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3. London
3. 伦敦
Paris, Madrid, Amsterdam and Lisbon can all be considered good candidates for a spot on this list, but as far as the race for Empire building goes, London is the winner simply because English is the most widespread language of them all.
巴黎、马德里、阿姆斯特丹和里斯本本都是能上榜的城市，但是就“帝国”这一词而言，只有伦敦能配得上，原因很简单：英语是全世界传播最广的语言。
London was built by the Romans in 50 AD and bears a Celtic name derived from the word “Londinios” meaning “the place of the bold one.” The city had a rocky start, being invaded by the Celts and the Vikings on several occasions. It was abandoned a couple of times, but people managed to find their way back. By the 1800s the population grew to over 950,000.
伦敦是公元前50年罗马人建造的，名字来源于凯尔特词语“Londinios”，意思是“英勇人的家乡”。伦敦刚建立就命途多舛，多次被凯尔特人及维京海盗侵占，也被遗弃过数次，但最终还是重建了起来。并且其人口也在19世纪初增长到了95万多。
During the expansionist era France, Spain, England, Portugal and the Netherlands were no longer fighting for European territories, but over colonies. Each Empire had its successes and mishaps throughout the centuries, but with the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588 and with the French Revolution and later the Napoleonic Wars, England came out ahead. With the help of their colonies and their wealth, London reached a population of six million by the beginning of the 20th century. The influence it exerted on the whole world was enormous. By 1939, at the start of World War II, the population was 8.7 million. Only after the end of the war did the country relinquish most of its colonies and steadily slip from the number one spot in favor of New York City.
在扩张主义时期，法国、西班牙、英国、葡萄牙和荷兰停止了对欧洲领土的争夺，开始为殖民地而战。之后的几个世纪，各个帝国有过辉煌也有过衰败，但是在经历了大战西班牙无敌舰队（1588），法国大革命以及拿破仑战争之后，英国走到了前头。有了殖民地和财富，伦敦的人口也在20世纪初期达到了六百万。伦敦对整个世界的影响是巨大的。1939年，第二次世界大战开始时，伦敦的人口是八百七十万。在战争结束后，英国不得不放弃多数殖民地，伦敦最终也把“第一城”的宝座让给了纽约。
