History Of North Wales - Post Statute Of Rhuddlan
Following the final defeat of the Welsh in Gwynedd and the capture of Dafydd ap Gruffydd in 1284, the Statute of Rhuddlan imposed English Law upon the Welsh. New counties were created out of Gwynedd -
- Caernarfon, Meirioneth & Anglesey - under control of North Wales
- Flint - under the control of the Justice Of Chester
English style sheriffs were put in place in the new counties to administer justice and collect taxes. While Welsh law was still allowed to be used in some affairs it was English law and an English style legal system which dealt with serious matters.
The Statute of Rhuddlan remained in force until the Act of Union in 1536.
Owain Glyndwr
Owain Glyndwr was born in 1349, a descendant of the royal houses of both Powys and Deheurbarth, whose father had fought with Llywelyn ap Gruffydd. Owain was well educated, partly in London, and was loyal soldier of the King of England, a fact which was soon to change.
After his marriage he returned to his native Wales as a Marcher Lord. In 1399 he became involved in a dispute with his powerful English neighbour, Reginald de Grey. Owain believed de Grey had illegally claimed common land as his own. When he could get no justice from England he contacted other disaffected Welshmen and on 16 September 1400, in an act of defiance, he raised his own standard outside Ruthin's Norman Castle and then, with several hundred men, attacked Ruthin and other English towns in North East Wales. He received support from other Welsh lords and from the ordinary Welsh, both at home and in England where Welsh scholars at Oxford downed their books and returned home. Throughout England Welsh workmen were leaving their jobs and heading home to support the rebellion. In response the English Parliament drew up anti-Welsh legislation and Henry IV led his army into Wales. Faced with the wrath of the English Crown, the Welsh rushed to make their peace with England and by winter Owain had fled to the hills, with only seven men.
With the coming of spring in 1401 the fire of rebellion took hold once more and men again flocked to Glyndwr's cause. He declared himself a liberator chosen by God to free the Welsh from oppression. The English drew up harsh penal laws - even banning the Welsh language. The war though raged on and by 1403 Glyndwr controlled most of Wales.
The rebellion lasted for many years. Henry IV sent in armies to Wales but none succeeded in defeating the Welsh. It must have been a nightmare for King Henry, the small marcher rebellion of 1400 had turned into a large scale war of independence. In 1404 Glyndwr's parliament met at Machynlleth and Owain was crowned as Prince of Wales. Envoys from France, Scotland and Castile attended the coronation.
In 1408 though the Welsh suffered a major setback when both Harlech and Aberwystwyth castles fell to the English. In 1409 Owain, his son Merredudd and a handful of men took to the hills - no longer a Prince, once again an outlaw.
The Charter of Brecon was drawn up in 1409, preventing the Welsh from buying land east of Offa's Dyke, exceptions were only made when both parents were born in England.
Its not known what happened to Owain Glyndwr but, like Arthur and Merlin, his legend lives on, it says that he will rise again to save Wales in her time of need. The second half of the 20th century saw the rise in North Wales of a group called Meibion Glyndwr (The Sons of Glyndwr) whose aim was Welsh independence. They burnt English holiday homes in North Wales, sprayed anti-English graffiti and changed road signs from English to Welsh. Eventually part of their demands were met, roads signs were officially changed to show both Welsh and English and the government graciously allowed Welsh places to be officially known by their Welsh names!
Act Of Union (1536)
Wales had effectively lost its independence and been joined to England by the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284. The men of power within Wales by the 16th century were mainly either English or of English descent. Wales didn't have its own capital (it didn't get a capital until 1955) so was already being governed from London. However, it wasn't until The Act of Union was drawn up in 1536 that this became official. The Act stated that
- "Persons born or to be born in Wales shall have and inherit all freedoms, liberties, rights, privileges and laws as other Kings subjects have"
The Act abolished any legal differences between England and Wales. It defined Wales's borders, set new counties and provided the Welsh with representation in the English Parliament.
It was welcomed by the Welsh gentry and merchants who were already becoming separated from the Welsh language and culture, the ordinary Welsh though were not consulted. Despite this there was no rebellion against the Act, probably because the Statute of Rhuddlan had already laid the ground work for a complete uniting of the two countries. This wasn't really a union though, it was more a take over, effectively making Wales a part of England - so much so that the Welsh flag is not represented on the Union Flag (which consists of the crosses of Saints Patrick, George, and Andrew).
Post Act Of Union
Following the Act Of Union Wales has had to struggle to be recognised as a separate nation to England. Below are some of the events which effected that struggle.
In 1547 William Salesbury wrote a Welsh to English dictionary. Salesbury also worked to give the Welsh the Bible in their own language. A Bill was passed in 1563 allowing the Holy Bible to be translated into Welsh by John Penry of Breconshire. The Queen and her advisors were eager to complete the Protestant Reformation. They no doubt considered that a good way to accomplish this in Wales was to give the Welsh a Bible in their own language.
The first map of Wales was drawn in 1573 by Humphrey Lhuyd and published in Antwerp. In 1584, the "Historie of Cambria, now called Wales" which cast doubts on Geoffrey of Monmouth's work, was published by David Powel. In 1585 a religious work called Yn Llywyr Hwnnthe was the first book published in Welsh. This was followed by Bishop Morgan's Welsh Bible, published in 1588. William Morgan was the vicar of Llanrhaedr Yn Machnant and later Bishop of St Asaph. Morgan's bible was standardised in 1620, with minor corrections made, by Dr John Davies. In 1630, a smaller cheaper version of the Bishop's bible was published. This meant that generations of Welsh children learnt to read and write from the bible and is widely regarded as one of the reasons for the survival of the Welsh language. In 1632, Dr Davies wrote to Henry, Prince of Wales, asking him to learn Welsh - he declined.
In 1815 Thomas Telford built the Waterloo Bridge over the River Conwy at Betws y Coed, the bridge is now part of the A5. In 1826, Telford's suspension bridge over the river Conwy, at Conwy Castle, was built. This was followed by the Menai Suspension bridge, which replaced the ferry across the straits.
Between 1842 to 1847 a Royal Commission Report was carried out on the state of education in Wales. Most Welsh children did not speak English but were expected to learn to read from books written in English. The commissioners spoke no Welsh and therefore the questions they asked weren't understood. The lack of education in Wales was blamed on the children not speaking English, rather than their books not being in Welsh. The commission's solution was to only teach English in schools, generations of Welsh children were told only to speak English and this hastened the decline of the Welsh language. The language survived, mainly in Gwynedd, thanks to the determination of the people. The Welsh Language Society was founded by Dan Isaac Davies in 1885. His report on eduction led to some concessions on the teaching of Welsh in schools.
In 1925 Plaid Cymru was founded, though it took over 40 years for them to gain a seat in the houses of parliament.
The first radio broadcast in Welsh was made in 1935 from the BBC studio in Bangor.
In 1955 Wales was at last permitted its own capital city. Cardiff was chosen, beating more historically important towns such as Caernarfon and Machynlleth. The post of Secretary of State For Wales was founded in 1964 and filled by James Griffiths. In 1967 the Welsh Language Act granted the right to testify in court in Welsh and to have official government forms translated into Welsh. In 1974 Oaths Of Allegiance to the British Crown were allowed to be mae in Welsh in the Houses of Parliament for the first time.
Place names and road signs were finally changed to Welsh during the late 1970s. At long last the English spellings of Welsh names (such as Carnarvon when it should be Caernarfon) were corrected.
In July 1997 the British government published a white paper outlining its plans for the devolution of Wales. The proposals were endorsed in a referendum in September 1997. The Government of Wales Act 1998 was then passed, followed, in 1999, by the National Assembly for Wales (Transfer of Functions) Order, which enabled the transfer of the devolved powers and responsibilities from the Secretary of State for Wales to the Welsh Assembly. Wales is still a part of the United Kingdom, Welsh Members of Parliament still have seats at Westminster and laws passed by Westminster are still applicable in Wales.