Taffnet - Cymru

The following articles and maps have been reproduced from the Microsoft Encarta '95 CD Encyclopedia.

Overview

Wales, part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, forming administratively a part of England and occupying a broad peninsula on the western side of the island of Great Britain. Wales also includes the island of Anglesey, which is separated from the mainland by the narrow Menai Strait. Wales is bounded on the north by the Irish Sea; on the east by the English counties of Cheshire, Shropshire, Hereford and Worcester, and Gloucester; on the south by Bristol Channel; and on the west by Saint George's Channel and Cardigan Bay. The maximum north-south extent of the Welsh mainland is about 220 km (about 137 mi); in an east-west direction the distance varies between 60 and 155 km (36 and 96 mi). The total area of Wales is 20,768 sq km (8019 sq mi). Cardiff is the capital, principal seaport, and shipbuilding center.

Land and Resources

Wales has an irregular coastline with many bays, the largest of which is Cardigan Bay. Except for narrow, low-lying coastal regions, mainly in the south and west, Wales is almost entirely mountainous. The principal range is the Cambrian Mountains, which extend north and south through central Wales. Other major highland areas are the Brecon Beacons in the southeast and the Snowdon massif, in the northwest, which reaches an elevation of 1085 m (3560 ft), the greatest in England and Wales. The Dee River, which rises in Bala Lake, the largest natural lake in Wales, and flows through northern Wales and England, is the principal river. In the south numerous rivers flow through steep valleys, including the Usk, Wye, Teifi, and Towy.

Plants and Animals

Most plant and animal life is similar to that of England. Wales has abundant ferns and mosses in low-lying, wet areas. Grasslands predominate at higher elevations. Some wooded areas, including stands of mountain ash, oak, and various coniferous species, are found in the mountains at elevations up to 305 m (1000 ft). At higher elevations chiefly small shrubs, coarse grasses, and alpine flora subsist. Among the few animals found in Wales but not in England are the pine marten and the polecat.

Climate

The climate of Wales, like that of England, is mild and moist. The average daily temperature in July is 15.6° C (60° F), and in January it is 5.6° C (42° F). Annual rainfall varies with elevation, ranging from about 762 mm (about 30 in) in certain coastal regions to more than 2540 mm (more than 100 in) in the Snowdon massif.

Natural Resources

Coal is the most valuable mineral resource of Wales; deposits are located mainly in the south. Falling demand for coal since the 1940s has resulted in the closure of many Welsh mines. Some high-grade anthracite is found, but output consists principally of bituminous coal. Slate and limestone are also commercially important, and limited amounts of manganese, gold, lead, uranium, copper, zinc, and fireclays are also found. Much of the soil of Wales is of infertile rocky or leached types. The most fertile soils are in the southeast and in a few coastal areas. Much of the electricity generated by the country's large waterpower resources is exported to England.

Population

The people of Wales, like those of Great Britain in general, are descendants of various stocks, including Celts, Scandinavians, and Romans.

According to preliminary 1991 census data, the population of Wales was 2,798,200. The population density was approximately 135 people per sq km (348 per sq mi). About three-quarters of the population is concentrated in the mining centers in the south.

Principal Cities

The major cities of Wales are Cardiff (population, 1991 preliminary, 272,600), the capital, principal seaport, and shipbuilding center; Swansea (182,100), a seaport and center of the tin-plate industry; Newport (129,900), an industrial center; and Rhondda (76,300), a center of the Welsh coal-mining region.

Political Divisions

Local government in Wales was reorganized in 1974, when the former counties and boroughs were abolished and replaced by eight new counties. The counties are divided into a total of 37 districts, which are further divided into communities. Administration at all three local levels is the function of popularly elected councils. The new and the former counties of Wales, all of which are described in separate articles, are listed in the accompanying table.

It was changed again recently, and reverted to the original counties.

Religion

The Church of England was the established church of Wales and England until 1920, when it was disestablished in Wales. The Welsh branch of the Church of England is the faith of about 110,000 Welsh. The next largest religious body, with about 72,800 adherents, is the Calvinistic Methodist church, known as the Presbyterian Church of Wales.

Language

Both English and Welsh are official languages. English is spoken by most of the population. A small percentage of the people speak Welsh only; more than one-quarter of the population speak both Welsh and English. As part of an effort to preserve Welsh culture, the government supports Welsh language books, plays, and other artworks.

Education

The educational system of Wales is similar to that of England. In 1970 education was made bilingual, and in some districts instruction is given in Welsh, and English is taught as a second language.

The principal institution of higher education is the University of Wales (1893). The university is composed of the University College of Wales in Aberystwyth, the University College of North Wales in Bangor, University College in Cardiff, Saint David's University College in Lampeter, the University College of Swansea, the University of Wales College of Medicine in Cardiff, and the University of Wales Institute of Science and Technology in Cardiff. In the mid-1980s the University of Wales had an annual enrollment of about 19,500 students.

Culture

Somewhat isolated by a rugged, mountainous terrain, the Welsh have retained more of the culture of their Celtic forebears than have either the Scots or the English. A strong feeling of national solidarity exists in Wales, and a nationalist revival has received some political support, to the point that representatives of the Welsh Nationalist party serve in the House of Commons in London.

The Welsh are well known for their love of singing, and their hymns and folk songs are widely known throughout the world. Music plays a large part in the annual festival, the Royal National Eisteddfod, at which poetry reading and Welsh folk arts are also featured. The Eisteddfod is held each year in a different locality, and Welsh natives and those of Welsh descent from all over the world attend. The International Music Eisteddfod is also held annually in Llangollen.

Cultural Institutions

Principal libraries include the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth, and the Library of the National Museum of Wales in Cardiff. Some major museums are the National Museum in Cardiff, the Museum of Welsh Antiquities of the University College of North Wales in Bangor, and the Welsh Folk Museum in Saint Fagans. Notable performing companies are the Welsh National Opera Company and the Welsh Theatre Company.

Art and Music

Wales has had few famous painters, but Richard Wilson and Augustus John are world-famous Welsh artists.

Until recent years conditions and opportunities for musical composition, in the modern sense, did not exist in Wales. The long and rich folk tradition, however, has been maintained throughout the rural districts especially, and, since 1906, the Welsh Folk Song Society has done valuable work in collecting and publishing this material. Choral singing, stemming from the religious revival of the late 18th century, is an extremely popular and characteristic part of Welsh musical life. Traditional instruments, especially the harp, are still played. Local and national music festivals play an important role in the cultural life of the region.

Economy

Mining is a chief economic activity of Wales and one of the largest single sources of employment. The economy is largely integrated into that of Great Britain.

Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing

In general the raising of livestock, mainly beef and dairy cattle and sheep, is more important than crop cultivation. Crops include barley, oats, potatoes, and hay. Less than 10 percent of the land is under cultivation, and about 40 percent is in grazing land. Forests cover only about 4 percent of the land, but government reforestation programs are gradually increasing the area. The fishing industry is concentrated along the Bristol Channel.

Mining

Coal is the most valuable mineral resource of Wales. The main coalfield is in the southeastern counties. The mines of Wales produce about 10 percent of the total coal output of Great Britain. Limestone and slate are also produced.

Manufacturing

The refining of metal ore, much of which is imported, is the major manufacturing industry. Almost all the tin plate and much of the aluminum of the sheet steel produced in Britain is made in the Welsh plants. Since the 1940s many new industries have been established. These include oil refining and the manufacture of plastics, electronic equipment, synthetic fibers, and automotive parts. Milford Haven, in southwestern Wales, has been developed as a major petroleum-importing port and refining center.

Government

Wales is governed as an integral part of England; for the governmental system. The secretary of state for Wales is responsible for matters relating specifically to Wales.

History

The earliest inhabitants of Wales, like those of the rest of Britain, were a short, dark race, generally referred to as Iberians. These were succeeded by Celts, possibly first of the Gaelic division, although in the earliest historic times Wales, like Britain, was occupied by Cymric or Brythonic Celts. At the time of the coming of the Romans in 55 BC, the tribes of Wales represented a mixture of the primitive Iberians with the later invading Celts. They bore the general name of Cymry.

After a long struggle the subjugation of these tribes was completed during the reign (AD 69-79) of the Roman emperor Vespasian. The Celtic inhabitants of Britain, fleeing before the wave of Anglo-Saxon invasion, took refuge in the Welsh mountains, where, in time, they were merged with their native kin and maintained their independence against the Teutonic conquerors. The country was divided into several areas, of which Gwynedd, Gwent, Dyved, and Powys were the most important. Offa's Dyke, built during the reign of Offa, king of Mercia, was an earthwork extending the length of the Welsh border; it helped isolate the Welsh from the English.

Subjugation By England

In 1062-1064 Harold Godwinson (later Harold II) overran Wales with an English army after a struggle with Gruffydd ap Llewellyn, king of Gwynedd. William I, the Conqueror, forced recognition of his sovereignty from the Welsh princes, but they raided the English border, for protection of which the early Norman kings erected a number of feudal lordships with very extensive powers, the so-called lords of the marches. The marcher lords were a turbulent class and a source of trouble to the kings, but they served their purpose in holding the Welsh back. In 1136 the Welsh won a victory over Henry I, King of England, but were again reduced to homage by Henry II. Llewellyn ap Gruffydd, Prince of North Wales, sided with Simon de Montfort against Henry III, but later submitted to the king. In 1273, however, he refused to pay homage to the new English king, Edward I, who in 1276 invaded Wales and compelled Llewellyn to submit to humiliating terms, including the surrender of the eastern portion of his lands and the annual acknowledgment of fealty. Llewellyn rebelled in 1282, but died, and his brother David ap Gruffydd, who carried on the struggle, was captured in 1283 and beheaded. In 1284 Edward I completed the conquest of Wales and, by the terms of the Statute of Rhuddlan, it became an English principality.

Last Rebellion

In 1301 Edward I conferred on his oldest surviving son, later King Edward II, who was born in Caernarvon, Wales, the title of Prince of Wales. This sufficiently satisfied the pride of the Welsh to keep them loyal for 100 years. It has become traditional for the firstborn son of each monarch to be given the title of Prince of Wales. The national spirit survived, however, and was nourished by the songs of the bards. When Henry IV seized the English throne, a revolt began in Wales, which, under the leadership of Owain Glyndwr in 1402, became formidable. Henry IV repeatedly invaded the country, but the revolt was not suppressed until the death of Glyndwr, about 1416. Glyndwr's was the last national uprising. The Welsh submitted to Henry VII, the first Tudor king, whom they regarded as their countryman. Tudor policy toward Wales stressed assimilation and equality. By the Act of Union of 1536 Wales was incorporated with England, its inhabitants receiving all the rights and privileges of English subjects. Welsh representatives then took their seats in the English Parliament, and customary Welsh laws that differed with those of England were abolished. The Welsh gentry continued to exercise local authority in the name of the monarch, from whom they held their lands.

Welsh Nationalism

In time, however, the anglicization of the gentry created a breach in Welsh society, which was further deepened by religious differences. Slow to adopt Protestantism, the Welsh people were decidedly cool to Oliver Cromwell's Puritanism and had to be persuaded by force. In the 18th century they began to lean heavily toward Calvinism, and the growth of the Calvinistic Methodist Church was an assertion of Welsh nationalism; it culminated in 1920 in the disestablishment of the English church in Wales. This coincided with party politics, for the Welsh voted overwhelmingly for the Liberal party, which supported disestablishment. Wales in turn supplied the party with one of its most forceful leaders, David Lloyd George.

Welsh nationalism has been kept alive up to the present by the Plaid Cymru party (founded in 1925), which has at times elected members to the British Parliament and otherwise kept pressure on the major parties to protect the special interests of Wales.

"Wales,"
Microsoft (R) Encarta.
Copyright (c) 1994 Microsoft Corporation.
Copyright (c) 1994 Funk & Wagnall's Corporation.

Compton’s Interactive Encyclopedia has the following entry:-

WALES

One of the countries that make up the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Wales has retained a character of its own the result of the Celtic culture of its people and its mountain environment. Although much of Wales is still a land of picturesque mountains and valleys, the existence of large coalfields in the south of the country brought industry and urbanization.

Wales is 150 miles (240 kilometers) from north to south and 115 miles (185 kilometers) from east to west at its widest part. Its area is 8,017 square miles (20,764 square kilometers). It is bounded on the north by the Irish Sea, on the west by St. George's Channel, and on the south by the Bristol Channel. In the east it borders a number of English counties.

Land and Climate

Most of Wales consists of mountains and hills of ancient origin. The main range of the Cambrian Mountains extends from north to south. The highest massif is in the northwest and contains Wales's highest mountain, Snowdon 3,560 feet (1,085 meters) in height. The Cambrian Mountains decrease in height toward the south. South of Snowdon the summit of Cader Idris rises to 2,927 feet (892 meters), and in central Wales the major peak is Plynlimon at 2,468 feet (752 meters). Southern Wales consists of hill country in the west, with a few summits of more than 1,000 feet (305 meters). To the east there is a small area of mountains. The highest are the Brecon Beacons, which reach 2,906 feet (886 meters). These mountains are of younger origin than the Cambrian and contain coal. Along the English border are such small ranges as the Berwin Mountains, Beacon Hill, Radnor Forest, and the Black Mountains.

The west coast of Wales forms a large irregular semicircle with the Lleyn peninsula on the north and the large peninsula that ends at St. David's Head on the south. The Isle of Anglesey lies off the northwest coast. The only extensive areas of flat land in Wales are found on the Isle of Anglesey, in the Vale of Glamorgan, and on the Gower peninsula on the south coast and in the extreme southwest around Pembroke.

The principal river is the Severn, which flows from the slopes of Plynlimon to the English border. Other rivers are the Wye, Dee, Towy, Usk, and Teifi. The largest lake is Bala in northern Wales. Nearby Lake Vyrnwy is an artificial reservoir, which supplies the English city of Liverpool.

The climate of Wales is strongly influenced by its nearness to the sea and its mountains. The west coast has high rainfall, averaging more than 50 inches (127 centimeters) a year. East of the mountains rainfall totals are lower. Summers are cool and average below 60 F (15.6 C), while winters are in general mild, averaging above 40 F (4.4 C) during the coldest month. In the higher mountain regions, however, winters can be cold and snowfall heavy.

The major natural resource is coal. The largest field is in southern Wales, with a smaller field in the northeast. The South Wales coalfield is one of the largest in the British Isles. The rivers of central and northwestern Wales produce hydroelectric power and drinking water for the English Midlands. Iron ore deposits occur but are mostly exhausted. A little petroleum is extracted in the south.

Vegetation is similar to that of much of the rest of the British Isles. The original forests of the mountain areas have largely been removed, and much of Wales consists of moorland. In some areas new forests have been planted, consisting of spruce, fir, and pine. About 13 percent of the country is forested.

Most animals and birds found in Wales also occur in other areas of Great Britain. Unique species are the polecat and pine marten.

People

The inhabitants of Wales number about 2.7 million. During the centuries the population had a strong influx of people from other parts of the British Isles. The Welsh have nevertheless maintained the old Celtic language, which is descended from that of the ancient Britons. Welsh, or Cymraeg, is spoken by 19 percent of the population, compared with some 50 percent in 1900. The decline is largely from the adoption of English as the everyday language of most Welsh people. Almost all Welsh speakers also speak English. Serious efforts have been made to preserve the Welsh language. It is now recognized as equal with English for legal and administrative affairs in Wales. The capital city is Cardiff, with 280,000 inhabitants. Other large cities are Swansea and Newport.

The educational system is similar to that of England. In some primary and secondary schools Welsh is the main language of instruction. The University of Wales has colleges in five cities.

Writing in Welsh began in the 6th century with the poems of Aneirin and Taliesin. The best-known product of early Welsh literature is the Mabinogion, a collection of tales from the 11th to the 13th century. The 14th and 15th centuries were a rich period for Welsh poetry. By the 16th century the first prose writing had appeared. Translations of the Bible and religious writings in particular helped to keep the Welsh language alive during the following centuries. The greatest poets of this period were Huw Morus and Goronwy Owen. In the 20th century there was not only poetry but essays, short stories, and a few novels. Among modern poets were Robert Parry, Thomas Gwyn Jones, and Dylan Thomas.

The Welsh not only love poetry but are also keen singers. Choral singing is a popular activity, with Welsh folk songs and hymns as favorites. Every year there is a national poetry and singing competition called the Eisteddfod in which individuals and choirs from all over Wales participate.

The Welsh are predominantly Protestants. Most belong to the Presbyterian Church of Wales.

Economy

Farming in Wales generally takes the form of livestock herding. Sheep are grazed in large numbers on the sprawling moorlands and hill slopes, while dairy cows are kept in the lowland areas. Milk and cattle are sent to the English market. Only about 8 percent of the total agricultural area of Wales is used for growing crops. Barley and fodder crops are the main products. Farms are generally small, and many are subsidized by the government.

Welsh industry is based on the coalfields of the south. At one time metallic ores were mined, but these are now exhausted. Coal is mined in a number of valleys, most significantly the Rhondda Valley. The coal is largely used in the iron and steel industry of southern Wales. The drop in demand for steel and coal, however, resulted in the closing of some plants and coal mines and the reorganization of others. Unemployment is high, but attempts to introduce new light industries have met with some success. There is a large petroleum-refining complex at Milford Haven and a chemicals and engineering industry in the Swansea area. Transportation and communications are organized along the same lines as in England. The mountainous nature of the country makes access to some areas difficult.

Government and History

The Welsh elect members to the British Parliament, which meets in London. A Welsh Office, headed by a secretary of state for Wales, handles Welsh affairs. Wales is a principality, and the symbolic title prince of Wales is traditionally bestowed on the heir to the British throne. (See also United Kingdom.)

The history of Wales begins with the Roman occupation and subsequent conversion to Christianity in the 4th century. The Anglo-Saxon invasion led to the gradual retreat of the Britons to the west, where the mountains of Wales acted as a refuge. By the 9th century a Welsh state emerged under such princes as Rhodri the Great and Hywel Dda. The Normans invaded Wales in the 11th century and built a number of castles to assist control of the country.

Such leaders as Owain Gwynedd, Llywelyn the Great, and Llywelyn ap Gruffudd resisted the attempts of the English kings in the 12th and 13th centuries to subdue Wales completely. Edward I of England, however, succeeded in conquering Wales and named his son prince of Wales in 1301. In 1401 Owain Glyndwr led a successful revolt against the English, which resulted in the temporary independence of Wales with Glyndwr as its prince. By 1410 the English had reasserted control, and in 1536 Wales was united with England. By the 1800s industrialization in Wales had increased rapidly. The history of Wales has been closely linked to that of England.

Ian Matley

BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR WALES

Dodd, A.H. A Short History of Wales (David & Charles, 1988).
Haines, George. Let's Visit Wales (Chelsea House, 1988).
Sutherland, D.B. Wales (Childrens, 1987).