Wales, conquest of (1277-95). Norman penetration of Wales began in the 11th century, but true conquest was not achieved until the reign of Edward I. Southern Wales came under the sway of the Anglo-Norman marcher lords, but the north was a different matter. Despite the scale of the resources he could muster, Henry II was largely unsuccessful in his campaigns in north Wales, while in the early 13th century Llywelyn the Great took full advantage of the political difficulties faced by King John. Although it was said that Henry III aimed at conquest in 1225, a series of campaigns in his reign yielded no more than a formal agreement with the rulers of Gwynedd in 1245. The events of the Barons' war in England provided Llywelyn ap Gruffudd with a fresh opportunity to assert the power of Gwynnedd.
Edward I's initial campaign in 1277 was intended to curb Llywelyn's power, and to make it clear that the Welsh prince owed homage to the English king. These aims were easily achieved. The king advanced from Chester to Flint, and eventually to Rhuddlan and Deganwy. A force was sent by sea to take Anglesey. Edward imposed a humiliating treaty on Llywelyn. The English king's reluctance to reward those Welshmen who had supported him in 1277, notably Llywelyn's brother Dafydd, combined with disputes over the use of English or Welsh law, led to rebellion in 1282. Dafydd was joined by Llywelyn in this rising; English-held castles in north Wales fell to surprise attacks. A massive campaign was organized and Edward again advanced from Chester to Flint and then on to Rhuddlan, while marcher lords operated in mid- and south Wales. A bridge of boats was constructed, linking Anglesey to the mainland, to provide another attack route. An English force was defeated in November as it attempted to return to Anglesey across the bridge, but a month later, on 11 December, Llywelyn was killed at the battle of Irfon Bridge when he made a move into mid-Wales. Dafydd's forces held out until the following year, but the conquest was complete.
There was a small-scale rebellion in the south in 1287 and a far more serious uprising in 1294, which required another major royal campaign. Once again the royal army advanced from Chester, and wintered at Conwy. Other forces mustered at Montgomery and Carmarthen. The Welsh leader Madog was captured at the battle of Maes Moydog by the Montgomery army under the Earl of Warwick in March 1295, and the rebellion collapsed.
The conquest was not achieved by imaginative generalship. Edward's strategy of advancing along or near the coast varied little. The Welsh were reluctant to fight major battles and those that did take place were little more than skirmishes between relatively small forces. It was the sheer weight of resources that the English were able to deploy that was crucial in the conquest; in 1294-5 Edward was able to send some 30, 000 men to Wales and each phase of the conquest was followed by fortification on an impressive scale. New castles such as Flint, Harlech, Conwy, and Caernarfon were sited so that supply by sea would be easy, while they were built on a massive scale so that they could provide bases from which substantial forces could operate. It was also important that Wales was not a united country. In 1277 Edward was able to capitalize on divisions within the ruling house of Gwynedd, and he was always able to recruit extensively in south Wales for his campaigns in the north.
Edward's campaigns, and the political settlement that followed them, transformed Wales. The old ruling families were destroyed, and a new administrative structure introduced. This was a true conquest, and the English achievement was not undone by rebellions such as those of Llywelyn Bren in 1316, or Owain Glyndwr (Glendower) in the early 15th century.
Bibliography
- Davies, R. R., Conquest, Coexistence and Change: Wales 1063-1415 (Oxford, 1987).
- Morris, J. E., The Welsh Wars of Edward I (Oxford, 1901).
- Prestwich, M. C., Edward I (London, 1988)
— Michael Prestwich
