London and the 17th Century: The Making of the World’s Greatest City by Margarette Lincoln
London was already a significant city in the 17th century. However, it was still in a state of conflict. The rise of exploration and new industry was causes a great deal of change. Religious conflicts were rife at the time, and leadership oscillated between protestant and Catholic. Extreme conservative regimes gave way to loosening. The black plague created a huge shock to the system. Life expectancy was low and those that survived are likely to be pressed into service. The focus of a narrow geographic region for a century works fairly well in this book.
