{"id":9488,"date":"2022-05-23T04:00:54","date_gmt":"2022-05-23T11:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/?p=9488"},"modified":"2022-05-23T09:00:04","modified_gmt":"2022-05-23T16:00:04","slug":"wales","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wales\/","title":{"rendered":"Wales"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction:<\/h2>\n

Wales is a\u00a0country<\/a>\u00a0that is part of the\u00a0United Kingdom<\/a>.<\/sup>\u00a0It is bordered by\u00a0England<\/a>\u00a0to the\u00a0east<\/a>, the\u00a0Irish Sea<\/a>\u00a0to the north and west, and the\u00a0Bristol Channel<\/a>\u00a0to the south. It had a population in 2011 of 3,063,456 and has a total area of 20,779\u00a0km2<\/sup>\u00a0(8,023\u00a0sq\u00a0mi). Wales has over 1,680 miles (2,700\u00a0km) of coastline and is largely mountainous with its higher peaks in the north and central areas, including\u00a0Snowdon<\/a>, its highest summit. The country lies within the\u00a0north temperate zone<\/a>\u00a0and has a changeable,\u00a0maritime climate<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Welsh national identity<\/a>\u00a0emerged among the\u00a0Britons<\/a>\u00a0after the\u00a0Roman withdrawal from Britain<\/a>\u00a0in the 5th century, and Wales is regarded as one of the modern\u00a0Celtic nations<\/a>.\u00a0Llywelyn ap Gruffudd<\/a>‘s death in 1282 marked the completion of\u00a0Edward I of England<\/a>‘s\u00a0conquest<\/a>\u00a0of Wales, though\u00a0Owain Glynd\u0175r<\/a>\u00a0briefly restored independence to Wales in the early 15th century. The whole of Wales was annexed by England and incorporated within the\u00a0English legal system<\/a>\u00a0under the\u00a0Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542<\/a>. Distinctive\u00a0Welsh politics<\/a>\u00a0developed in the 19th century.\u00a0Welsh Liberalism<\/a>, exemplified in the early 20th century by\u00a0David Lloyd George<\/a>, was displaced by the growth of\u00a0socialism<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0Labour Party<\/a>. Welsh national feeling grew over the century; a nationalist party,\u00a0Plaid Cymru<\/a><\/span>\u00a0was formed in 1925 and the\u00a0Welsh Language Society<\/a>\u00a0in 1962. Established under the\u00a0Government of Wales Act 1998<\/a>, the\u00a0Senedd<\/a><\/span>\u00a0(the Welsh Parliament, formerly known as the National Assembly for Wales) is responsible for a range of\u00a0devolved policy matters<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Wales on the Globe<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At the dawn of the\u00a0Industrial Revolution<\/a>, development of the\u00a0mining<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0metallurgical<\/a>\u00a0industries transformed the country from an agricultural society into an industrial nation; the\u00a0South Wales Coalfield<\/a>‘s exploitation caused a rapid expansion of Wales’ population. Two-thirds of the population live in\u00a0South Wales<\/a>, including\u00a0Cardiff<\/a>,\u00a0Swansea<\/a>,\u00a0Newport<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0nearby valleys<\/a>. Now that the country’s traditional extractive and heavy industries have gone or are in decline, the economy is based on the\u00a0public sector<\/a>, light and service industries, and\u00a0tourism<\/a>. In\u00a0livestock farming<\/a>, including\u00a0dairy farming<\/a>, Wales is a net exporter, contributing towards national\u00a0agricultural self-sufficiency<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Wales closely shares its political and social history with the rest of Great Britain, and a majority of the population in most areas speaks\u00a0English<\/a>\u00a0as a first language, but the country has retained a distinct\u00a0cultural identity<\/a>. Both\u00a0Welsh<\/a>\u00a0and English are official languages; over 560,000 Welsh-speakers live in Wales, and the language is spoken by a majority of the population in parts of the\u00a0north<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0west<\/a>. From the late 19th century onwards, Wales acquired its popular image as the “land of song”, in part due to the\u00a0eisteddfod<\/a><\/i>\u00a0tradition. At many international sporting events, such as the\u00a0FIFA World Cup<\/a>,\u00a0Rugby World Cup<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0Commonwealth Games<\/a>, Wales has its own national team. At the\u00a0Olympic Games<\/a>, Welsh athletes compete for the UK as part of a\u00a0Great Britain team<\/a>.\u00a0Rugby union<\/a>\u00a0is seen as a symbol of Welsh identity and an expression of national consciousness.<\/p>\n

History:<\/h2>\n

Prehistoric origins:<\/span><\/h3>\n
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Bryn Celli Ddu, a late Neolithic chambered tomb on Anglesey<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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Wales has been inhabited by <\/span>modern humans<\/a>\u00a0for at least 29,000 years.<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0Continuous human habitation dates from the end of the\u00a0<\/span>last ice age<\/a>, between 12,000 and 10,000\u00a0<\/span>years before present (BP)<\/a>, when\u00a0<\/span>Mesolithic<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>hunter-gatherers<\/a>\u00a0from\u00a0<\/span>central Europe<\/a>\u00a0began to migrate to Great Britain. At that time sea levels were much lower than today. Wales was free of\u00a0<\/span>glaciers<\/a>\u00a0by about 10,250\u00a0BP, the warmer climate allowing the area to become heavily wooded. The post-glacial rise in sea level separated Wales and Ireland, forming the\u00a0<\/span>Irish Sea<\/a>. By 8,000 BP the British Peninsula had become an island.<\/span>\u00a0By the beginning of the\u00a0<\/span>Neolithic<\/a>\u00a0(c.\u00a06,000\u00a0BP) sea levels in the\u00a0<\/span>Bristol Channel<\/a> were still about 33 feet (10 metres) lower than today.<\/span>\u00a0The historian\u00a0<\/span>John Davies<\/a>\u00a0theorised that the story of\u00a0<\/span>Cantre’r Gwaelod<\/a>‘s drowning and tales in the\u00a0<\/span>Mabinogion<\/a>, of the waters between Wales and Ireland being narrower and shallower, may be distant folk memories of this time.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Opening lines of one of the Mabinogi myths from the Red Book of Hergest (written pre-13c, incorporating pre-Roman myths of Celtic gods)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Neolithic colonists integrated with the indigenous people, gradually changing their lifestyles from a nomadic life of hunting and gathering, to become settled farmers about 6,000\u00a0BP \u2013 the\u00a0Neolithic Revolution<\/a>.\u00a0They cleared the forests to establish pasture and to cultivate the land, developed new technologies such as ceramics and textile production, and built\u00a0cromlechs<\/a>\u00a0such as\u00a0Pentre Ifan<\/a>,\u00a0Bryn Celli Ddu<\/a>, and\u00a0Parc Cwm long cairn<\/a>\u00a0between about 5,800\u00a0BP and 5,500\u00a0BP.<\/sup><\/sup>\u00a0Over the following centuries they assimilated immigrants and adopted ideas from\u00a0Bronze Age<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Iron Age<\/a>\u00a0Celtic<\/a>\u00a0cultures. Some historians, such as\u00a0John T. Koch<\/a>, consider Wales in the Late Bronze Age as part of\u00a0a maritime trading-networked culture<\/a>\u00a0that included other\u00a0Celtic nations<\/a>.<\/sup><\/sup><\/sup>\u00a0This “Atlantic-Celtic” view is opposed by others who hold that the Celtic languages derive their origins from the more easterly\u00a0Hallstatt culture<\/a>.<\/sup>\u00a0By the time of the\u00a0Roman invasion of Britain<\/a>\u00a0the area of modern Wales had been divided among the tribes of the\u00a0Deceangli<\/a>,\u00a0Ordovices<\/a>,\u00a0Cornovii<\/a>,\u00a0Demetae<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Silures<\/a> for centuries.<\/p>\n

Roman era:<\/span><\/h3>\n

The Roman conquest of Wales began in AD 48 and took 30 years to complete; the occupation lasted over 300 years. The campaigns of conquest were opposed by two native tribes: the\u00a0Silures<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0Ordovices<\/a>. Roman rule in Wales was a military occupation, save for the southern coastal region of\u00a0south Wales<\/a>, where there is a legacy of Romanisation.<\/sup>\u00a0The only town in Wales founded by the Romans,\u00a0Caerwent<\/a>, is in south east Wales.<\/sup>\u00a0Both Caerwent and\u00a0Carmarthen<\/a>, also in southern Wales, became Roman\u00a0civitates<\/a><\/i>.<\/sup>\u00a0Wales had a rich mineral wealth. The Romans used their\u00a0engineering<\/a>\u00a0technology<\/a>\u00a0to extract large amounts of\u00a0gold<\/a>,\u00a0copper<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0lead<\/a>, as well as lesser amounts of\u00a0zinc<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0silver<\/a>.<\/sup>\u00a0No significant industries were located in Wales in this time;<\/sup> this was largely a matter of circumstance as Wales had none of the necessary materials in suitable combination, and the forested, mountainous countryside was not amenable to industrialization. Latin became the official language of Wales, though the people continued to speak in\u00a0Brythonic<\/a>. While Romanization was far from complete, the upper classes came to consider themselves Roman, particularly after the ruling of 212<\/a>\u00a0that granted\u00a0Roman citizenship<\/a>\u00a0to all free men throughout the Empire.<\/sup>\u00a0Further Roman influence came through the spread of\u00a0Christianity<\/a>, which gained many followers when Christians were allowed to worship freely; state persecution ceased in the 4th\u00a0century, as a result of\u00a0Constantine I<\/a>\u00a0issuing an\u00a0edict of toleration<\/a> in 313.<\/p>\n

\"Roman.Wales.Forts.Fortlets.Roads.jpg\"<\/a><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Early historians, including the 6th-century cleric\u00a0Gildas<\/a>, have noted 383 as a significant point in Welsh history.<\/sup>\u00a0In that year, the Roman general\u00a0Magnus Maximus<\/a>, or Macsen Wledig, stripped Britain of troops to launch a successful bid for imperial power, continuing to rule Britain from\u00a0Gaul<\/a>\u00a0as emperor, and transferring power to local leaders.<\/sup><\/sup>\u00a0The earliest Welsh genealogies cite Maximus as the founder of several royal dynasties,<\/sup><\/sup>\u00a0and as the father of the Welsh Nation.<\/sup>\u00a0He is given as the ancestor of a Welsh king on the\u00a0Pillar of Eliseg<\/a>, erected nearly 500 years after he left Britain, and he figures in lists of the\u00a0Fifteen Tribes of Wales<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Post-Roman era:<\/span><\/h3>\n
The 400-year period following the collapse of Roman rule is the most difficult to interpret in the history of Wales.<\/sup>\u00a0After the\u00a0Roman departure<\/a>\u00a0in AD 410, much of the lowlands of Britain to the east and south-east was overrun by various\u00a0Germanic peoples<\/a>, commonly known as Anglo-Saxons. Some have theorized that the cultural dominance of the Anglo-Saxons was due to apartheid-like social conditions in which the Britons were at a disadvantage.<\/sup>\u00a0By AD 500 the land that would become Wales had divided into a number of kingdoms free from Anglo-Saxon rule.<\/sup>\u00a0The kingdoms of\u00a0Gwynedd<\/a>,\u00a0Powys<\/a>,\u00a0Dyfed and Seisyllwg<\/a>,\u00a0Morgannwg<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Gwent<\/a>\u00a0emerged as independent Welsh\u00a0successor states<\/a>.<\/sup>\u00a0Archaeological evidence, in the Low Countries and what was to become England, shows early Anglo-Saxon migration to Great Britain reversed between 500 and 550, which concurs with Frankish chronicles.<\/sup>\u00a0John Davies notes this as consistent with the\u00a0British<\/a>\u00a0victory at\u00a0Badon Hill<\/a>, attributed to\u00a0Arthur<\/a>\u00a0by\u00a0Nennius<\/a>.<\/div>\n
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Britain in AD 500: The areas shaded pink on the map were inhabited by the Britons, here labelled Welsh. The pale blue areas in the east were controlled by Germanic tribes, while the pale green areas to the north were inhabited by the Gaels and Picts.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Having lost much of what is now the\u00a0West Midlands<\/a>\u00a0to\u00a0Mercia<\/a>\u00a0in the 6th and early 7th centuries, a resurgent late-7th-century Powys checked Mercian advances.\u00a0Aethelbald of Mercia<\/a>, looking to defend recently acquired lands, had built\u00a0Wat’s Dyke<\/a>. According to Davies, this have been with the agreement of king\u00a0Elisedd ap Gwylog<\/a>\u00a0of Powys, as this boundary, extending north from the valley of the\u00a0River Severn<\/a>\u00a0to the Dee estuary, gave him\u00a0Oswestry<\/a>.<\/sup>\u00a0Another theory, after carbon dating placed the dyke’s existence 300 years earlier, is that it was built by the post-Roman rulers of\u00a0Wroxeter<\/a>.<\/sup>\u00a0King\u00a0Offa of Mercia<\/a>\u00a0seems to have continued this initiative when he created a larger earthwork, now known as\u00a0Offa’s Dyke<\/a>\u00a0(Clawdd Offa<\/i>). Davies wrote of\u00a0Cyril Fox<\/a>‘s study of Offa’s Dyke: “In the planning of it, there was a degree of consultation with the kings of Powys and Gwent. On the Long Mountain near Trelystan, the dyke veers to the east, leaving the fertile slopes in the hands of the Welsh; near\u00a0Rhiwabon<\/a>, it was designed to ensure that Cadell ap Brochwel retained possession of the Fortress of Penygadden.” And, for Gwent, Offa had the dyke built “on the eastern crest of the gorge, clearly with the intention of recognizing that the\u00a0River Wye<\/a>\u00a0and its traffic belonged to the kingdom of Gwent.”<\/sup> However, Fox’s interpretations of both the length and purpose of the Dyke have been questioned by more recent research.<\/p>\n

In 853, the\u00a0Vikings<\/a>\u00a0raided\u00a0Anglesey<\/a>, but in 856,\u00a0Rhodri Mawr<\/a>\u00a0defeated and killed their leader, Gorm.<\/sup>\u00a0The Britons of Wales made peace with the Vikings and\u00a0Anarawd ap Rhodri<\/a>\u00a0allied with the Norsemen occupying\u00a0Northumbria<\/a>\u00a0to conquer the north.<\/sup>\u00a0This alliance later broke down and Anarawd came to an agreement with\u00a0Alfred<\/a>, king of\u00a0Wessex<\/a>, with whom he fought against the west Welsh. According to\u00a0Annales Cambriae<\/a><\/i>, in 894, “Anarawd came with the Angles and laid waste\u00a0Ceredigion<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Ystrad Tywi<\/a>.”<\/p>\n

Medieval Wales:<\/span><\/h3>\n
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North Wales\u00a0Principalities, 1267\u201376<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The southern and eastern parts of Great Britain lost to English settlement became known in Welsh as\u00a0Lloegyr<\/a><\/i>\u00a0(Modern Welsh\u00a0Lloegr<\/i>), which may have referred to the kingdom of Mercia originally and which came to refer to England as a whole.<\/sup>\u00a0The Germanic tribes who now dominated these lands were invariably called\u00a0Saeson<\/i>, meaning “Saxons<\/a>“. The Anglo-Saxons called the Romano-British *Walha<\/a><\/i>, meaning ‘Romanised foreigner’ or ‘stranger’.<\/sup>\u00a0The Welsh continued to call themselves\u00a0Brythoniaid<\/i>\u00a0(Brythons or Britons) well into the\u00a0Middle Ages<\/a>, though the first written evidence of the use of\u00a0Cymru<\/i>\u00a0and\u00a0y Cymry<\/i>\u00a0is found in a praise poem to\u00a0Cadwallon ap Cadfan<\/a><\/span>\u00a0(Moliant Cadwallon<\/i>, by\u00a0Afan Ferddig<\/span>)\u00a0c.<\/abbr>\u2009633.<\/sup>\u00a0In\u00a0Armes Prydain<\/a><\/i>, believed to be written around 930\u2013942, the words\u00a0Cymry<\/i>\u00a0and\u00a0Cymro<\/i>\u00a0are used as often as 15 times.<\/sup>\u00a0However, from the Anglo-Saxon settlement onwards, the people gradually begin to adopt the name\u00a0Cymry<\/i>\u00a0over\u00a0Brythoniad<\/i>.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Hywel Dda enthroned<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

From 800 onwards, a series of dynastic marriages led to\u00a0Rhodri Mawr<\/a><\/span>‘s (r.<\/abbr>\u00a0844\u201377) inheritance of\u00a0Gwynedd<\/a><\/span>\u00a0and\u00a0Powys<\/a><\/span>. His sons founded the three dynasties of (Aberffraw<\/a><\/span>\u00a0for\u00a0Gwynedd<\/span>,\u00a0Dinefwr<\/a><\/span>\u00a0for\u00a0Deheubarth<\/a><\/span>\u00a0and\u00a0Mathrafal<\/a><\/span>\u00a0for\u00a0Powys<\/span>).\u00a0Rhodri<\/span>‘s grandson\u00a0Hywel Dda<\/a><\/span>\u00a0(r. 900\u201350) founded\u00a0Deheubarth<\/span>\u00a0out of his maternal and paternal inheritances of\u00a0Dyfed<\/a><\/span>\u00a0and\u00a0Seisyllwg<\/a><\/span>\u00a0in 930, ousted the\u00a0Aberffraw<\/a><\/span>\u00a0dynasty from\u00a0Gwynedd<\/span>\u00a0and\u00a0Powys<\/span>\u00a0and then codified\u00a0Welsh law<\/a>\u00a0in the 940s.<\/sup>\u00a0Maredudd ab Owain<\/a><\/span>\u00a0(r. 986\u201399) of\u00a0Deheubarth<\/span>, (Hywel<\/span>‘s grandson), temporarily ousted the\u00a0Aberffraw<\/span>\u00a0line from control of\u00a0Gwynedd<\/span>\u00a0and\u00a0Powys<\/span>.\u00a0Maredudd<\/span>‘s great-grandson (through his daughter Princess\u00a0Angharad<\/a><\/span>)\u00a0Gruffydd ap Llywelyn<\/a><\/span>\u00a0(r. 1039\u201363) conquered his cousins’ realms from his base in\u00a0Powys<\/span>, and extended his authority into England.\u00a0John Davies<\/a>\u00a0states that\u00a0Gruffydd<\/span>\u00a0was “the only Welsh king ever to rule over the entire territory of Wales… Thus, from about 1057 until his death in 1063, the whole of Wales recognised the kingship of\u00a0Gruffydd ap Llywelyn<\/span>. For about seven brief years, Wales was one, under one ruler, a feat with neither precedent nor successor.”<\/sup>\u00a0Owain Gwynedd<\/a>\u00a0(1100\u201370) of the Aberffraw line was the first Welsh ruler to use the title\u00a0princeps Wallensium<\/i>\u00a0(prince of the Welsh), a title of substance given his victory on the\u00a0Berwyn Mountains<\/a>, according to John Davies.<\/p>\n

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Statue of\u00a0Owain Glynd\u0175r\u00a0(c.\u20091354\u00a0or 1359 \u2013\u00a0c.\u20091416) at Cardiff City Hall<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Norman conquest<\/span><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Within four years of the\u00a0Battle of Hastings<\/a>\u00a0(1066), England had been\u00a0completely subjugated<\/a>\u00a0by the\u00a0Normans<\/a>.<\/sup>\u00a0William I of England<\/a>\u00a0established a series of lordships, allocated to his most powerful warriors, along the Welsh border, their boundaries fixed only to the east (where they met other feudal properties inside England).<\/sup>\u00a0Starting in the 1070s, these lords began conquering land in southern and eastern Wales, west of the\u00a0River Wye<\/a>. The frontier region, and any English-held lordships in Wales, became known as\u00a0Marchia Wallie<\/i>, the\u00a0Welsh Marches<\/a>, in which the\u00a0Marcher Lords<\/a>\u00a0were subject to neither\u00a0English<\/a>\u00a0nor\u00a0Welsh law<\/a>.<\/sup>\u00a0The extent of the March varied as the fortunes of the Marcher Lords and the Welsh princes ebbed and flowed.<\/sup><\/p>\n

Owain Gwynedd<\/span>‘s grandson\u00a0Llywelyn Fawr<\/a><\/span>\u00a0(the Great, 1173\u20131240), received the\u00a0fealty<\/a>\u00a0of other Welsh lords in 1216 at the council at\u00a0Aberdyfi<\/a><\/span>, becoming in effect the first\u00a0Prince of Wales<\/a>.<\/sup>\u00a0His grandson\u00a0Llywelyn ap Gruffudd<\/a><\/span>\u00a0secured the recognition of the title\u00a0Prince of Wales<\/a><\/i>\u00a0from\u00a0Henry III<\/a>\u00a0with the\u00a0Treaty of Montgomery<\/a>\u00a0in 1267.<\/sup>\u00a0Subsequent disputes, including the imprisonment of\u00a0Llywelyn<\/span>‘s wife\u00a0Eleanor<\/a>, culminated in the first invasion by\u00a0King Edward I of England<\/a>.<\/sup>\u00a0As a result of military defeat, the\u00a0Treaty of Aberconwy<\/a>\u00a0exacted\u00a0Llywelyn<\/span>‘s fealty to England in 1277.<\/sup>\u00a0Peace was short lived and, with the 1282\u00a0Edwardian conquest<\/a>, the rule of the Welsh princes permanently ended. With\u00a0Llywelyn<\/span>‘s death and his brother prince\u00a0Dafydd<\/a><\/span>‘s execution, the few remaining\u00a0Welsh lords<\/a>\u00a0did\u00a0homage<\/a>\u00a0to\u00a0Edward I<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Annexation to England<\/span><\/h3>\n

The\u00a0Statute of Rhuddlan<\/a>\u00a0in 1284 provided the constitutional basis for a post-conquest government of the\u00a0Principality of North Wales<\/a>\u00a0from 1284 until 1535\/36.<\/sup>\u00a0It defined Wales as “annexed and united” to the English Crown, separate from England but under the same monarch. The king ruled directly in two areas: the Statute divided the north and delegated administrative duties to the\u00a0Justice of Chester<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Justiciar of North Wales<\/a>, and further south in western Wales the King’s authority was delegated to the\u00a0Justiciar of South Wales<\/a>. The existing royal lordships of\u00a0Montgomery<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Builth<\/a><\/span>\u00a0remained unchanged.<\/sup>\u00a0To maintain his dominance, Edward constructed a series of castles:\u00a0Beaumaris<\/a>,\u00a0Caernarfon<\/a><\/span>,\u00a0Harlech<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Conwy<\/a><\/span>. His son, the future\u00a0Edward II<\/a>, was born at\u00a0Caernarfon<\/a><\/span>\u00a0in 1284.<\/sup>\u00a0He became the first English\u00a0Prince of Wales<\/a>\u00a0in 1301, which at the time provided an income from northwest Wales known as the\u00a0Principality of Wales<\/a>.<\/sup><\/p>\n

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Caernarfon Castle, birthplace of Edward II of England<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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After the failed revolt in 1294\u201395 of\u00a0Madog ap Llywelyn<\/a><\/span>\u00a0\u2013 who styled himself Prince of Wales in the\u00a0Penmachno Document<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 and the rising of\u00a0Llywelyn Bren<\/a><\/span>\u00a0(1316), the last uprising was led by\u00a0Owain Glynd\u0175r<\/a><\/span>, against\u00a0Henry IV of England<\/a>. In 1404,\u00a0Owain<\/span>\u00a0was reputedly crowned Prince of Wales in the presence of emissaries from France, Spain and Scotland.<\/sup>\u00a0Glynd\u0175r<\/span>\u00a0went on to hold parliamentary assemblies at several Welsh towns, including\u00a0Machynlleth<\/a><\/span>. The rebellion failed,\u00a0Owain<\/span>\u00a0went into hiding, and nothing was known of him after 1413.<\/sup>\u00a0Henry Tudor<\/a>\u00a0(born in Wales in 1457) seized the throne of England from\u00a0Richard III<\/a>\u00a0in 1485, uniting England and Wales under one royal house. The last remnants of Celtic-tradition\u00a0Welsh law<\/a>\u00a0were abolished and replaced by English law by the\u00a0Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542<\/a>\u00a0during the reign of Henry VII’s son,\u00a0Henry VIII<\/a>.<\/sup>\u00a0In the legal jurisdiction of\u00a0England and Wales<\/a>, Wales became unified with the kingdom of England; the “Principality of Wales<\/a>” began to refer to the whole country, though it remained a “principality” only in a ceremonial sense.<\/sup><\/sup> The Marcher Lordships were abolished, and Wales began electing members of the Westminster parliament.<\/p>\n

Industrial Wales:<\/span><\/h3>\n
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Dowlais Ironworks\u00a0(1840) by George Childs (1798\u20131875)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Prior to the British\u00a0Industrial Revolution<\/a>\u00a0there were small-scale industries scattered throughout Wales.<\/sup>\u00a0These ranged from those connected to agriculture, such as milling and the\u00a0manufacture of woollen textiles<\/a>, through to mining and quarrying.<\/sup>\u00a0Agriculture remained the dominant source of wealth.<\/sup>\u00a0The emerging industrial period saw the development of copper smelting in the\u00a0Swansea<\/a> area. With access to local coal deposits and a harbor that connected it with Cornwall’s copper mines in the south and the large copper deposits at\u00a0Parys Mountain<\/a> on Anglesey, Swansea developed into the world’s major center for non-ferrous metal smelting in the 19th century.<\/sup>\u00a0The second metal industry to expand in Wales was iron smelting, and iron manufacturing became prevalent in both the north and the south of the country.<\/sup>\u00a0In the north,\u00a0John Wilkinson<\/a>‘s Ironworks at\u00a0Bersham<\/a> was a major center, while in the south, at\u00a0Merthyr Tydfil<\/a>, the ironworks of\u00a0Dowlais<\/a>,\u00a0Cyfarthfa<\/a>, Plymouth and\u00a0Penydarren<\/a>\u00a0became the most significant hub of iron manufacture in Wales.<\/sup>\u00a0By the 1820s, south Wales produced 40 per cent of all Britain’s\u00a0pig iron<\/a>.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\"\"<\/a>
Penrhyn Slate Quarries, 1852<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n

In the late 18th century, <\/span>slate quarrying<\/a>\u00a0began to expand rapidly, most notably in north Wales. The\u00a0<\/span>Penrhyn Quarry<\/a>, opened in 1770 by\u00a0<\/span>Richard Pennant<\/a>, was employing 15,000 men by the late 19th century,<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0and along with\u00a0<\/span>Dinorwic Quarry<\/a>, it dominated the Welsh slate trade. Although slate quarrying has been described as “the most Welsh of Welsh industries”,<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0it is coal mining which became the industry synonymous with Wales and its people. Initially, coal seams were exploited to provide energy for local metal industries but, with the opening of canal systems and later the railways, Welsh coal mining saw an explosion in demand. As the\u00a0<\/span>South Wales coalfield<\/a>\u00a0was exploited, Cardiff, Swansea,\u00a0<\/span>Penarth<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>Barry<\/a> grew as world exporters of coal. By its height in 1913, Wales was producing almost 61 million tons of coal.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Modern Wales<\/span><\/h3>\n
\n
\"\"<\/a>
Battle at Mametz Wood by Christopher Williams (1918)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Historian\u00a0Kenneth Morgan<\/a>\u00a0described Wales on the eve of the\u00a0First World War<\/a>\u00a0as a “relatively placid, self-confident and successful nation”. The output from the coalfields continued to increase, with the Rhondda Valley recording a peak of 9.6\u00a0million tons of coal extracted in 1913.<\/sup>\u00a0The First World War (1914\u20131918) saw a total of 272,924 Welshmen under arms, representing 21.5 per cent of the male population. Of these, roughly 35,000 were killed,<\/sup>\u00a0with particularly heavy losses of\u00a0Welsh forces<\/a>\u00a0at\u00a0Mametz Wood<\/a>\u00a0on the Somme and the\u00a0Battle of Passchendaele<\/a>.<\/sup>\u00a0The first quarter of the 20th century also saw a shift in the political landscape of Wales. Since 1865, the\u00a0Liberal Party<\/a>\u00a0had held a parliamentary majority in Wales and, following the\u00a0general election of 1906<\/a>, only one non-Liberal Member of Parliament,\u00a0Keir Hardie<\/a>\u00a0of\u00a0Merthyr Tydfil<\/a>, represented a Welsh constituency at Westminster. Yet by 1906, industrial dissension and political militancy had begun to undermine Liberal consensus in the southern coalfields.<\/sup>\u00a0In 1916,\u00a0David Lloyd George<\/a>\u00a0became the first Welshman to become Prime Minister of Britain.<\/sup>\u00a0In December 1918, Lloyd George was re-elected at the head of a Conservative-dominated coalition government, and his poor handling of the 1919 coal miners’ strike was a key factor in destroying support for the Liberal party in south Wales.<\/sup>\u00a0The industrial workers of Wales began shifting towards the\u00a0Labour Party<\/a>. When in 1908 the\u00a0Miners’ Federation of Great Britain<\/a> became affiliated to the Labour Party, the four Labour candidates sponsored by miners were all elected as MPs. By 1922, half the Welsh seats at Westminster were held by Labour politicians\u2014the start of a Labour dominance of Welsh politics that continued into the 21st century.<\/p>\n

After economic growth in the first two decades of the 20th century, Wales’ staple industries endured a prolonged slump from the early 1920s to the late 1930s, leading to widespread unemployment and poverty.<\/sup>\u00a0For the first time in centuries, the population of Wales went into decline; unemployment reduced only with the production demands of the\u00a0Second World War<\/a>.<\/sup>\u00a0The war saw Welsh servicemen and women fight in all major theatres, with some 15,000 of them killed. Bombing raids brought high loss of life as the\u00a0German Air Force<\/a>\u00a0targeted the docks at\u00a0Swansea<\/a>,\u00a0Cardiff<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Pembroke<\/a>. After 1943, 10 per cent of Welsh conscripts aged 18 were sent to work in the coal mines, where there were labor shortages; they became known as Bevin Boys<\/a>.\u00a0Pacifist<\/a>\u00a0numbers during both World Wars were fairly low, especially in the Second World War, which was seen as a fight against\u00a0fascism<\/a>.<\/sup><\/p>\n

Plaid Cymru was formed in 1925, seeking greater autonomy or independence from the rest of the UK.<\/sup>\u00a0The term “England and Wales<\/a>” became common for describing the area to which English law applied, and in 1955 Cardiff was proclaimed as Wales’ capital.\u00a0Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg<\/a><\/i>\u00a0(The Welsh Language Society) was formed in 1962, in response to fears that the language might soon die out.<\/sup>\u00a0Nationalist sentiment grew following the flooding of the\u00a0Tryweryn valley<\/a>\u00a0in 1965 to create a reservoir to supply water to the English city of\u00a0Liverpool<\/a>.<\/sup>\u00a0Although 35 of the 36 Welsh MPs voted against the bill (one abstained), Parliament passed the bill and the village of\u00a0Capel Celyn<\/a>\u00a0was submerged, highlighting Wales’ powerlessness in her own affairs in the face of the numerical superiority of English MPs in Parliament.<\/sup>\u00a0Separatist groupings, such as the\u00a0Free Wales Army<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Mudiad Amddiffyn Cymru<\/a><\/i>\u00a0were formed, conducting campaigns from 1963.<\/sup>\u00a0Prior to the\u00a0investiture<\/a>\u00a0of\u00a0Charles<\/a>\u00a0in 1969, these groups were responsible for a number of bomb attacks on infrastructure.<\/sup><\/sup>\u00a0At a by-election in 1966,\u00a0Gwynfor Evans<\/a>\u00a0won the parliamentary seat of\u00a0Carmarthen<\/a>, Plaid Cymru’s first Parliamentary seat.<\/sup>\u00a0The next year, the\u00a0Wales and Berwick Act 1746<\/a> was repealed and a legal definition of Wales and of the boundary with England were established.<\/p>\n

By the end of the 1960s, the policy of bringing businesses into disadvantaged areas of Wales through financial incentives had proven very successful in diversifying the industrial economy.<\/sup>\u00a0This policy, begun in 1934, was enhanced by the construction of\u00a0industrial estates<\/a>\u00a0and improvements in transport communications,<\/sup>\u00a0most notably the\u00a0M4 motorway<\/a>\u00a0linking south Wales directly to London. It was believed that the foundations for stable economic growth had been firmly established in Wales during this period, but this was shown to be optimistic after the\u00a0recession of the early 1980s<\/a> saw the collapse of much of the manufacturing base that had been built over the preceding forty years.<\/p>\n

Devolution<\/span><\/h4>\n

In a\u00a0referendum<\/a>\u00a0in 1979, Wales voted against the creation of a Welsh assembly with an 80 per cent majority. In 1997, a\u00a0second referendum<\/a>\u00a0on the same issue secured a very narrow majority (50.3 per cent).<\/sup>\u00a0The\u00a0National Assembly for Wales<\/a>\u00a0(Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru<\/i>) was set up in 1999 (under the\u00a0Government of Wales Act 1998<\/a>) with the power to determine how Wales’ central government budget is spent and administered, although the UK Parliament reserved the right to set limits on its powers.<\/sup> The governments of the United Kingdom and of Wales almost invariably define Wales as a country.\u00a0The Welsh Government says: “Wales is not a Principality. Although we are joined with England by land, and we are part of Great Britain, Wales is a country in its own right.”<\/p>\n

Geography:<\/span><\/h2>\n
\n
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Snowdon, Gwynedd, the highest mountain in Wales<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Wales is a generally mountainous\u00a0country<\/a>\u00a0on the western side of central southern\u00a0Great Britain<\/a>.<\/sup>\u00a0It is about 170 miles (270\u00a0km) north\u2013south.<\/sup>\u00a0The oft-quoted ‘size of Wales<\/a>‘ is about 20,779\u00a0km2<\/sup>\u00a0(8,023\u00a0sq\u00a0mi).<\/sup>\u00a0Wales is bordered by England to the east and by sea in all other directions: the\u00a0Irish Sea<\/a>\u00a0to the north and west,\u00a0St George’s Channel<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0Celtic Sea<\/a>\u00a0to the southwest and the\u00a0Bristol Channel<\/a>\u00a0to the south.<\/sup><\/sup>\u00a0Wales has about 1,680 miles (2,700\u00a0km) of coastline (along the mean high water mark), including the mainland, Anglesey and Holyhead.<\/sup>\u00a0Over 50 islands<\/a>\u00a0lie off the Welsh mainland; the largest being\u00a0Anglesey<\/a>, in the north-west.<\/sup><\/p>\n

Much of Wales’ diverse landscape is mountainous, particularly in the north and central regions. The mountains were shaped during the last ice age, the\u00a0Devensian glaciation<\/a>. The highest mountains in Wales are in\u00a0Snowdonia<\/a>\u00a0(Eryri<\/i>), of which five are over 1,000\u00a0m (3,300\u00a0ft). The highest of these is\u00a0Snowdon<\/a>\u00a0(Yr Wyddfa<\/i>), at 1,085\u00a0m (3,560\u00a0ft).[141]<\/a><\/sup>[142]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0The 14 Welsh mountains, or 15 if including Garnedd Uchaf\u00a0\u2013 often discounted because of its low\u00a0topographic prominence<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 over 3,000 feet (910 metres) high are known collectively as the\u00a0Welsh 3000s<\/a>\u00a0and are located in a small area in the north-west.<\/sup>\u00a0The highest outside the 3000s is\u00a0Aran Fawddwy<\/a>, at 905 metres (2,969 feet), in the south of Snowdonia.<\/sup>\u00a0The\u00a0Brecon Beacons<\/a>\u00a0(Bannau Brycheiniog<\/i>) are in the south (highest point\u00a0Pen y Fan<\/a>, at 886 metres (2,907 feet)),<\/sup>\u00a0and are joined by the\u00a0Cambrian Mountains<\/a>\u00a0in\u00a0Mid Wales<\/a>\u00a0(highest point\u00a0Pumlumon<\/a>, at 752 metres (2,467 feet)).<\/p>\n

\n
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Relief map of Wales<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n

Economy:<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n

Over the last 250 years, Wales has been transformed from a\u00a0predominantly agricultural country<\/a>\u00a0to an industrial, and then to a\u00a0post-industrial economy<\/a>.\u00a0In the 1950s Wales’ GDP was twice as big as\u00a0Ireland<\/a>\u2019s; by the 2020s Ireland’s economy was four times that of Wales. Since the Second World War, the\u00a0service sector<\/a>\u00a0has come to account for the majority of jobs, a feature typifying most advanced economies.<\/sup> In 2018, according to OECD and Eurostat data,\u00a0gross domestic product<\/a>\u00a0(GDP) in Wales was \u00a375\u00a0billion, an increase of 3.3 per cent from 2017. GDP per head in Wales in 2018 was \u00a323,866, an increase of 2.9 per cent on 2017. This compares to Italy\u2019s GDP\/capita of \u00a325,000, Spain \u00a322,000 , Slovenia \u00a320,000 and New Zealand \u00a330,000.<\/sup><\/sup>\u00a0In the three months to December 2017, 72.7 per cent of working-age adults\u00a0were employed<\/a>, compared to 75.2 per cent across the UK as a whole.<\/sup>\u00a0For the 2018\u201319 fiscal year, the\u00a0Welsh fiscal deficit<\/a> accounts for 19.4 percent of Wales’ estimated GDP.<\/p>\n

In 2019 Wales was the world\u2019s 5th largest exporter of electricity (22.7 TWh).<\/sup><\/sup>\u00a0In 2021, the Welsh government said that more than half the country’s energy needs were being met by renewable sources, 2 percent of which was from 363\u00a0hydropower<\/a> projects.<\/p>\n

From the middle of the 19th century until the post-war era, the mining and export of coal was the dominant industry. At its peak of production in 1913, nearly 233,000 men and women were employed in the\u00a0south Wales coalfield<\/a>, mining 56 million tons of coal.<\/sup>\u00a0Cardiff was once the largest coal-exporting port in the world and, for a few years before the First World War, handled a greater tonnage of cargo than either London or Liverpool.<\/sup><\/sup>\u00a0In the 1920s, over 40 per cent of the male Welsh population worked in\u00a0heavy industry<\/a>.<\/sup>\u00a0According to\u00a0Phil Williams<\/a>, the\u00a0Great Depression<\/a>\u00a0“devastated Wales”, north and south, because of its “overwhelming dependence on coal and steel”.<\/sup>\u00a0From the mid-1970s, the Welsh economy faced massive restructuring with large numbers of jobs in heavy industry disappearing and being replaced eventually by new ones in\u00a0light industry<\/a>\u00a0and in services. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Wales was successful in attracting an above average share of\u00a0foreign direct investment<\/a>\u00a0in the UK.<\/sup> Much of the new industry was essentially of a “branch (or “screwdriver”) factory” type where a manufacturing plant or call center is in Wales but the most highly paid jobs in the company are elsewhere.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Poor-quality soil in much of Wales is unsuitable for crop-growing so\u00a0livestock<\/a>\u00a0farming has been the focus of farming. About 78 per cent of the land surface is harnessed for agriculture.<\/sup>\u00a0The Welsh landscape, with its three national parks and\u00a0Blue Flag beaches<\/a>, attracts\u00a0large numbers of tourists<\/a>, who bolster the economy of rural areas.\u00a0Wales like Northern Ireland has relatively few high\u00a0value-added<\/a> employment in sectors such as finance and research and development, attributable in part to a comparative lack of ‘economic mass’ (i.e. population) \u2013 Wales lacks a large metropolitan center.<\/sup>\u00a0The lack of high value-added employment is reflected in lower economic output per head relative to other regions of the UK \u2013 in 2002 it stood at 90 per cent of the EU25 average and around 80 per cent of the UK average.<\/sup>\u00a0In June 2008, Wales made history by becoming the first nation to be awarded\u00a0Fairtrade Status<\/a>.<\/p>\n

During 2020, and well into 2021, the restrictions and lockdowns necessitated by the\u00a0COVID-19 pandemic<\/a>\u00a0affected all sectors of the economy and “tourism and hospitality suffered notable losses from the pandemic” across the UK.<\/sup>\u00a0As of 6 April 2021, visitors from “red list” countries were still not allowed to enter unless they were UK residents. Restrictions will “likely be in place until the summer”, one report predicted, with June being the most likely time for tourism from other countries to begin a rebound.<\/sup> On 12 April 2021, many tourist facilities were still closed in Wales but non-essential travel between Wales and England was finally permitted. Wales also allowed non-essential retail stores to open.<\/p>\n

Transportation:<\/span><\/h2>\n
<\/div>\n
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\"\"<\/a>
The\u00a0Second Severn Crossing<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The\u00a0M4 motorway<\/a>\u00a0running from West London to South Wales links\u00a0Newport<\/a>,\u00a0Cardiff<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Swansea<\/a>. Responsibility for the section of the motorway within Wales, from the\u00a0Second Severn Crossing<\/a>\u00a0to\u00a0Pont Abraham<\/a>\u00a0services, sits with the Welsh Government.\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The\u00a0A55 expressway<\/a>\u00a0has a similar role along the north Wales coast, connecting\u00a0Holyhead<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Bangor<\/a>\u00a0with Wrexham and Flintshire. It also links to northwest England, principally\u00a0Chester<\/a>.<\/sup>\u00a0The main north-south Wales link is the\u00a0A470<\/a>, which runs from Cardiff to\u00a0Llandudno<\/a>.<\/sup>\u00a0The Welsh Government manages those parts of the British railway network within Wales, through the\u00a0Transport for Wales Rail<\/a>\u00a0train operating company.<\/sup>\u00a0The Cardiff region has its own\u00a0urban rail network<\/a>.\u00a0Beeching cuts<\/a>\u00a0in the 1960s mean that most of the remaining network is geared toward east-west travel connecting with the\u00a0Irish Sea<\/a>\u00a0ports for ferries to Ireland.<\/sup>\u00a0Services between north and south Wales operate through the English cities of\u00a0Chester<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Hereford<\/a>\u00a0and towns of\u00a0Shrewsbury<\/a>,\u00a0Oswestry<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Knighton<\/a>\u00a0along the\u00a0Welsh Marches Line<\/a>. Trains in Wales are mainly diesel-powered but the\u00a0South Wales Main Line<\/a>\u00a0branch of the\u00a0Great Western Main Line<\/a>\u00a0used by services from\u00a0London Paddington<\/a>\u00a0to Cardiff is\u00a0undergoing electrification<\/a>, although the program has experienced significant delays and costs-overruns.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Rail network of Wales; 2021<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Cardiff Airport<\/a>\u00a0is the international airport of Wales. Providing links to European, African and North American destinations, it is about 12 miles (19\u00a0km) southwest of\u00a0Cardiff city centre<\/a>, in the Vale of Glamorgan. Intra-Wales flights run between Anglesey (Valley) and Cardiff, operated since 2017 by\u00a0Eastern Airways<\/a>.<\/sup>\u00a0Other internal flights operate to northern England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.<\/sup>\u00a0Wales has four commercial\u00a0ferry<\/a>\u00a0ports. Regular ferry services to Ireland operate from\u00a0Holyhead<\/a>,\u00a0Pembroke Dock<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Fishguard<\/a>. The Swansea to\u00a0Cork<\/a>\u00a0service was cancelled in 2006, reinstated in March 2010, and withdrawn again in 2012.<\/p>\n

Flag of Wales:<\/h2>\n

The\u00a0Flag of Wales<\/b>\u00a0(Y Ddraig Goch<\/i>, meaning ‘the red dragon<\/a>‘) consists of a\u00a0red<\/a>\u00a0dragon<\/a>\u00a0passant<\/a>\u00a0on a\u00a0green<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0white<\/a>\u00a0field<\/a>. As with many\u00a0heraldic charges<\/a>, the exact representation of the dragon is not standardized and many renderings exist. The flag is not represented in the Union Flag<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Flag of Wales<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The flag incorporates the red dragon of\u00a0Cadwaladr<\/a><\/span>, King of\u00a0Gwynedd<\/a><\/span>, along with the\u00a0Tudor<\/a> colors of green and white. It was used by\u00a0Henry VII<\/a>\u00a0at the\u00a0Battle of Bosworth<\/a>\u00a0in 1485, after which it was carried in state to\u00a0St Paul’s Cathedral<\/a>. The red dragon was then included as a\u00a0supporter<\/a> of the Tudor royal arms to signify their Welsh descent. It was officially recognized as the Welsh national flag in 1959. Several cities include a dragon in their flag design, including Cardiff<\/a>, the Welsh capital.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0United Kingdom<\/a> would not recognize the flag’s official status until 1959, but the red dragon had been associated with\u00a0Wales<\/a>\u00a0for at least a thousand years.<\/p>\n

The green and white stripes of the flag were additions by the\u00a0House of Tudor<\/a>, the Welsh dynasty that held the\u00a0English throne<\/a> from 1485 to 1603. Green and white are also the colors of another\u00a0national emblem<\/a>\u00a0of Wales, the\u00a0leek<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Flag of Wales consists of a red dragon passant on a green and white field. As with many heraldic charges, the exact representation of the dragon is not standardized and many renderings exist. The flag is not represented in the Union Flag.<\/p>\n

The flag incorporates the red dragon of Cadwaladr, King of Gwynedd, along with the Tudor colors of green and white. It was used by Henry VII at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, after which it was carried in state to St Paul’s Cathedral. The red dragon was then included as a supporter of the Tudor royal arms to signify their Welsh descent. It was officially recognized as the Welsh national flag in 1959. Several cities include a dragon in their flag design, including Cardiff, the Welsh capital.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9693,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"default","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[66,59,26,5,6,7,18,60,13],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9488"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9488"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9488\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9688,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9488\/revisions\/9688"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9693"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9488"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9488"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9488"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}