About Wales

As mentioned in the introduction page, Cymru is Welsh for Wales. Wales is one of the countries that form the United Kingdom, the other countries are England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The Republic of Ireland is a separate country. Although English is spoken in all parts of the UK, Scotland, Ireland and Wales each have their own languages and cultural identities. Each country also has its own flag, the Welsh flag can be seen below and on the banner at the top of the page, it consists of a red dragon displayed on a green and white background. Over the years Wales has been associated with farming, coal mining, and steel works; however it has a rich history and today many people would associate Wales with tourism. View the Welsh National Anthem

Modern Wales

Wales has a strong identity. People are proud to be Welsh, and although use of the Welsh language has been in decline for many years, there are now an increasing number of people learning and speaking Welsh. Efforts have been made to raise people's awareness of their heritage, and various grants are available to aid in the protection and renovation of historic sites, buildings, and monuments, CADW is one organisation that works in this area.

There has been much change in Wales, people from other countries have moved here and Wales now has a culturally diverse population. The coalmines have been closed and the Welsh landscape once scarred by coal mining, and disfigured by large black slagheaps has been cleaned up.

Many jobs were lost in the coal and heavy manufacturing industries and unemployment rose. However road and rail networks have now been improved greatly and a lot of hard work has been done by organisations such as the Welsh Development Agency to attract businesses and new jobs to Wales. Today more jobs are available in the valleys, and the future is looking much brighter.

Wales' rich culture includes many historic sites of interest, a long tradition of Eisteddfods, a reputation for excelling in rugby (although we have not done this for some years!), and an active arts sector which includes the Welsh National Opera.

Tourism in Wales

Wales has something to offer everyone: sites of historic interest; churches and cathedrals; beautiful scenery; or for the more active there is walking, hiking, and climbing.

Wales has an abundance of castles, most of which are open to the public, they include Cardiff, Chepstow, Caerphilly, Flint, Rhuddlan, Aberystwyth, Raglan, Builth, Conwy, Caernarfon, Harlech, Cricieth, Beaumaris, Skenfrith, and Castel Coch.

Other historical sites include Iron Age Hill Forts; a Roman amphitheatre at Caerleon (in South Wales); the Big Pit mining museum in Blaenafon; and Offa's Dyke which is used as a walking/hiking route - Offa's Dyke was constructed approx. 784 AD and is a 240 kilometre long bank and ditch separating England from Wales,

One Welsh village is particularly famous due to its name: Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwrndrobwyllllantisiliogogogoch - in English this translates as 'The Church of Mary in a white hollow by a hazel tree near a rapid whirlpool by the church of St. Tisilio by a red cave'. The village, which is often referred to as Llanfair PG, is found near Anglesey. Although its railway station is now closed, many platform tickets used to be bought simply because they were a cheap novelty souvenir.

More attractions include: Oakwood Theme Park, the Cardiff Bay complex, Duffryn Gardens, Dan-Yr-Ogof caves, the Brecon Beacons, Snowdonia National Park, and eisteddfodau which include: the National Eisteddfod of Wales - this is held in a different venue in Wales each year during the first week in August, and the Llangollen International Eisteddfod, held on the banks of the River Dee in Clwyd each July.

Welsh History

A factor which undoubtedly affected Welsh history and Welsh society is its geography. The majority of Wales is over 600 feet in elevation - it is often joked that if Wales were flattened out it would be bigger than England. Welsh agriculture concentrated in river valleys and coastal lowlands which were the most highly populated areas, in other parts of Wales animal husbandry tended to prevail, e.g. sheepfarming.

Unlike English, which is descended from the Germanic group of languages, Welsh is descended from the Celtic group, and in particular the Brythonic family of languages. The Celts arrived in Britain in 500-100 BC bringing with them their language, and a new religion, that of the Druids. However Welsh does not appear to have been a written language until approx. 600 AD.

Over the following centuries Wales, along with the rest of Britain has been invaded by the Romans, and later by the Saxons and to a lesser extent, the Danes. The Welsh geography was a benefit here as resistance could be maintained simply by retreating to the safety of the mountains, to wait and launch another attack. The Saxon influence was strong in England (The Welsh call the English Sais, meaning Saxons), but in Wales the Celtic customs, language, and religion survived for many years, and even today the religions have not been totally forgotten.

There have been Welsh Kings and princes since at least 844. The current Prince of Wales is not a true Welsh prince as he is not descended from Welsh royalty, he only holds the title as the British monarchs son. At this time Wales was a relatively civilised country - an end was put to death by execution; theft (if for the sole purpose of staying alive) was pardoned; and illegitimate children were accorded rights.

The Normans invaded Wales in the 11th century and many of their castles still stand today. Wales was fully free of the Norman influence in the 12th century. It was about this time that an Eisteddfod was first mentioned - this is a traditional competition of music and poetry, for which chairs are awarded as prizes, although chairs tend only to be awarded at large eisteddfodau such as the National Eisteddfod of Wales which is held annually.

Edward 1st waged war against the Welsh around 1272 and many castles were built at this time, including Caernarfon, Harlech, and Beaumaris. When he became king (English king) he made his son "Prince of Wales" at Caernarfon Castle - this was the first non-Welsh "prince"! The Welsh rebelled against English rule and fighting between the two countries was still taking place as late as approx. 1400.

In 1588 the first Welsh bible was published, a cheaper version was published in 1630 and generations of Welsh children learned to read and write from it; additionally in the 17th and 18th centuries a great deal of Welsh literature was printed to preach the Gospel. The survival of the Welsh language can be attributed in part to these publications. In the 18th century Wales became one of the most literate counties in Europe due to the establishment of circulating schools, set up to teach people such as farm labourers to read the scriptures!

Industrialisation began in Wales in approx. 1760 with the production of iron and copper, this was followed by the development of the slate, coal, and woollen industries. By 1850 this had caused some of the South Wales valleys to be transformed from areas of beauty into squalid industrial areas. Wales has seen plenty of tragedies resulting from the mining industries, these include: a blast at a pit near Caerphilly in 1913 killing 439 men and boys; in Gresford in 1934 an explosion and fire killed 266 men; and in 1966 at Aberfan, near Merthyr Tydfil, a pile of slag (which is a waste product of the coal industry) became so waterlogged that it slid down the mountain and buried a small school killing 144 children and their teachers.

In 1839 the Chartist uprisings took place, this was a group of people wanting electoral reform. 5000 miners and labourers marched to Newport, in South Wales, to be met outside the Westgate Hotel by a volley of fire from the militia. The leaders were imprisoned, however in 1867 the Great Reform Act delivered much that the Chartists had been fighting for.

Rugby Union came to Wales in 1881, although strongly associated with Wales, this game was actually invented in England, when a student picked up a football and ran with it.

David Lloyd George was elected to parliament becoming Chancellor by 1908, he was influential in establishing social security (old age pensions), and National Insurance (a sickness and unemployment benefit). He later become Secretary for War (World War 1), and Prime Minister.

Wales was well know for its devotion to church, but in 1904 a religious revival started, this provided a boost for the Temperance movement, which was also strong in Wales.

Due to its hills, valleys and the resulting climate (quite a bit of rain) many of Wales' valleys were turned into reservoirs, this was usually done against the will of the local villagers who were forced to relocate elsewhere. One such valley was the Trywerin Valley which was drowned in 1957, another is Llandegfedd.

In order to produce this summary of Welsh history, the excellent information on britannia.com was used as reference material.

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