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The Celts had fled westwards under sustained invasions
from Romans, Vikings and Anglo-Saxons. The Anglo Saxon English kings had
not ruled Wales, and at the Norman invasion was a collection of small
kingdoms. It took the Normans some 200 years to gain control of the whole
of Wales. The 8 royal castles like Harlech (left) kept a lid on rebellion
in the meantime. The last major Welsh uprising was by Owain Glyndwr
between 1400 and 1408 |
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Finally the Act of Union in 1536 "incorporated, united and
annexed" Wales to England. Since then English law and government has rules
in Wales. A solution that appears to have satisfied most Welsh people.
Until the middle of the 18th century Wales remained a rural backwater.
Population was sparse, and the topography meant that farming was not a
viable proposition on any scale.Then the exploitation of coal and iron
brought the Industrial revolution to Wales |
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The need for labour in the south Wales coalfields brought
an influx of English into this area which brought about an erosion of the
Welsh language, though Welsh continued to be spoken extensively in North
Wales. Today the mining of Welsh coal has all but disappeared, but the
language continues to be spoken reasonably widely as a second
language. |
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| Wales has been governed from London via the
Welsh Office, under a cabinet minister. Following the referendum on
limited devolution in 1997, the Welsh were seen to be virtually equally
spilt on the subject, with the more rural "Welsh" areas being for
devolution, and the more industrial areas being against it. |
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