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Someone says to you “I'm from Wales†What's your first thought? “Where's that?†or maybe “Isn't that part of England?†Well lets see if I can dispel these ideas and tell you some interesting things about Wales without going too much into the detail and history. |
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| Wales is one of the constituent Countries that makes up the UK, the others being Scotland, England and N. Ireland. While Wales was effectively conquered by Edward 1st of England in 1282 with the defeat of Llewelyn the last, and effectively annexed in 1535 this was repealed in 1955 and Wales became a separate Country in it's own right, so Wales isn't a part of England!! Wales has a very different culture and language to England and although the language is now in a minority due to England's attempts to destroy it, it is now making a strong comeback, particularly in the young which is a good sign for the future. | ||
 Snowdon |
 Dolwyddelan Castle |
 Three Cliffs Bay |
| If you travel to Wales you will see all around the Country a ring of Castles built by Edward 1st to keep the Welsh subdued and under English control, the Welsh at that time were treated very badly as second class citizens and had little or no rights under English law. This inevitably led to conflict yet again and in 1400 a rebellion was started by a Welsh Nobleman called Owain Glyndwr [pronounced, owe-wine Glin-door]. The English King at the time was Henry IV and Owain's armies conducted an effective campaign and by the end of 1403 he was in control of most of Wales. In September of 1404 he assembled a parliament of four men from every commot in Wales at Machynlleth, drawing up mutual recognition treaties with France and Spain. At Machynlleth, he was also crowned king of a free Wales. This date, September 16th is still celebrated in Wales, particularly in the North as the last time Wales had a true Welsh Prince and freedom from England. Disaster struck in 1408 when the castles of Aberystwyth and Harlech fell to the forces of the King, and Glyndwr's own family was taken prisoner. The Welsh nation that had existed for four years took once more to the woods with its prince once more an outlaw. Owain, with his son Meredudd, and a handful of his best captains, together with some Scots and Frenchmen, was at large throughout 1409, devastating wherever he went. No one knows what happened to Glyndwr, but, like Arthur, he could not die; he would come again. Henry V, the new king, twice offered the rebel leader a pardon, but the old man was apparently too proud to accept. | ||
| Wales today is very different, no longer annexed and a Country in it's own right, it now has a degree of autonomy with the Welsh Assembly Government, a devolved assembly that gives Welsh people some say on matters relating to Wales, there are many that would like to see these powers extended to a full Parliament for Wales an still some clamour for full Independence, it seems that more power will come to Wales but how much is still open to debate. | ||
| The Welsh flag is instantly recognizable the World over, White and Green background with the Red Dragon [Y Ddraig Goch] in the centre, the National emblems are the Daffodil and the Leek and our Patron Saint is St. David [Dewi Sant] and his day is celebrated on March 1st. There are many Welsh settlements across the World, the most notable being Patagonia in Argentina where the Welsh language is still spoken in parts and Towns have Welsh names. |  Welsh Flag |
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Something you may not know is the influence Welsh people have had on American history, I give you some examples below: Signatories to the Declaration of Independence: William Ffloyd, Button Gwinnett, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris, Robert Morris. American Presidents with Welsh ancestry: John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Calvin Coolidge, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, James Madison, James Monroe. Other Famous Americans with Welsh Ancestry: William Penn, founder of Pennsylvania, Jefferson Davies Confederate states President, General Robert E Lee, Howard Hughes, Tom Cruise, The Osmonds, Frank Lloyd Wright. I could go on and on, for a full list see the linked entry to Wikipedia at [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Welsh_Americans] Famous Welsh people connected with America: Catherine Zeta Jones, Anthony Hopkins, Tom Jones, Richard Burton, Shirley Bassey |
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| Well I really hope that has given you a taster of what and where Wales is and hopefully a better understanding of Wales as a separate entity in the UK and not as part of England as it is so often portrayed in American News programmes and web sites. If anyone would like any further information on Wales, it's people, language and culture feel free to contact me, my details are available on my home page at Renderosity. | ||
Learn about Wales
Sep 11, 2008 at 12:00 am by Store Staff
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