When was the English Conquest of Wales?

Answer 1

There was no single English conquest of Wales, it happened in a series of stages.

Wales was a fully independent nation up until 1275, when King Llewellyn the Great was killed in a battle with the Normans. In the decades that followed, the Normans set up a heavy military presence in the country, building enormous military garrisons and heavily defended castles, but they were unable to subdue the Welsh people. Their main interest was in securing certain areas for economic or strategic purposes (often on the coast), but had little concern for the wider nation beyond, much of which remained under the control of local chieftains who constantly harried and attacked the Norman fortifications, sometimes with considerable success. The Norman troops seldom ventured outside of their military bases other than in large, heavily armed platoons, and even then this was a dangerous thing to do. It was even more dangerous for English civilians, be they of Saxon or Norman descent- only lower-ranking clergy, such as mendicant friars or simple country priests, could cross the border with any level of safety, knowing that they would be respected and unmolested by the deeply Christian Welsh.

Wales remained in a state similar to that of contemporary Afghanistan for 125 years after the arrival of the Normans- titularly under Plantagenent rule, but in practice governed by local warlords and the remnants of the Welsh royalty, who were held in contempt and disgust by the Plantagenent Kings of England, who taxed them heavily and passed a number of anti-Welsh laws. In 1400, Owain Glyndwr launched his rebellion, a full-scale revolt against English rule- Owain was a descendant of the Welsh royal houses of both Gwynedd and Deheubarth, and the best placed person to lay claim to the Welsh crown. The rebellion was succesful for a number of years- the forces of Henry IV were driven out, a Welsh Parliament was established in the town of Machynlleth, and Wales gained official diplomatic recognition from a number of European nations. He entered into a pact with the English noble houses of Percy and Mortimer to combine forces to overthrow King Henry, which would have resulted in the Welsh border being extended much further Eastwards to incorporate what is now Herefordshire, and England itself being split in two, with the Percy's ruling the North and the Mortimers governing the South. This pact was known as the 'Tripartite Indenture', and had it worked, would have changed the face of Britain forever. But the plan failed- in 1408, Henry IV's son Prince Hal launched a huge counter-offensive against Glyndwr's forces, resulting in the collapse of the Independence movement two years later. Glyndwr disappeared into obscurity, and his burial place remains unknown.

Repressive laws were then brought in against the Welsh to ensure that such a rebellion could never happen again, and the people were treated harshly by the English Government, although Wales remained recognised as a seperate nation. In 1485, the Welsh Henry Tudor defeated Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth with a combined English, Welsh and French army, ending the Plantagenent Dynasty. This resulted in a Welshman becoming King of England for the first time ever, incorporating the Red Dragon into the British Coat of Arms, abolishing the racist anti-Welsh legislation of the Plantagenets, and treating the country with fairness and equality. However, his son Henry VIII brought in the 'Act of Union' in 1536, which effectively abolished Wales as a seperate nation and made it a part of England- he was aware that by the time of his reign, many Welsh people felt that the Tudors had sold out to the English too much, and he wished to forestall the possibility of another Glyndwr-style rebellion.

Wales was thence completely conquered by England, and officially regarded AS England, up until Victorian times, when a new wave of nationalist consciousness swept the country and resulted in Wales becoming officially 'disestablished' shortly before the First World War, once again recognised as an entity in it's own right. Since then it has slowly been regaining it's sovereignty again- the Welsh Nationalist Party, Plaid Cymru, was founded in 1926, and despite Winston Churchill's hatred of Wales when he was Prime Minister, it has continued to increase it's status as a nation in it's own right. In 1997, a Referendum led to the establishment of the Welsh Assembly, which by 2010 was granted full law-making powers in all devolved areas. Independence remains some way off, but the country is moving towards a state of complete control over it's own affairs.

Answer 2

Many rulers in England had made attempts at conquering the native territories of Wales. Edward I after his defeat of Llewellyn the last was able to complete this deed.

Answer 3

The Norman invasion of Wales was actually quite gradual and more related to Norman settlement than military actions. The earliest Norman settlement in Wales was in about 1093 at Rumney .