HISTORY OF WALES

There are many different theories about how Celts had found their way to the Isles, but for the sake of time, I’m not going to go in depth– just now there’s a lot of migration and mixing of different people groups.

The Welsh are primarily descended from pre-Celtic indigenous Britons and the Celtic tribes that had lived in the Isles since around 500 BCE: the Silures, Demetae, Ordovices, Deceangli, and Gangani being the main ones present in the area.

The Celtic tribes had been left to their own devices until about 43 CE, when Rome began its conquest of Britain. The conquest of Wales, however, did not begin until around 48 CE and was completed by around 78 CE. Roman rule in the region would last a little over 300 years.

It should be known that the Celtic Britons, the Ordovices and Silures specifically, didn’t go down without a fight and bravely attempted to defend their homelands against Roman invaders.

For the next few centuries, Wales was mostly used for its wealth of minerals (mostly gold, copper, and lead with some zinc and silver). There was little industrial production, but southeastern Wales did see Romanisation– while the rest of the region remained untouched, kind of.

By the mid-4th century CE, Roman presence in the region was little. As a result, raids had been performed by alien tribes throughout the island. Romans had reasserted control by 369 CE, but the province was later abandoned between the years 388-410 CE.

During this time of upheaval in the mid-4th century, Wales had also seen a great settlement of South Irish people in south and northeastern Wales. They were sometimes described as “raiders” and “invaders”, but their reasons for settling are generally unknown to history.

The mid-5th century saw the rise of Celtic Briton successor states from sub-Roman Britain and the Anglo-Saxon invasion of Britain. Wales was home to a few as well, as listed below.

The post-Roman period of Wales is also referred to as the “Age of the Saints”, as this is the period when Wales became largely Christian. Figures like St. David, Illtud, and Teilo (shown in order below) had also founded monastic settlements during this period.

St. David also later become the patron saint of Wales, and we celebrate him every year on March 1st! In fact, the flag of St. David is often used as an alternative flag for Wales and is very often seen at St. David’s day celebrations.

As time went on, Brythonic areas in Britain gradually disappeared as Anglo-Saxons began making their way across the isles. Fortunately, Anglo-Saxons were never able to make it deep into Wales, but it’s speculated they made it as far as Llanidloes, in modern Powys.

As a result, Wales had become the largest of the Brythonic areas left in Britain besides the Hen Ogledd and Cornwall from the 8th century onward.

During the Viking Age, Welsh kingdoms had been subjected to Danish raids, however, it was during this time that Wales had been united as one kingdom for the first time by Gruffydd ap Llywelyn, king of Gwynedd.

Unfortunately, this was short lived, and Llywelyn was defeated by Harold Godwinson and then killed by his men in 1063. Wales was then divided into its traditional kingdoms.

And then the damn Normans came knocking on Wales’s door in 1066. At this time, Bleddyn ap Cynfyn had ruled over Gwynned and Powys, so the Normans heavily targeted South Wales. However, Bleddyn’s murder in 1075 and the resulting civil war enabled the Normans to target the North.

A VERY prominent Welsh figure at this time was Gwenllian ferch Gruffydd. The princess consort of Deheubarth, she raised an army against the Normans, and then got executed by them. There’s too much to say about her but I recommend reading about her she was so cool </3

It was after this period did a sovereign Wales’s time begin to run short. The 1100’s saw the rise of Llewelyn, who ruled much of Wales, and the beginning of conflicts with England, which culminated in 1277 when the latter invaded Wales, completing the conquest in 1283.

Wales was essentially England’s first colony for the next two centuries, until the Glyndŵr Rising (the last major attempt at Welsh independence) promoted the Law in Wales Acts, which saw England fully annex Wales.

Over the next few centuries, Welsh culture became increasingly suppressed by the English. Examples of these include the “Welsh Not”, which was used to punish children for speaking Welsh. This happened alongside 19th century Anglo-Saxonism, which promoted English superiority

The Industrialization of Wales in the late 19th and early 20th centuries also led to a great migration of the English (and other groups) into South Wales as a result of the booming coal mining/ironworks industry. The 1900’s had also seen many Welsh revolts against the mainly

English business owners that had utilized the Welsh for hard labour in factories and coal mines throughout the country. These harsh conditions also saw a rise in socialism and religious Nonconformism in South Wales.

Eventually, industry had begun to decline in Wales and the economy kinda tanked. Luckily though, we got the Welsh Language Acts of 1967 and 1993 which put Welsh on equal footing with English, effectively repealing the Law of Wales Act passed centuries before.

And then later, in 1998, Wales was given its own National Assembly (devolution), and after over 700 years, Wales had some degree of self-governance. It only took the English long enough!!!

Okay damn obviously there’s more than that and I kinda rushed towards the end. I’m sorry but I don’t think people wanna read about the amount of infighting between Welsh kingdoms
But idk hopefully you liked it,
Cymru am byth