1666 that destroyed much of the city. It took over ten years to rebuild the Port of London.

From the early 19th Century, the Port of London was the world’s biggest city. A rail network drove expansion, and congestion led to the construction of the world’s first subway system, the London Underground in 1863.

During World War II, Germany’s Blitz (unrelenting bombing of England) killed tens of thousands of London residents and destroyed much property, leading to 30 years of reconstruction. After the war, immigration from countries in the Commonwealth changed the character of the city, making it one of Europe’s most diverse cities. In 1965, the city’s boundaries expanded to create today’s Greater London.

A self-financing public trust, the Port of London Authority (PLA), is responsible for safety of the Tidal Thames, promoting the River’s use, and protecting the environment.

In 1390, King Richard II passed the first laws authorizing import and export in English ships. The Tudor period brought new merchant activity to the Port of London. In 1576, London became the world’s leading trading port when Antwerp was destroyed.

Trade nearly doubled in the 18th Century, and new docks and warehouses were built to keep up with the increasing traffic. In 1805, the City Canal was opened, and the East India Dock was opened the next year. At the end of the 19th Century, the Port of London was in disrepair and was hard-pressed to cope with growing traffic. The Port of London Authority began operating in 1909 to help bring order to the Port’s chaos. Its first effort was creating a deep-water channel and a cargo jetty.

The first German bombs struck the Thames in November 1939, and over 350 planes attacked the river and docks in 1940. In late 1941, the heavy attacks ended, as most shipping traffic had been diverted to Clyde. Thames reconstruction was completed in 1950 and, in 1953, the Royal Victoria Dock was reconstructed. In 1957, Tilbury saw the construction of a new passenger terminal nearer the mouth of the River and the sea.

Today, the Port of London Authority is responsible for 95 miles of the Thames. It maintains river channels and provides a variety of shipping services. Today, the Port of London handles more than 50 million tons of cargo a year including forest and oil and petroleum products, sugar, cereals, edible oils and fats, fertilizers, chemicals, cement, metals, and containerized refuse.

The Port of Tilbury, which is considered part of the Port of London, is England’s third biggest container-handling port, handling more than 4 million tons a year. Other important facilities in the Port of London include the world’s biggest sugar cane refinery, an oil refinery with capacity of 10 million tons, and Ferry Terminals that take trucks and trailers to and from the European continent.

Today’s Port of London includes over 70 terminals and facilities and employs over 30 thousand people. London’s share of trade in England has dropped since the 1960s, largely due to decreased trade in coal. In 2005, it handled over 50 million tons of cargo. Today, the Port of London handles about 10% of England’s commercial shipping trade. You can find extensive information on the Port of London by visiting the PLA web site.