| Humans first inhabited what is now Wales
at the end of the last Ice Age. The first documented history
was during the Roman occupation of Britain. At that time the
area of modern Wales was divided into many tribes, of which
the Silures in the south-east and the Ordovices in the central
and north-west areas were the largest and most powerful. The
Romans established a string of forts across what is now southern
Wales, as far west as Carmarthen (Maridunum), and mined gold
at Dolaucothi in Carmarthenshire. There is evidence that they
progressed even further west. They also built the legionary
fortress at Caerleon (Isca), whose magnificent amphitheatre
is the best preserved in Britain. The Romans were also busy
in northern Wales, and an old legend claims that Magnus Maximus,
one of the last emperors, married Elen or Helen, the daughter
of a Welsh chieftain from Segontium, near present-day Caernarfon.
After the collapse of the Roman Empire in Britain during
410, Wales became divided into several kingdoms. Attempts
by the Anglo-Saxon tribes to invade these kingdoms failed
due to the fierce resistance of its people and its mountainous
terrain. An Anglo-Saxon king, Offa of Mercia, is credited
with having constructed a great earth wall, or dyke, along
the border with his kingdom, to mark off a large part of Powys
which he had conquered. Parts of Offa's Dyke can still be
seen today. Christianity was introduced to Wales in the 4th
century.
Caernarfon Castle, built by Edward I of England after the
English conquest of Wales in 1282.
Following the Norman conquest of England in 1066, the independence
of Wales was gradually eroded. In 1282, Edward I of England
defeated Llywelyn the Last, Wales's last independent Prince,
in battle. Edward constructed a series of great stone castles
in order to keep the Welsh under control. The best known are
at Caerphilly, Caernarfon, Conwy, and Harlech. Wales was legally
annexed by the Laws in Wales Act 1535, in the reign of Henry
VIII of England. The Wales and Berwick Act 1746 provided that
all laws that applied to England would automatically apply
to Wales (and Berwick, a town located on the Anglo-Scottish
border) unless the law explicitly stated otherwise.
In the twentieth century, Wales saw a revival in its national
status. An independence movement was led by Plaid Cymru, seeking
greater autonomy for the region from England. In 1955, the
term England and Wales became common for describing the area
to which English law applied, and Cardiff was proclaimed as
capital. In 1962 the Welsh Language Society was formed in
response to fears that the language may soon die out. Nationalism
grew, particularly following the flooding of the Tryweryn
valley in 1965, drowning the village of Capel Celyn to create
a reservoir supplying water to Liverpool. In 1966 the Carmarthen
Parliamentary seat was won by Plaid Cymru at a by-election,
their first Parliamentary seat. A terror campaign was waged
by Welsh nationalists for a short period by the Free Wales
Army and Mudiad Amddiffyn Cymru (MAC - Welsh Defence Movement).
In the years leading up to the investiture of Prince Charles
as Prince of Wales in 1969, these groups were responsible
for a number of bomb blasts destroying water pipes and tax
and other offices. In 1969, the Wales and Berwick Act 1746
was repealed for Wales, and a legal definition of Wales, and
the boundary with England was stated.
A referendum on the creation of an assembly for Wales in
1979 led to a large majority for the "no". However,
in 1997 a referendum on the issue was secured, although by
a narrow majority partly due to the large number of English
people now living in Wales. The National Assembly for Wales
was set up in 1999 (as a consequence of the Government of
Wales Act 1998) and possesses the power to determine how the
government budget for Wales is spent and administered.
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