History History

The oldest traces of habitation on Welsh territory.

Agriculture is spreading in Wales. Migration of populations from the Iberian Peninsula to Pembrokeshire and the Isle of Anglesey and from Brittany to the Gower Peninsula.

Arrival of the Celts in Wales. In the^5th century, the Celtic language of the Brittonic type finally imposed itself in Wales and the Druidic religion spread notably in the north.

The Romans, well established in England, set out to conquer Wales. In 51, they are victorious over Welsh tribes.

The Romans, who feared the mysterious powers of the druids, eventually killed them all. The Romans failed to unite the various Celtic tribes. When they left the country, they left a territory fragmented and made unstable by the arrival of the Irish tribes.

End of the Roman colonization.

It is only towards the^5th century that Wales experienced a strong evangelization under the impulse of solitary monks. Celtic saints travelled the country founding churches.

Death of Saint David (Dewi Sant).

Following the Battle of Chester, Wales became separate from Britain.

It is only in 768 that the Welsh Church normalized its practices while retaining its Celtic characteristics. But towards the end of the 9th century, the Church was weakened. King Offa of Mercia built Offa's Dyke (Clawdd Offa), a ditch marking Wales' border with England to the east, still visible today. The Welsh began to see themselves as a united people, like Cymry: "fellow countrymen".

Gruffydd ap Llywelyn unites Wales.

In the 11th century, there were many fights between Anglo-Saxons and Welshmen, notably between Harold Godwin and the Welsh prince, Gruffydd ap Llywelyn, Prince of Gwynedd, who failed to keep Wales whole. Later came the turn of William the Conqueror and the Plantagenets, Henry I and Henry II, who defeated the Welsh. It was not until the 13th century that Wales experienced a semblance of autonomy and unification under the reign of King Llywelyn the Great, who joined forces with Simon de Montfort to defeat the English. His grandson was recognized by Henry III as Prince of Wales (1267).

First Welsh War of Independence. After this bloody English victory, Edward I (who reigned from 1272 to 1307) began a heavy task: the construction of the "Iron Belt", a line of castles in North Wales supposed to ensure his new conquests. Of these castles, some impressive buildings remain today: CaernarfonCastle,Caerphilly Castle, Chepstow Castle, BeaumarisCastle..

Second Welsh War of Independence and death of LLywelyn the Last, the last native-born Prince of Wales. Edward I, King of England, integrates the country into his kingdom. In 1284, Wales officially became the property of the English Crown with the signature of Rhuddlan.

Edward I proclaims his own son, Edward II, Prince of Wales; a title which to this day belongs to the eldest son of the English Crown.

Third Welsh War of Independence. Over the previous two centuries, the Welsh had revolted many times. The last jolt of Welsh independence was led by Owen Glendower, a hero for the Welsh, in 1404, supported for a time by the King of France. He died in 1416. The country was ransacked and the hatred between the two peoples was never stronger.

Act of Union, the law that forms the union between Wales and England, with equal rights but a different legislative system. But a real gulf is widening between the two peoples. The Welsh are poor; the nobility is English. The use of Welsh is forbidden and Catholicism is replaced by Protestantism under Henry VIII.

Complete translation of the Bible in Welsh by William Morgan. Schools were established in which catechesis was taught in both Welsh and English. Then travelling Methodist schools travelled through the Welsh countryside to instruct farmers. Soon, half of the Welsh population is literate. In the mid-18th century, Methodists succeeded where Anglicans had failed: educating the Welsh masses. The Methodist Church, a branch of Protestantism, became a centre of cultural gathering, a rallying point for the Welsh people.

The Civil War begins and his first battle: the Battle of Montgomery.

Beginning of slate mining industry in north Wales with the opening of the Penrhyn mine at Bethesda.

Separation of the Welsh Methodist Church from the Church of England.

Rebecca's revolts that put an end to the era of tolls on roads and bridges.

Parliament prohibits the opening of pubs on Sundays. It wasn't until 1966 that they opened again.

Welsh culture lost its intensity in the 19th century with the arrival of massive waves of immigrants attracted by the work in the mines. English, synonymous with modernization, became the language of commerce, with Welsh being used only at home and in church. It was only towards the end of the 19th century that Welsh culture made a strong comeback with the creation of the Welsh Language Society, and the traditional festivals, the Eisteddfodau, resurfaced.

Creation of the Welsh Language Society.

David Lloyd George, born in Wales, becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

Separation between the Welsh State and the Welsh Church.

Founding of the Welsh Nationalist Party Plaid Cymru, led by Saunders Lewis. The mission of the party is to fight for Welsh causes : culture, language... However, the fight that the Welsh party leads is not unanimous and it is seen by many Welsh people as ridiculous. It will take forty years for the Cymru Plaid to be taken seriously and win its first seat in Parliament.

Great economic depression.

Cardiff officially becomes the Welsh capital. After an intense lobbying campaign by Welsh patriots, the Council for Wales was formed in 1948, and in 1951 the post of Minister for Welsh Affairs in the British government was created. This period also marks the beginning of "Welsh terrorism". The RAF buildings were set on fire, country houses bought by English people... These few violent and disparate acts have never, however, taken the scale of the Irish neighbours. In the 1960s, the Cymru Plaid represented strong opposition to the English government. In 1964, the post of Secretary of State for Wales was created.

With the official designation of Cardiff as the Welsh capital, a prestigious rugby team was created and Wales was awakening to the idea of becoming a small nation.

A landslide at the Aberfan mine washed out a primary school and killed 144 people, including 116 children. This tragic episode in the country's history was staged in the^3rd episode of season 3 of The Crown.

The law recognises Welsh as equal to English.

The local government is reorganizing the principality into eight new counties.

Referendum on the question of the Welsh National Assembly. 80% of voters do not want a separate Parliament. When James Griffiths succeeded Cledwyn Hughes as Secretary of State for Welsh Affairs in October 1964, the newcomer had the ambition to see an elected assembly at the head of his country. His successor, George Thomas, saw things in a different light. Proud of his dual Anglo-Welsh heritage, he feared the revival of the Welsh language and the autonomy of Wales. His inflexible position has long remained a brake on the institution of a Welsh National Assembly. A referendum on the question was held in 1979. It is the "no" which prevails: true disappointment for the nationalists. The result was predictable: of the 2.25 million voters, more than half a million were born outside Wales, most of them English. The vast majority had little concern for the future of the Welsh language. Unlike Scotland, whose struggle for independence is legendary, Wales has to fend for itself and try to reunite its population around the same goal: autonomy.

The Welsh-language television channel S4C starts broadcasting.

Strike by miners across the UK following Margaret Thatcher's government-backed plan to close 20 coal mines.

Welsh becomes a compulsory subject at school (in areas where the language is spoken predominantly).

An Act of Parliament gives equal status to Welsh and English in public bodies.

Hedd Wyn is the first Welsh film to be nominated for an Oscar.

The referendum shows that more than 50% of the population is in favour of the creation of a Welsh National Assembly. The revival of Welsh culture and language is tilting the balance towards a "yes" vote in favour of the Welsh Assembly. Most of the votes in favour come from the central west and north, where Welsh is spoken. Only 50.2% of voters voted in favour of devolution.

The powers of the Secretary for Welsh Affairs are vested in a Welsh National Assembly based in Cardiff, which has competence for development matters in the fields of the economy, health, culture and education.

Rhodri Morgan is elected First Secretary of the Welsh Assembly, following the resignation of Alun Michael.

As a result of local elections, the gap is widening between the Conservatives and Labour, traditionally the majority in Wales. Rhodri Morgan, Labour, remains First Secretary.

The British Parliament passed a law strengthening the legislative power of the Welsh National Assembly. It can legislate in its areas of action without going through the British Parliament.

Following a referendum on 23 June, Wales votes 52.5% in favour of Brexit. In November of the same year, Joanna Penberthy (57) becomes Wales' first woman bishop.

Mark Drakeford of the Labour Party succeeds Carwyn Jones as First Minister for Wales.

After more than three years of intense negotiations, British MEPs finally approved the text to take the UK out of the European Union on 31 January 2020, by 330 votes in favour and 231 against. Wales voted 52.5% in favour of Brexit.