English Rule In Wales

English rule in Wales refers to the rule of Welsh territories or the whole of Wales by English monarchs and governments. Wales was first invaded by the Kingdom of England following England's own conquest by the Normans in the 12th century and by the end of the 13th century. Wales had become a principality within the Realm of England. Owain Glyndŵr launched the Welsh Revolt against English rule in the early 15th century which managed to conquer much of Wales until his defeat to English forces.

Wales was formally absorbed into the Kingdom of England through the Laws in Wales Acts 1535-1542, and later the succeeding states of Great Britain and the United Kingdom. Between 1746 and 1881, Wales was treated as effectively a part of England for legal purposes but began to gain an increasingly distinctive status within the United Kingdom from the late 19th century onwards, culminating in the introduction of devolution at the end of the 20th century.

Today, Wales is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom, electing representatives to the UK Parliament, whilst certain aspects of its domestic governance are managed by the devolved Senedd.

History

Anglo-Norman invasion and colonisation

The Battle of Hastings occurred in 1066, a pivotal point in the Norman conquest of England. By 1067 the Normans had begun building Chepstow castle and had begun an invasion of Wales. The Norman leaders spoke French and their English-speaking followers colonised conquered lands in Wales including south Pembrokeshire which has historically been referred to as "Little England Beyond Wales". Henry II King of England, a successive Anglo-Norman king, asked an Old Man of Pencader, Camarthenshire, whether he thought the Welsh against his raids of Wales:

Modern English translation from Welsh: "Never will it be destroyed by the wrath of man, unless the wrath of God be added," replied the Old Man. "Nor do I think that any other nation than this of Wales, or any other tongue, whatever may hereafter come to pass, shall on the day of the great reckoning before the Most High Judge, answer for this corner of the earth."

In response to Welsh advances, William established a series of earldoms in the borderlands, specifically at Chester, under Hugh d'Avranches; Shrewsbury, under Roger de Montgomerie; and Hereford, under William FitzOsbern. He instilled a great deal of power into each earldom, allowing them control of the surrounding towns and land, rather than retaining it within the kingship. The inspiration for such an action seems to have been the overextended nature of the Norman troops, thus preventing William from exercising his own power in the area. It very well may have been implicit in the power granted the earldoms that they were to attack Wales, and, indeed, they did, beginning with south-east Wales, where many of the previous rebellions against England had begun. By the time of FitzOsbern's death in 1071, a castle had been established at a location known at the time as Striguil, near the mouth of the Wye. This served as a base from which the Normans continued to expand westward into Wales, establishing a castle at Caerleon by 1086 and extinguishing the Welsh Kingdom of Gwent. However, the attacks in south-east Wales ''"faltered badly when the_earl_of_Hereford’s.html" ;"title="illiam_FitzOsbern.html" ;"title="/nowiki>the_earl_of_Hereford’s">illiam_FitzOsbern.html"_;"title="/nowiki>William_FitzOsbern">the_earl_of_Hereford’sson_[Roger_de_Breteuil,_2nd_Earl_of_Hereford.html" "title="William FitzOsbern">the earl of Hereford’s">illiam_FitzOsbern.html" ;"title="/nowiki>William FitzOsbern">the earl of Hereford’sson [Roger de Breteuil, 2nd Earl of Hereford">Roger de Breteuil]... forfeited his estates for treason in 1075 and involved some of his vassals on the Welsh frontier in his downfall"''.

Following Henry's death in 1135, revolts once again broke out in parts of Wales. These revolts caused Norman retreat in many areas, most surprisingly in Deheubarth, where, according to R.R. Davies, ''"the Normans had made their most striking advances in the previous generation"''. A notable example was the Battle of Crug Mawr, near Cardigan, in which the Normans suffered a heavy defeat.

By the 1150s, Henry II of England lead his first expedition into Wales in 1157. He met with heavy and humiliating defeat, particularly at Coleshill / Coed Eulo, where Henry was entirely unsuccessful, almost being killed in the fighting. His army routed and fled.

The Magna Carta of 1215 was the first document which included English and Welsh law appear together, including reference to common acceptance of the lawful judgement of peers. Chapter 56: The return of lands and liberties to Welshmen if those lands and liberties had been taken by English (and vice versa) without a law abiding judgement of their peers. Chapter 57: The return of Gruffydd ap Llywelyn, illegitimate son of Llywelyn ap Iorwerth (Llywelyn the Great) along with other Welsh hostages which were originally taken for "peace" and "good".

End of an independent Wales

Following the uniting of Wales under the rule of the Llywelyn princes, Edward I King of England led 15,00 men to capture Wales following multiple failed attempts by English monarchs to maintain a grip on Wales prior to this. Resistance in Wales was led by the Prince of Wales Llywelyn ap Gruffydd (Llywelyn the Last) and he also made an attempt to recruit more Welsh soldiers in mid-Wales. Llywelyn was killed in the Battle of Orewin Bridge by English soldiers in an ambush trick under the guise of discussions. His head was paraded through London and placed on a Tower of London spike with a mocking crown of laurel leaves.

Llywelyn's brother Dafydd, took over leadership of Welsh fighters, but was caught in 1283. He was dragged through the streets of Shrewsbury by a horse, hanged, revived and disemboweled by English officials. His bowels were thrown into a fire as he watched. Finally, his head was cut off and placed on a Tower of London spike next to his brother Llywelyn, and his body cut into quarters.

Following the deaths of Llywelyn and Dafydd, Edward King of England sought to end Welsh independence and introduced the royal ordinance of the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284. The statute was a constitutional change causing Wales to lose its de facto independence and formed the Principality of Wales within the "Realm of England". The name refers to Rhuddlan Castle in Denbighshire, where it was first promulgated on 19 March 1284. The statute confirmed the annexation of Wales and introduced English common law to Wales for criminal cases, while civil cases were still dealt with under the Welsh laws of Hywel Dda.

Rebellions

Madog ap Llywelyn

Madog ap Llywelyn led a Welsh revolt of 1294–95 against English rule in Wales and was proclaimed "Prince of Wales". On (29 September) 1294, Madog put himself at the head of a national revolt in response to the actions of new royal administrators in north and west Wales and the imposition of taxes such as that levied on one fifteenth of all movables.

In December 1294 King Edward led an army into north Wales to quell the revolt, stopping at Wrexham, Denbigh, Abergele, and elsewhere on his way to Conwy Castle, which he reached shortly before Christmas. His campaign was timely, for several castles remained in serious danger—Harlech Castle was defended at one point by just 37 men. Edward himself was ambushed and retreated to Conwy Castle, losing his baggage train. The town of Conwy was burnt down and Edward besieged until he was relieved by his navy in 1295.

The crucial battle between Madog's men and those of the English crown occurred at the battle of Maes Moydog in Powys on 5 March 1295. Surprised by an army led by the Earl of Warwick, the Welsh army regained their composure and successfully defended against an English cavalry charge by using the "porcupine" pike men formation, or schiltron, a formation favoured by the Scots armies against English knights. However, arrows from English archers inflicted heavy losses, and in a pursuit of the Welsh from the battlefield, many Welsh soldiers drowned trying to cross a swollen river. Madog barely escaped from this episode with his life and was a fugitive until his capture by Ynyr Fychan of Nannau and hand over to John de Havering in Snowdonia in late July or early August 1295.

Llywelyn Bren

Llywelyn Bren was a nobleman who led a 1316 revolt in Wales in the reign of King Edward II of England. Following an order to appear before king Edward the II if England, Llywelyn Bren raised an army of Welsh Glamorgan men which laid siege Caerphilly castle. The rebellion spread throughout the south Wales valleys and other castles were attacked, but this uprising only lasted a few weeks. It marked the last serious challenge to English rule in Wales until the attempts of Owain Lawgoch to invade with French support in the 1370s. Hugh Despenser the Younger's unlawful execution of Llywelyn Bren helped to lead to the eventual overthrow of both Edward II and Hugh.

Owain Lawgoch

In May 1372 in Paris, Owain Lawgoch announced that he intended to claim the throne of Wales. Lawgoch set sail from Harfleur with money borrowed from Charles V. Owain first attacked the island of Guernsey, and was still there when a message arrived from Charles ordering him to abandon the expedition in order to go to Castile to seek ships to attack La Rochelle.

In 1377 there were reports that Owain was planning another expedition, this time with help from Castile. The alarmed English government sent a spy, the Scot John Lamb, to assassinate Owain, who had been given the task of besieging Mortagne-sur-Gironde in Poitou. Lamb gained Owain's confidence and became his chamberlain, which gave him the opportunity to stab Owain to death in July 1378, something Walker described as 'a sad end to a flamboyant career'. The Issue Roll of the Exchequer dated 4 December 1378 records "To John Lamb, an esquire from Scotland, because he lately killed Owynn de Gales, a rebel and enemy of the King in France ... £20". Lawgoch was buried at the Church of St. Leger, near Cognac, France.

With the assassination of Owain Lawgoch the senior line of the House of Aberffraw became extinct and the thought was the entirety of the Aberffraw line had been extinct wrongfully. As a result, the claim to the title 'Prince of Wales' fell to the other royal dynasties, of Deheubarth and Powys. The leading heir in this respect was Owain Glyndŵr, who was descended from both dynasties.

Glyndŵr Rising & Penal Laws against the Welsh

The immediate and initial cause of Owain Glyndŵr's rebellion is likely the incursion of his land by Baron Grey of Ruthin and the late delivery of a letter requiring armed services of Glyndŵr by King Henry IV of England as well as unfair mediation of this dispute by the English king. Glyndŵr was pronounced Prince of Wales in Glyndyfrdwy on 16 September 1400 and with his armies, proceeded to attack English towns in north-east Wales with guerilla tactics, disappearing into the mountains. Allies of Glyndŵr, the Tudor family then captured Conwy Castle at Easter 1401 and in the same year Glyndŵr was victorious against English forces in Pumlumon. he gathered much support across Wales. King Henry led several attempted invasions of Wales but with limited success. Bad weather and the guerilla tactics of Glyndŵr created a mythical status for him, a man at one with the elements who had control over the weather.

In 1402, the Parliament of England passed a set of laws called the Penal Laws against Wales 1402, which were passed to establish Welsh oppression and English dominance in Wales during the Rising of Owain Glyndŵr against English rule in Wales. Penal laws banned Welsh people from holding a senior public office, bearing arms, buying property in English towns. Penal laws were also applied to English men who married Welsh women. Public assembly was outlawed and the education of Welsh children was limited. These acts were not ended until much later with the Laws in Wales Acts of 1532 and 1542 that were introduced by Henry VIII King of England.

In 1404, Glyndŵr captured Aberystwyth and Harlech castles, formed an agreement with the French and held a Senedd at Machynlleth, where he was crowned Prince of Wales and welcomed emissaries from Scotland, France, and Castille. French assistance arrived in 1405 and much of Wales was in Glyndŵr's control. In 1406 Glyndŵr wrote the Pennal Letter at Pennal near Machynlleth offering Welsh allegiance to the Avignon Pope rather than the Rome Pope and seeking recognition of St David as archbishop of Wales, clerics fluent in Welsh, two Welsh universities, retention of Welsh Church revenues and that the "usurper" Henry Henry IV should be excommunicated. The French did not respond and the rebellion began to falter. Aberystwyth Castle was lost in 1408 and Harlech Castle in 1409 and Glyndŵr was forced to retreat to the Welsh mountains where he continued occasional guerilla raids. It is likely that he died in 1416 at Kentchurch at the Anglo-Welsh border at the home of his daughter Alys. Glyndŵr remains an icon of Welsh identity and nationalism from the 18th century until today.

Council of Wales and the Marches

In 1470 Edward IV formed the council of Wales and the Marches. Following the defeat of Richard III in battle, the Welsh King of England Henry VII continued the use of Council and it was mostly used for judicial purposes. 1660, the council of Wales and the Marches was reconstituted but did not carry the same importance as under Henry VII for example. It was abolished in 1689 following the deposition of James II by the Dutch William III of Orange.

Integration into England

Henry VIII of England introduced the Laws in Wales Acts 1535-1542 via the English parliament, legally integrating Wales and England. This abolished the Welsh legal system brought about by Hywel Dda, and caused the Welsh language to lose any official role or status. The laws also defined the England-Wales border for the first time, and members representing constituencies in Wales could be elected to the English Parliament. The Marcher Lordships and Principality of Wales were united, essentially ending both.

Wales legally defined as England

Around 200 years later and according to Blackstone's commentaries, the Wales and Berwick Act 1746 was passed, declaring that "where England only is mentioned in any act of parliament, the same notwithstanding hath and shall be deemed to comprehend the dominion of Wales and town of Berwick upon Tweed", meaning England would henceforth be used as a term to describe England, Wales and the town of Berwick.

20th century

Welsh devolution

* The Sunday Closing (Wales) Act 1881 was the first legislation to acknowledge that Wales had a separate politico-legal character from the rest of the English legal jurisdiction.
* The Welsh Church Act 1914 was passed giving the Church in Wales the freedom to govern its own affairs from 1920 onwards, following the end of the first world war after much campaigning from the likes of David Lloyd George.
* A minister focused on Welsh affairs was appointed in the UK government from the early 1950s onwards and in 1965 the Welsh Office (now Wales Office), a government department focused on this subject, was established which increasingly took responsibility for aspects of Wales' governance.
* In 1997, a second referendum, following the 1979 referendum, on devolution, saw the Welsh electorate vote narrowly in favour of establishing a National Assembly for Wales by 50.3 per cent, on a 50.2 per cent turnout.
* In May 2020, the Senedd and Elections (Wales) Act 2020, the National Assembly for Wales was renamed "Senedd Cymru" or "the Welsh Parliament", commonly known as the "Senedd" in both English and Welsh, to reflect increased legislative powers.

See also

* Welsh rebellions against English rule
* Wars of Scottish Independence
* Irish War of Independence

References

Bibliography

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{{wales topics

History of Wales
Principality of Wales