
Welsh nationalism () emphasises and celebrates the distinctiveness of
Welsh culture
The culture of Wales encompasses the Welsh language, customs, Traditional festival days of Wales, festivals, Music of Wales, music, Welsh art, art, Welsh cuisine, cuisine, Welsh mythology, mythology, History of Wales, history, and Politics of ...
and
Wales
Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
as a nation or country. Welsh nationalism may also include calls for further autonomy or
self-determination
Self-determination refers to a people's right to form its own political entity, and internal self-determination is the right to representative government with full suffrage.
Self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international la ...
, which includes
Welsh devolution, meaning increased powers for the
Senedd, or full
Welsh independence.
History
English rule in Wales
Through most of its
history
History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...
before the
Anglo-Norman Conquest, Wales was divided into several kingdoms. From time to time, rulers such as
Hywel Dda,
Gruffudd ap Llywelyn and
Rhodri the Great managed to unify many of the kingdoms, but their lands were divided on their deaths.
Wales first appeared as a unified independent country from 1055 to 1063 under the leadership of the only King of Wales to have controlled all the territories of Wales,
Gruffydd ap Llywelyn. Three years later the Normans invaded, and briefly controlled much of Wales, but by 1100
Anglo-Norman control of Wales was reduced to the lowland
Gwent,
Glamorgan
Glamorgan (), or sometimes Glamorganshire ( or ), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It is located in the South Wales, south of Wales. Originally an ea ...
,
Gower, and
Pembroke, regions which underwent considerable Anglo-Norman colonisation, while the contested border region between the Welsh princes and Anglo-Norman barons became known as the
Welsh Marches.

Incursions from the English and
Normans
The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; ; ) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and locals of West Francia. The Norse settlements in West Franc ...
also amplified divisions between the kingdoms. In the 12th century, Norman king
Henry II of England exploited differences between the three most powerful Welsh kingdoms,
Gwynedd
Gwynedd () is a county in the north-west of Wales. It borders Anglesey across the Menai Strait to the north, Conwy, Denbighshire, and Powys to the east, Ceredigion over the Dyfi estuary to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. The ci ...
,
Powys
Powys ( , ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It borders Gwynedd, Denbighshire, and Wrexham County Borough, Wrexham to the north; the English Ceremonial counties of England, ceremo ...
, and
Deheubarth, allowing him to make great gains in Wales.
He defeated and then allied with
Madog ap Maredudd of Powys in 1157, and used this alliance to overwhelm
Owain Gwynedd. He then turned on
Rhys ap Gruffydd of Deheubarth, who finally submitted to him in 1171, effectively subjugating much of Wales to Henry's
Angevin Empire.
In the 13th century, the last prince of Wales,
Llywelyn the Last retained his rights to Wales in an agreement with Henry III in the
Treaty of Montgomery in 1267. Henry's successor,
Edward I, disapproved of Llywelyn's alliance with Simon de Montfort, who revolted along with other barons against the English king in the
Second Barons' War of 1264–1267; and so in 1276 Edward's army forced Llywelyn into an agreement that saw Llywelyn withdraw his powers to Gwynedd only. In 1282, whilst attempting to gather support in
Cilmeri near
Builth Wells, Llywelyn was killed. Llywelyn's brother,
Dafydd ap Gruffydd, briefly led a force in Wales, but was captured and later
hanged, drawn and quartered.
Since conquest, there have been
Welsh rebellions against English rule. The last and most significant revolt was the
Glyndŵr Rising of 1400–1415, which briefly restored independence.
Owain Glyndŵr held the first Welsh parliament (Senedd) in
Machynlleth in 1404, when he was proclaimed Prince of Wales, and a second parliament in 1405 in
Harlech. After the eventual defeat of the Glyndŵr rebellion and a brief period of independence, it was not until 1999 that a Welsh legislative body was re-established as the National Assembly of Wales; it was renamed
"Senedd Cymru/Welsh Parliament" in 2020.
In the 16th century, King
Henry VIII of the
Tudor dynasty (a royal house of Welsh origin) together with the
English parliament, passed the
Laws in Wales Acts, also referred to as the "Acts of Union", which incorporated Wales fully into the
Kingdom of England
The Kingdom of England was a sovereign state on the island of Great Britain from the late 9th century, when it was unified from various Heptarchy, Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, until 1 May 1707, when it united with Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland to f ...
. These were not democratic times, and these laws were passed without any democratic mandate. Nevertheless, their effect was to abolish the Welsh legal system and integrate Wales into the English legal system.
[Williams, G. ''Recovery, reorientation and reformation'' pp. 268–273] These Acts also gave political representation for Wales in the Westminster Parliament.
The repressive measures against the Welsh that had been in place since the revolt of Owain Glyndŵr over a century earlier were removed. The Acts also stripped the Welsh language of its official status and role within Wales.
19th century
The rapid industrialisation of parts of Wales, especially
Merthyr Tydfil
Merthyr Tydfil () is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydfil, daughter of K ...
and adjoining areas, gave rise to strong and
radical Welsh
working class movements which led to the
Merthyr Rising of 1831, the widespread support for
Chartism, and the
Newport Rising of 1839.
With the establishment of the
Presbyterian Church of Wales,
nonconformism triumphed in Wales, and gradually the previous majority of conservative voices within the church allied themselves with the more radical and liberal voices within the older dissenting churches of the Baptists and Congregationalists. This radicalism was exemplified by the Congregationalist minister
David Rees of
Llanelli
; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Carmarthenshire and the Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is on the estuary of the River Loughor and is the largest town in the Principal areas of Wales, ...
, who edited the radical magazine ''Y Diwygiwr'' (''The Reformer'') from 1835 until 1865. But he was not a lone voice:
William Rees (also known as
Gwilym Hiraethog) established the radical ''Yr Amserau'' (''The Times'') in 1843, and in the same year
Samuel Roberts also established another radical magazine, ''Y Cronicl'' (''The Chronicle''). Both were Congregationalist pastors.
Treason of the Blue Books
Welsh nationalists were outraged by the
Reports of the Commissioners of Inquiry into the state of education in Wales in 1847. The reports had blue covers, and were ridiculed as ''Brad y Llyfrau Gleision'', or in English, "The Treason of the Blue Books". They found the education system in Wales to be in a dreadful state; they condemned the Welsh language and Nonconformist religion. The commissioners' report is infamously known for its description of Welsh speakers as barbaric and immoral. Ralph Lingen was responsible for the Blue Books of 1846. By contrast the Reverend Henry Longueville Jones, Her Majesty's Inspector of church schools in Wales between 1848 and 1865, led the opposition to subordination to the education department under Lingen. Jones's reports supported bilingual education and praised the work of many church elementary schools. They came under attack in
Whitehall
Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London, England. The road forms the first part of the A roads in Zone 3 of the Great Britain numbering scheme, A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea, London, Chelsea. It ...
. Jones failed to gain full support in Wales because of his Anglicanism and his criticisms of many certified teachers.
Cymru Fydd
David Lloyd George was one of the main leaders of
Cymru Fydd, an organisation created with the aim of establishing a
Welsh Government
The Welsh Government ( ) is the Executive (government), executive arm of the Welsh devolution, devolved government of Wales. The government consists of Cabinet secretary, cabinet secretaries and Minister of State, ministers. It is led by the F ...
and a "stronger Welsh identity". As such Lloyd George was seen as a radical figure in British politics and was associated with the reawakening of Welsh nationalism and identity. In 1880 he said:"Is it not high time that Wales should the powers to manage its own affairs". Historian Emyr Price has referred to him as "the first architect of Welsh devolution and its most famous advocate’" as well as "the pioneering advocate of a powerful parliament for the Welsh people". Lloyd George was also particularly active in attempting to set up a separate Welsh National Party based on
Parnell's
Irish Parliamentary Party, and also worked to unite the North and South Wales Liberal Federations with Cymru Fydd to form a Welsh National Liberal Federation. The Cymru Fydd movement collapsed in 1896 amid personal rivalries and rifts between Liberal representatives such as
David Alfred Thomas.
Industrial period
The growth of radicalism and the gradual politicisation of Welsh life did not include any successful attempt to establish a separate political vehicle for promoting Welsh nationalism. Although the
Industrial Revolution in Wales did give rise to the patriotic movements, Anglicised influences still held a grip on Wales and had a negative effect on the language and Welsh nationalism. English was still legally the only official language of Wales, and was seen as the language of progress. More and more English migrants came to work in the Welsh mines, and other English influences spread into Wales due to the development of the railways. The Welsh language was left behind by many in favour of English, which was seen as an effective and more progressive language in the new industrialised world. Some, as can be seen from the
1911 census, decided against passing on the Welsh language and culture to future generations in favour of integrating with the English way of life, to improve their chances of success in life through careers and acceptance into the wider community. For the first time in 2000 years the Welsh language was now a minority language in Wales, with only 43.5% of the population speaking the language. Welsh nationalism weakened under the economic pressure as the coal industry of
South Wales
South Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the Historic counties of Wales, historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire ( ...
was increasingly integrated with English industry. On the whole, nationalism was the preserve of antiquarians, not political activists.
20th century

The Labour Party dominated politics in Wales in the 1920s; it suffered a sharp setback in 1931, but maintained its hold on Wales. The leftists such as
Aneurin Bevan who dominated the party in Wales rejected nationalism as a backward reactionary movement that was more favourable to
capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their use for the purpose of obtaining profit. This socioeconomic system has developed historically through several stages and is defined by ...
and not to socialism. Instead they wanted a strong government in London to reshape the entire state economy.
In 1925
Plaid Genedlaethol Cymru ("National Party of Wales") was founded; it was renamed "Plaid Cymru - The Party of Wales" in 1945. The party's principles since its founding are:
# self government for Wales,
# to safeguard the culture, traditions, language and economic position of Wales,
# to secure membership for a self-governing Welsh state in the United Nations.
The party's first
Westminster
Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...
seat (MP) was won by
Gwynfor Evans in 1966. By 1974 the party had won three MP seats.
In the 2019 general election it won four seats. Following the formation of the
Senedd 1999, Plaid Cymru won 17 of 60 seats in the initial Welsh election of 1999 and 13 MS seats in 2021.
In the 1950s, the dismantling of the
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...
removed a sense of Britishness, and there was a realisation that Wales was not as prosperous as south-east England as well as some other smaller European countries. Successive Conservative Party victories in Westminster led to suggestions that only through self-government could Wales achieve a government reflecting the votes of a Welsh electorate. The
Tryweryn flooding, which was voted against by almost every single Welsh MP, suggested that Wales as a nation was powerless. The
Epynt clearance in 1940 has also been described as a "significant – but often overlooked – chapter in the history of Wales".
On 1 July 1955, a conference of all parties was called at Llandrindod by the New Wales Union (
Undeb Cymru Fydd) to consider a national petition for the campaign for a Parliament for Wales. The main leader was
Megan Lloyd George, the daughter of David Lloyd George, T. I. Ellis, and Sir Ifan ab Owen Edwards. According to the historian William Richard Philip George, "Megan was responsible for removing much prejudice against the idea of a parliament for Wales". She later presented the petition with 250,000 signatures to the British government in April 1956.
Official flag and capital city
The first official flag of Wales was created in 1953 for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. This "augmented" flag including the Royal badge of Wales was criticised in 1958 by the "
Gorsedd y Beirdd", a national Welsh group comprising Welsh literary figures and other notable Welsh people. In 1959, likely in response to criticism, the Welsh flag was changed to a red Welsh dragon on a green and white background. That remains the current flag of Wales today.
On 21 December 1955, the Lord Mayor of
Cardiff
Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...
announced to a crowd that Cardiff was now the official
capital of Wales, following a parliamentary vote the previous day by Welsh local authority members. Cardiff won the vote with 136 votes compared to second-placed Caernarfon with 11. A campaign for Cardiff to become the capital city had been ongoing for 30 years. Historian James Cowan outlined some reasons why Cardiff was chosen. These included:
*Being the largest city in Wales with a population of 243,632, and
* Buildings in
Cathays Park, such as City Hall and the
National Museum of Wales among other reasons.
Martin Johnes, a lecturer at
Swansea University, claims that with the formation of the devolved assembly in 1999, Cardiff had become "a capital in a meaningful way, as the home of the Welsh government, whereas before, its capital status was irrelevant, it was just symbolic".
21st century
A 2007 survey by BBC Wales Newsnight found that 20% of Welsh people surveyed favoured Wales becoming independent of the United Kingdom.
There have been calls for a
new UK flag or a redesign of the Union Jack which includes representation of Wales. Currently Wales is the only nation within the UK without representation in the UK's flag.
In 2009 the
Archbishop of Wales,
Barry Morgan, renewed his call for the then
Assembly to be granted full law-making powers, calling for a "greater degree of self-determination" for Wales.
A
YouGov
YouGov plc is a international Internet-based market research and data analytics firm headquartered in the UK with operations in Europe, North America, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific.
History
2000–2010
Stephan Shakespeare and Nadhim ...
poll taken in September 2015 suggested that 17% of Welsh people would vote for independence. Another poll by Face for Business suggested support could be as high as 28%. These were in stark contrast to the previous two polls conducted by
ICM Research for the BBC, which had said support was as low as 5% and 3% respectively.
The
2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum
The 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, commonly referred to as the EU referendum or the Brexit referendum, was a referendum that took place on 23 June 2016 in the United Kingdom (UK) and Gibraltar under the provisions o ...
saw the voters in Wales choosing the "Leave" option by 52.5 per cent to 47.5 per cent.
A Welsh Political Barometer poll, conducted for ITV-Cymru Wales and Cardiff University's
Wales Governance Centre from 30 June to 4 July 2016, showed support for Welsh independence had increased after the Brexit vote. Responding to the question "And please imagine a scenario where the rest of the UK left the European Union but Wales could remain a member of the European Union if it became an independent country. If a referendum was then held in Wales about becoming an independent country and this was the question, how would you vote? Should Wales be an independent country?", the results were: Yes: 28%, No: 53%, Would Not Vote/Don't Know: 20%. Removing non-committed voters, 35% of those polled would vote for independence.
In 2022, Dafydd Iwan's 1983 protest song ''Yma o Hyd'' ("Still here") became an anthem for the Welsh World Cup football team. This song is undoubtedly a nationalist song, with lyrics referencing events in Welsh history.
Major active parties and movements
*
YesCymru is a non party-political campaign for an
independent Wales. The organisation was formed in the Summer of 2014
and officially launched on 20 February 2016 in
Cardiff
Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...
.
*
Plaid Cymru - The Party of Wales founded in 1925. The party's principles since its founding are (1) self government for Wales, (2) to safeguard the culture traditions, language and economic position of Wales and (3) to secure membership for a self-governing Welsh state in the United Nations.
* ''
Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg'' (Welsh Language Society). Established in 1962 by members of Plaid Cymru, it is a
pressure group campaigning for Welsh language rights. It uses
non-violent direct action in its campaigning, and sees itself as part of the
global resistance movement.
Militant nationalism
Mainstream nationalism in Wales has been constitutional, and in Wales a pacifist instinct of Welsh nonconformist persisted before and after 1939.
However, there have been some militant movements in Wales described as Welsh militant nationalism.
* In 1952 a small
republican movement, ''Y Gweriniaethwyr'' ("The Republicans"), were the first to use violence when they made an unsuccessful attempt to blow up a
pipeline
A pipeline is a system of Pipe (fluid conveyance), pipes for long-distance transportation of a liquid or gas, typically to a market area for consumption. The latest data from 2014 gives a total of slightly less than of pipeline in 120 countries ...
leading from the
Claerwen dam in
mid Wales to
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
.
* In the 1960s two movements were established in protest against the drowning of the
Tryweryn valley and the 1969
investiture of Charles, Prince of Wales:
Mudiad Amddiffyn Cymru ("Movement for the Defence of Wales", also known as MAC) and the
Free Wales Army (also known as FWA, in Welsh ''Byddin Rhyddid Cymru''). MAC were responsible for numerous bombing attacks on
water pipelines and
power lines across Wales. On the eve of the investiture two alleged members of MAC, Alwyn Jones and George Taylor, died when the bomb they were planting outside a Social Security Office in Abergele exploded.
* The late 1970s and the 1980s saw an organisation calling itself
Meibion Glyndŵr ("sons of Glyndŵr") responsible for a spate of
arson attacks against
holiday homes throughout Wales. In the 1970s, a Welsh Socialist Republican Army arose. Their slogan in English ("Welsh Army for the Welsh Republic") could create an acronym WAWR, a grammatical form of the word ''gwawr'', Welsh for "dawn".
[Williams, Gwyn A. 'When was Wales?']
See also
In Wales
*
Welsh independence
*
Welsh devolution
*
List of movements in Wales
*
Cofiwch Dryweryn
Similar nationalist movements
*
Irish nationalism
Irish nationalism is a nationalist political movement which, in its broadest sense, asserts that the people of Ireland should govern Ireland as a sovereign state. Since the mid-19th century, Irish nationalism has largely taken the form of cult ...
*
Irish republicanism
Irish republicanism () is the political movement for an Irish Republic, Irish republic, void of any British rule in Ireland, British rule. Throughout its centuries of existence, it has encompassed various tactics and identities, simultaneously ...
*
Scottish nationalism
*
Cornish nationalism
*
Breton nationalism
Celtic movements
*
Celtic Congress
*
Celtic League (political organisation)
The Celtic League is a pan-Celtic organization, founded in 1961, that aims to promote Celts (modern), modern Celtic identity and culture in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany, Cornwall and the Isle of Man – referred to as the Celtic nations ...
*
Celts (modern)
References
Sources/bibliography
* Clewes, Roy (1980), ''To dream of freedom: the struggle of M.A.C. and the Free Wales Army''. Talybont: Y Lolfa. .
* Butt Philip, Alan. ''The Welsh question: nationalism in Welsh politics, 1945–1970'' (University of Wales Press, 1975).
* Davies, John (Ed.) (1981), ''Cymru'n deffro: hanes y Blaid Genedlaethol, 1925–75''. Talybont: Y Lolfa. . ''A series of essays on the history of the first fifty years of Plaid Cymru''.
* Davies, R. R (1997) ''The Revolt of Owain Glyn Dwr''. (Oxford UP, 1997) .
* Gruffudd, Pyrs. "Remaking Wales: nation-building and the geographical imagination, 1925–1950." ''Political Geography'' 14#3 (1995): 219–239.
* Jones, Richard Wyn, and
Roger Scully. ''Wales says yes: devolution and the 2011 Welsh referendum'' (University of Wales Press, 2012).
*
Morgan, Kenneth O.
Kenneth Owen Morgan, Baron Morgan, (born 16 May 1934) is a Welsh people, Welsh historian and author, known especially for his writings on modern history, modern history of the British Isles, British history and politics and on History of Wales, ...
''Rebirth of a nation: Wales, 1880–1980'' (Clarendon Press, 1981) .
* Morgan, Kenneth O. "Welsh nationalism: The historical background." ''Journal of Contemporary History'' 6.1 (1971): 153–172
in JSTOR* Morgan, K. O. (1971), 'Radicalism and nationalism'. In A. J. Roderick (Ed.), ''Wales through the ages. Vol II: Modern Wales'', pp. 193–200. Llandybïe: Christopher Davies (Publishers) Ltd. .
* Wyn Thomas, 'Hands Off Wales: Nationhood and Militancy (Gomer, 2013).
* Williams, G. A, ''When Was Wales?: A History of the Welsh''. London. Black Raven Press,
* Humphries, John, "Freedom Fighters: Wales' forgotten war, 1963–1993," Cardiff, University of Wales Press, .
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Welsh Nationalism
Separatism in the United Kingdom
Campaigns and movements in Wales