Welsh History and Culture

• Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom, bordered by the Irish Sea, England, the Bristol Channel, and the Celtic Sea, with a population of approximately 3.2 million as of 2021.
• With a total area of 21,218 square kilometres and over 2,700 kilometres of coastline, the country is largely mountainous, featuring peaks in the north and central areas, including Snowdon, its highest summit.
• The capital and largest city is Cardiff.

Welsh Culture and History

• After the Roman withdrawal in the 5th century, a distinct Welsh culture emerged among the Celtic Britons.
• Wales was briefly united under Gruffydd ap Llywelyn in 1055.
• The conquest of Wales by King Edward I of England was completed by 1283, following over 200 years of war.
• Owain Glyndŵr led the Welsh Revolt against English rule in the early 15th century, briefly re-establishing an independent Welsh state.
• In the 16th century, Wales was annexed by England and incorporated within the English legal system under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542.
• Distinctive Welsh politics developed in the 19th century, with Welsh Liberalism being displaced by socialism and the Labour Party.
• Welsh national feeling grew, leading to the formation of Plaid Cymru in 1925 and the Welsh Language Society in 1962.
• A governing system of Welsh devolution is employed, with the Senedd (Welsh Parliament) formed in 1998, responsible for devolved policy matters

Industrial Revolution and Economy

• The development of mining and metallurgical industries transformed the country from an agricultural society into an industrial one at the dawn of the Industrial Revolution.
• The South Wales Coalfield's exploitation caused a rapid expansion of Wales's population.
• Two-thirds of the population live in South Wales, including Cardiff, Swansea, Newport, and the nearby valleys.
• Since the decline of traditional extractive and heavy industries, the public sector, light and service industries, and tourism play major roles in its economy.
• Agriculture in Wales is largely livestock-based, making Wales a net exporter of animal produce, contributing towards national agricultural self-sufficiency.

Languages and Heritage

• Both Welsh and English are official languages.
• Welsh is the dominant language in parts of the north and west, with 538,300 speakers across the country.
• Wales has four UNESCO world heritage sites, three of which are in the north.

Etymology

• The English words "Wales" and "Welsh" derive from the Old English root Wealh, from Proto-Germanic *Walhaz.
• The modern Welsh name for themselves is Cymry, and Cymru is the Welsh name for Wales, derived from the Brythonic word combrogi, meaning "fellow-countrymen".

Early History

• The territory of Wales was settled from the end of the last ice age onwards.
• The Great Orme in North Wales became Britain's premier producer of copper during the bronze age.
• The island became distinctively Celtic in culture by the time of the Roman invasion.
• Following the departure of the Romans, Britain fractured into various kingdoms.

Medieval Wales

• Encroachment by Anglo-Saxon settlers displaced the indigenous culture and language of the Britons.
• One group of Britons became isolated by the geography of the western peninsula and were named Welsh by their English neighbours.
• Medieval Wales remained divided into separate kingdoms, with coastal Viking/Norse settlements and Saxons settled inland.

Welsh Kingdoms and Unification Attempts

• In the 10th century, Hywel ap Cadell formed the kingdom of Deheubarth and gained control of Gwynedd and Powys in 942.
• Hywel Dda codified Welsh law, a step in creating the nation.
• Gruffydd ap Llywelyn subdued all opposition by 1057, becoming the only king to unite all of Wales until his death in 1063.

Norman Invasions and English Conquest

• The Normans formed the semi-independent Norman Welsh marches after invading England, dividing them from the unconquered Pura Wallia.
• Llywelyn ab Iorwerth forced all other Welsh princes to submit to him in 1216.
• Llywelyn ap Gruffudd secured supremacy and was recognized as Prince of Wales by the English king, Henry III in the treaty of Montgomery of 1267.
• Relations broke down with Edward I, leading to a war of conquest concluding in 1283 with English victory.
• The statute of Rhuddlan in 1284 ended Welsh independence.
• Wales was divided between principality, ruled by Edward, and the marches and ruled by feudal marcher lords

Welsh Rebellions and Integration with England

• The Welsh rebellion under Owain Glyndŵr occurred from 1400–1415.
• The Laws in Wales Acts of Henry VIII made the Welsh full citizens in the Kingdom of England, with parliamentary representation.
• The Welsh border was formally defined and the territory reunited.

Industrial Revolution and Modern Wales

• The act of union in 1707 created the Kingdom of Great Britain.
• The industrial revolution led to the rapid increase in mining and exploitation of Welsh natural materials like metals, coal, and slate.
• Religious revivals transformed the character of the nation, beginning a tradition of non-conformism.
• Radical Welsh working class movements rose, leading to the Merthyr Rising of 1831.
• Since 1922, Wales has consistently voted Labour in general elections.

Cultural and Political Revival

• From the mid-19th century until 1914, Wales experienced a political, religious, and cultural revival.
• Interest in Welsh literature and the revival of eisteddfodau grew, along with a strong national identity.
• The Treachery of the Blue Books report blamed Welsh language and nonconformism for poor educational standards.
• Calls for devolution grew, and in 1998 the Government of Wales Act created a devolved Welsh assembly.

Government and Politics

• Wales is a country that is part of the sovereign state of the United Kingdom, officially recognized as a country since 2011, replacing the term 'principality'.
• There are 32 members of Parliament (MPs) who represent Welsh constituencies in the House of Commons.
• The Wales Office is a department of the UK government responsible for Wales, with the Secretary of State for Wales sitting in the UK cabinet.
• Wales has a devolved, unicameral legislature known as the Senedd (Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament) which holds devolved powers from the UK Parliament via a reserved powers model.
• For local government, Wales has been divided into 22 council areas since 1996, responsible for providing local government services.

Devolved Government

• The Government of Wales Act 1998 created the National Assembly for Wales.
• The Government of Wales Act 2006 reformed the National Assembly for Wales.
• Following a referendum in 2011, the National Assembly was empowered to make laws on devolved subject areas.
• In May 2020, the National Assembly was renamed "Senedd Cymru" or "the Welsh Parliament".
• Devolved areas of responsibility include agriculture, economic development, education, health, housing, local government, social services, tourism, transport and the Welsh language.

Law

• Welsh Law, codified by Hywel Dda, emphasized compensation for a crime to the victim.
• Welsh Law remained in force until the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284, except in the Marches where March law was imposed by the Marcher Lords.
• The Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542 applied English law to the whole of Wales.
• The Wales and Berwick Act 1746 provided that all laws that applied to England would automatically apply to Wales

Legal System

• English law is a common law system with binding legal precedents.
• The court system is headed by the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom.
• The Senior Courts of England and Wales is the highest court of first instance and an appellate court.
• Wales became a legal unit in its own right in 2007, remaining part of the single jurisdiction of England and Wales.

Legislative Authority

• The Senedd can draft and approve laws outside of the UK Parliamentary system for Wales.
• The Welsh Government can enact more specific subordinate legislation through this primary legislation.
• Wales is served by four regional police forces and has five prisons, with female inmates imprisoned in England

Geography

• Wales is a mountainous country on the western side of central southern Great Britain, about 170 miles north to south.
• It is bordered by England to the east and by sea in all other directions
• It has about 1,680 miles of coastline, including the mainland, Anglesey and Holyhead.
• Over 50 islands lie off the Welsh mainland, the largest being Anglesey, in the north-west.
• The highest mountains in Wales are in Snowdonia (Eryri), with Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa) being the highest at 1,085 m.

National Parks and Natural Beauty

• Wales has three national parks: Snowdonia, Brecon Beacons, and Pembrokeshire Coast.
• It has five Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty: Anglesey, the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley, the Gower Peninsula, the Llŷn Peninsula, and the Wye Valley.
• The Gower Peninsula was the first area in the United Kingdom to be designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, in 1956.

Coastal Features

• As of 2019, the coastline of Wales had 40 Blue Flag beaches, three Blue Flag marinas and one Blue Flag boat operator.
• The south and west coasts of Wales are frequently blasted by Atlantic westerlies and are notorious for shipwrecks.

Geological History

• The Cambrian geological period takes its name from the Cambrian Mountains.
• Roderick Murchison and Adam Sedgwick used Welsh geology to establish principles of stratigraphy and palaeontology in the mid-19th century.
• The Ordovician and Silurian periods were named after ancient Celtic tribes from this area

Climate

• Wales lies within the north temperate zone.
• It has a changeable, maritime climate and is one of the wettest countries in Europe.
• Welsh weather is often cloudy, wet and windy, with warm summers and mild winters.

Climate Records

• Highest maximum temperature: 37.1 °C at Hawarden, Flintshire on 18 July 2022.
• Lowest minimum temperature: −23.3 °C at Rhayader, Radnorshire on 21 January 1940.
• Wettest spot: Crib Goch in Snowdonia, Gwynedd averages 4,473 millimetres of rain a year.

Flora and Fauna

• Wales has wildlife typical of Britain with distinctions due to its long coastline and upland habitats.
• The coasts host a variety of seabirds like gannets, Manx shearwater, and puffins.
• Upland-habitat birds include raven and ring ouzel, while birds of prey include the merlin, hen harrier, and red kite.
• Larger mammals like brown bears and wolves died out during the Norman period.
• The pine marten has been reintroduced in parts of Wales since 2015.
• Feral goats can be found in Snowdonia.

Wildlife Initiatives

• In March 2021, Natural Resources Wales (NRW) granted a licence to release up to six beavers in the Dyfi Valley.
• Some 2,500 disused coal tips are being studied for their rare land invertebrates and other wildlife.
• The waters of south-west Wales attract marine animals like basking sharks, Atlantic grey seals, and dolphins.

Economy

• Wales has transformed from an agricultural country to an industrial and then post-industrial economy over the last 250 years
• Service sector jobs now make up the majority of the jobs, typical of most advanced economies

Economic Output

• In 2018, the gross domestic product (GDP) in Wales was £75 billion, an increase of 3.3 per cent from 2017.
• GPD per head was £23,866, an increase of 2.9 per cent on 2017.
• For the 2018-19 fiscal year, the Welsh fiscal deficit accounts for 19.4 per cent of Wales's estimated GDP.
• In 2019, Wales was a net exporter of electricity.

Key Industries

• From the mid-19th century until the post-war era, the mining and export of coal was the dominant industry.
• Cardiff was once the largest coal-exporting port in the world.
• Poor-quality soil in much of Wales makes livestock farming the focus of agriculture.
• With its three national parks and Blue Flag beaches, the Welsh landscape attracts large numbers of tourists, who bolster the economy of rural areas.

Currency and Banking

• The pound sterling is the currency used in Wales.
• Numerous Welsh banks issued their own banknotes in the 19th century.
• The Royal Mint has been based at a single site in Llantrisant since 1980.

Roads

• The M4 motorway links West London to South Wales.
• The A55 expressway connects Holyhead and Bangor with Wrexham and Flintshire.
• The main north-south Wales link is the A470, which runs from Cardiff to Llandudno.

Rail Transport

• Rail transport in Wales includes the Wales & Borders franchise, with passenger services operated by Transport for Wales Rail.
• The Cardiff region has its own urban rail network.

Air and Ferries

• Cardiff Airport is the international airport of Wales.
• Wales has four commercial ferry ports with regular services to Ireland operating from Holyhead, Pembroke Dock and Fishguard.

Education System

• A distinct education system has developed in Wales.
• The first grammar schools were established in Welsh towns like Ruthin, Brecon, and Cowbridge.
• Welsh is a compulsory subject in all of Wales's state schools for pupils aged 5–16 years old.
• Welsh-medium higher education is delivered through the individual universities, supported by the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol.

Health and Social Care

• Public healthcare in Wales is provided by NHS Wales (GIG Cymru), through seven local health boards and three all-Wales trusts.
• Responsibility for NHS Wales passed to the Welsh Assembly under devolution in 1999.
• NHS Wales directly employs over 90,000 staff, making it Wales's biggest employer.

Population History

• The population of Wales doubled from 587,000 in 1801 to 1,163,000 in 1851.
• The population in 1972 stood at 2.74 million and remained broadly static for the rest of the decade.
• The resident population of Wales in 2021 was 3,107,500.

Urban Centers

• Wales has seven cities: Cardiff, Newport, Swansea, Wrexham, Bangor, St Asaph and St Davids.
• Wrexham became Wales's newest and seventh city in September 2022.

Language Statistics

• According to the 2021 census, the Welsh-speaking population of Wales aged three or older was 17.8 per cent (538,300 people).
• English is spoken by almost all people in Wales and is the main language in most of the country.

Religion

• Forms of Christianity have dominated religious life in what is now Wales for more than 1,400 years.
• The 2021 census recorded that 46.5 per cent had "No religion".
• The largest religion in Wales is Christianity, with 43.6 per cent of the population describing themselves as Christian in the 2021 census.
• Islam is the largest non-Christian religion, reported at 0.8 per cent in the 2011 census.

Ethnicity

• 93.8 percent of the population identified as White in the 2021 census compared to 95.6 per cent in 2011.
• 90.6 percent identified as "White: Welsh, English, Scottish, Northern Irish or British" in 2021
• The second-highest ethnicity in 2021 was "Asian, Asian Welsh or Asian British" at 2.9 percent.

National Identity

• The 2021 census showed that 63.3 percent identified as Welsh.
• Welsh is regarded as a modern Celtic nation, with Welsh artists regularly appearing at Celtic festivals.

Mythology

• Remnants of native Celtic mythology of the pre-Christian Britons was passed down orally by the cynfeirdd (the early poets).
• Surviving materials come from medieval Welsh manuscripts like the Black Book of Carmarthen and the Book of Aneirin.

Literature

• Wales has one of the oldest unbroken literary traditions in Europe going back to the sixth century.
• The earliest body of Welsh verse is by poets Taliesin and Aneirin.
• Lady Charlotte Guest translated the Mabinogion into English.

Museums and Libraries

• Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales was founded in 1907 and operates at seven sites, with free entry to all.
• The National Library of Wales, based in Aberystwyth, houses collections of printed works, art collections, and Ordnance Survey maps.

Visual Arts

• Celtic art has been found in Wales.
• Richard Wilson (1714–1782) is arguably the first major British landscapist
• The sculptor Sir William Goscombe John made works for Welsh commissions, although he had settled in London.

National Symbols

• The red dragon (Y Ddraig Goch) is the principal symbol of national identity and pride
• Owain Glyndŵr Day is celebrated on 16 September in Wales.
• On 1 March, Welsh people celebrate Saint David's Day
• "Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau" (Land of My Fathers) is the de facto national anthem of Wales

Sport

• More than 50 national governing bodies regulate & organise their sports in Wales.
• Wales is represented at major world sporting events such as the FIFA World Cup, Rugby World Cup and the Commonwealth Games.
• Although football has traditionally been the more popular sport in North Wales, rugby union is seen as a symbol of Welsh identity
• Wales has had its own football league, the Welsh Premier League, since 1992

Media

• Wales became the UK's first digital television nation in 2010.
• BBC Cymru Wales is the national broadcaster, producing television and radio programmes in Welsh and English.
• The Western Mail is Wales's only print national daily newspaper.

Cuisine

• Traditional Welsh dishes include laverbread, bara brith, cawl, and Welsh cakes.
• Chicken tikka masala is the country's favorite dish

Performing Arts

• Wales, "the land of song", is notable for its solo artists, its male voice choirs and its harpists.
• The annual National Eisteddfod is the country's main performance festival.
• The Llangollen International Eisteddfod provides an opportunity for the singers and musicians of the world to perform.
• Traditional instruments of Wales include the telyn deires (triple harp), fiddle, crwth (bowed lyre) and the pibgorn (hornpipe)