Wales: History

Pre-20th-Century History

Wales has evidence of human habitation that stretches back nearly 200,000 years. The European Celts, who arrived just after 600 BC, brought the popular Welsh attributes of eloquence, warmth and imagination. The subsequent Roman presence has been mythologised as a period of benevolent rule, perhaps due to the comparative chaos of the ensuing period, when raiding Irish pirates and Scots (the Brythons) arrived. Elements of Christianity arrived in the 5th century from Ireland, and was most famously proselytised by a monk called Dewi (later Normanised into David, patron saint of Wales). This nascent Christianity was grafted onto the contumaciously held Celtic belief system, with its sacred wells, holy men and hermit saints.

The period from the 5th to the 11th centuries was coloured by Anglo-Saxon pressure and invasion, and it was also around this time that the Brythons began to call themselves Cymry , or fellow countrymen. King Arthur, that fount of legend, hope and inspiration, is thought to have led the Brythons against the Anglo-Saxons some time during the 8th century. More tangible, and dating from the same period, was the action of Offa, king of the neighbouring Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia. He constructed a dyke to mark the boundary between the Welsh and the Mercians. Today, Offa's Dyke has been tamed into one of the country's best long-distance walks.

Viking invasions in the 9th and 10th centuries served to unify the individual Welsh kingdoms that had developed. Ironically, just as the threat of invasion caused Wales to develop as a recognisable entity, it also caused it to fall further under the control of the English crown. In 927, the Welsh kings recognised Athelstan, the Anglo-Saxon king, as their protective overlord. During the next century, William the Conqueror took full advantage of this precedent, setting up powerful and incursive feudal barons along the Welsh border.

Attempts were made in the 13th century to secure Wales as an independent state, and the poignantly named Llywelyn the Last managed to get himself recognised as the first Prince of Wales by Henry III of England in 1267. The nation's untrammelled joy was brief, however, with Henry's warlike successor, Edward I, soon casting the net of fealty over his neighbour. The crowning insult came in 1302 when the title of Prince of Wales was given to the English monarch's eldest son. Edward's authority was made further evident by the construction of a number of massive castles and the assignment of English colonists to set up English-style boroughs and counties.

The last armed opposition to English rule came in 1400, when Owain Glyndŵr made a claim to the principality of Wales, as a descendant of the princes of northern Powys. His rebellion was crushed by Henry IV, whose imposition of severe punishments caused feelings to remain bitter for many years.

Wales lay slumbering until the 1730s, when it was woken and sullied by the Industrial Revolution, and stirred and given a new identity by rampant Nonconformist Methodism. Coal, copper, slate and tin production led to a phenomenally increased population, rapidly changing the country's make-up of fragmented rural communities to also include urbanised mining and industrial centres. The smoky cities were hotbeds of nonconformism, nationalism, trade unionism, liberalism and support for the Labour Party.

Modern History

Change was slow but inexorable: Plaid Cymru, the Welsh National Party, was formed in 1925; the Welsh language was made legally acceptable in 1942; Cardiff was made the official capital in 1955; a Welsh minister of state was appointed with cabinet rank in the British government in 1964; and today, Plaid Cymru holds several seats in the House of Commons. Welsh culture and language also prevailed; Wales got its own Welsh-language TV channel in 1982.

By the 1990s Wales was still adjusting to the collapse of its traditional coal and steel industries. Large-scale unemployment persists, despite diversification programmes. Wales left the decade with a Welsh National Assembly, a spurt of interest in Welsh arts (including rock music) and a renewed sense of purpose.

The Assembly got off to a shaky start. Alun Michael, First Secretary in the new Assembly, was quickly ousted by a vote of no confidence and was replaced by the widely popular and populist MP, Rhodri Morgan. Lacking the powers granted to the Scottish Parliament, the Assembly was always going to have a hard time convincing the world - and the Welsh - of its merit. Inane political debate, a lot of bad press and a farcical series of events over its new building didn't help the cause. Outside the political arena, though, Welsh pride flew high; Wales played host to the world's rugby elite in its sparkling Millennium Stadium, Welsh rock bands were conquering the world and the concept of 'Cool Cymru' swept through Britain.

Recent History

The Assembly has now settled down (some say too comfortably) in a quest for a new national identity. Despite a rising swell in Welsh confidence and optimism, there are some enormous issues to address: farming is in a state of disarray, the language is far from secure and the economy is nowhere near booming. The current Labour government's policies are certainly more Welsh-friendly than those of the Conservatives, but the likelihood of Wales emerging as a separate nation remains slim.

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