‘How Napoleon made London the world capital of trade and finance’ – talk at Holborn Library

At this evening talk in Camden Local Studies and Archive Centre this month, Jerry White will explain how London was transformed by the French Revolution and the wars that followed it.

During this time, London remade itself on the ground, adding suburbs east, west, north and south. The area of present-day Camden was involved in this expansion: Camden Town, Somers Town, Bloomsbury, and to the east of Regent’s Park took shape at this time. It all amounted to a giant turning point in London’s history.

Speaker Jerry White is Emeritus Professor of Modern London History at Birkbeck, University of London, and the author of books about the capital from 1700 to the present day.

How Napoleon made London the world capital of trade and finance, by Jerry White, 7.30pm Thursday 24 September 2026 at Camden Local Studies and Archives Centre, 2nd Floor, Holborn Library, 32-38 Theobalds Road, London WC1X 8PA. Admission £2 (free to members of the Camden History Society). NN: the talk is preceded by the AGM of the Camden History Society so non-members are kindly requested to wait on the ground floor of the library until doors open in the archives centre at 7.30pm.

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