Welsh Nationalism

Before the Norman conquest of England, Wales was divided into several kingdoms. Many rulers tried to unite Wales, but immediately after their death, the states they created disintegrated. An example is Khivel ap Cadella and Rodry the Great . In the XII century, King Henry II Plantagenet of England took advantage of the fragmentation of Wales and the enmity of the Welsh kingdoms. In 1157, in alliance with the Welsh kingdom of Powys, he defeated Gwynedd . Deheybart was defeated in 1171 , and a significant part of Wales came under British rule. In 1282, after the accession of Gwynedd, Wales lost any statehood, but retained self-government. After becoming part of England, the Welsh often revolted. The most famous is the uprising of Owain Glindur in 1400 , which was brutally crushed. A number of repressive measures were taken against the population, in particular the restriction of the use of the Welsh language. Riots continued until the Battle of Bosworth in 1485 .

Welsh singers composed songs with the dream of Wales independence. They believed that a hero would come and free the country from England.

Henry VIII integrated Wales into the English legal system, but repealed the decrees that were adopted after the uprising of Owain Glindur. He also gave political representation in the Westminster Parliament of Wales. It was established self-government on the English model, the use of English as an official.

The oppression of Welsh traditions, customs, language, culture led to the emergence of Welsh nationalism.

Along with the rest of Europe, the effects of the French Revolution were felt in Wales. Revolutionary ideas come to the fore for a small minority of the Welsh people. They were held by people like Richard Price , Iolo Morganug and Morgan-John Rice . They wanted to liberate Wales through a popular uprising.

However, there was a Welsh Methodist movement that did not accept bloodshed. Methodists believed that the English government was gradually granting independence to Wales.

The rapid industrialization of Wales, especially in Merthyr Tyddville , led to the emergence of radical movements of the Welsh working class and revolts: in 1831 in Merthyr Tyddville and Newport in 1839 , under the influence of Chartism .

With the creation of the Presbyterian Church of Wales, radicalism and liberalism intensified within the Baptist and Congregational Church. This radicalism, as evidenced by the Congregational Minister David Reese in Llanelli, who published the radical journal Y Diwygiwr in 1835-1865 . But he was not the voice of one crying in the wilderness: William Reese (also known as Gwilim Hiratog), created the radical Year of Amserau (The Times) in 1843, and in the same year Samuel Roberts also established another radical magazine, Y Cronicl (chronicle). Both were congregations of pastors.

The growth of radicalism and the gradual politicization of Welsh life did not find any successful option for establishing a national political organization capable of promoting Welsh nationalism. But inside the Liberal Party, voices did indeed emerge that were able to gain representation in Wales in the nineteenth century. They expanded authority by gaining tacit support among active members of Welsh society. With the same intention, in 1886, the Independence Movement was created along the lines of Young Ireland, Cymru Fydd, but it did not last long.

For most Welsh, however, the more important issue was not independence and self-government, but the dissolution of the Anglican Church in Wales. However, their non-political nationalism was strong enough to create national institutions such as the University of Wales in 1893, the National Library of Wales and the National Museum of Wales in 1907.

Relations between nations were exacerbated by the publication of "Reports of Commissioners to Investigate the Status of Education in Wales" in 1847. In the reports, the education system in Wales was presented in a terrible state, and this despite the fact that the commissioners themselves were exclusively English-speaking, while the education system itself was largely conducted in Welsh. However, the inspectors came to the conclusion that the Welsh were dirty, ignorant, lazy, superstitious, liars and drunkards, all because they were non-conformists and spoke Welsh. Soon the report was called Brad y Llyfrau Gleision, or in English, “The Blue Book Betrayal,” because the report was published in a blue cover,

From the beginning of the nineteenth century, Welsh nationalism was preached by Michael D. Jones (1822–1898) and A.P. Emrys Ivan (1848–1906). Inspired by the European revolutions of 1848 and the growth of Irish nationalism, they said that Wales differs from England in its own language (which is spoken by most of its inhabitants), and the non-conformist form of the Christian religion, which is faced with numerous persecutions by the state Anglican church.

Nationalism in the 20th century in Wales increased significantly, but not as much as in Eastern Europe or in Ireland. At various times, both the Labor Party and the Liberal Party favored the expansion of Welsh self-government. However, for the first time, full independence was spoken about precisely with the creation of the Party of Play Camry (Party of Wales) in 1925.

The Labor Party, who came to power during the general elections in Great Britain in 1997, kept their election promise and held a referendum on the creation of the Welsh Assembly (regional parliament). As a result of the referendum, a small majority in the Assembly received Plaid Cymru, the Liberal Democrats, and a large part of Welsh society supported the Labor Government's proposals.

Currently, there are about a dozen relatively small parties and political groups in Wales, pursuing policies in line with Welsh nationalism and standing on various ideological platforms (over the past half century, such parties as Independent Wales, Forward, Wales have appeared and been dissolved ”,“ Red Wales, ”the Welsh Socialist Alliance, etc.).

• Sons of Glindur

• Economic & Social Research Council . Younger Scots and Welsh may become more likely to support Nationalist parties , EurekAlert (May 4, 2007.). Date of treatment May 5, 2007.