Wales (0)

COUNTRY ITSELF
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain , bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west . It has over 1,200 km of coastline, and is largely mountainous. The country is obv ruled by Elizabeth II, but it has its own first minister, Carwyn Jones. The country lies within the north temperate zone, and has a changeable, maritime climate. People in Wales speak Welsh and English . Sadly 73% of people say that they have no skills in Welsh.
HISTORY!
Neanderthals lived in what is now Wales at least 230,000 years ago. Homo sapiens had arrived by about 31,000 BC. The first people from outer world to step their foot on Wales’ area were Celts about 1000 BC. The first recorded information about people in Wales is when Romans came in the 48AD. At that time people talked in Celtic language , which later on was evolved to Welsh.
When Kingdom of Mercia invaded England it the was the most powerful from 650–800. The Welsh people didn’t want to surrender so they kept fighting back but they sadly lost their land to this powerful new kingdom. In an effort to defend their new territory in 784 King of Mercia built an earthwork barrier, known as Wat's Dyke. It reached from sea to sea. Wat’s Dyke was the first permanent boundary between the Welsh and English people.
In England the period from 800-1000 AD is often called the late Anglo- Saxon period. Anglo-Saxon kingdoms liked nationalism. Numerous attempts were made throughout this period to create, if not a nation of Wales, then at least larger and more powerful kingdoms within Wales. One of the early leaders of these tentative movements toward nationalism was Rhodri ap Merfyn, later to be known as Rhodri Mawr (Rhodri the Great). In 877 the two "Greats", Rhodri and Alfred clashed, and the Welsh leader and his son were killed. England kings fearful of the power of Rhodri's sons , submitted to the overlordship of Wessex, who were English leaders. Eventually even two other son’s of Rhodri the Great were forced to acknowledge Alfred Wessex as their overlord. This step was to have far-reaching consequences for English leaders since they could claim overlordship of pretty much all over the Wales.
In 1066 when Normans invaded England Welsh rose in revolt. By the 1100 Normans were driven out of two big costal areas and almost from all of the middle Wales.
In 1176 the very first Eisteddfod, a Welsh festival of music and literature was held . The festival is held nowadays , too.
1283 Edward 1 ordered the building of castles in Wales. Between 1276 and 1295 he built or repaired 17 castles. Today we have over 600 castles in Wales. With that did Edward I may seem like a saint but he was the one who ordered to capture the last Princess of Wales, Gwenllian, from her cradle. Her mum died in a labor and dad died in the battle against English forces. Her uncle carried on the guardian-ship but his family was captured from their secret hiding place. Princess and two cousins were taken to imprison them and Gwenllian’s uncle was executed. Gwenllian was placed in the Priory at Sempringham, where she was held behind high walls until her death fifty- four years later. In committing her to a convent , Edward's aim was not only to prevent her from marrying and having sons who might lay claim to the Principality of Wales, but also to hide her away , unknown to the outside world. He chose because of its remote location and there was an order in which nuns were hidden from view behind high walls. Edward I offered the Prior and Prioress 20 pounds a year for taking Princess in. It was an offer they couldn’t decline. In 1301 , Edward created his own son Prince of Wales; a tradition that continues to this day.
1536 The first Act of Union was passed between England and Wales. Wales becomes united politically with England and is governed by English law.

• 1801, the first official census record, the population of Wales is 587,000 and the biggest city had 7,705 inhabitants.
  
• In 1839 finally my town made a breakthrough when Bute Dock was built at Cardiff. It supplied vast amounts of coal to the world's new navies, and causing Cardiff’s rapid expansion into the largest and most important city in Wales.
  
• In 1856 our national anthem was mad by Evan James and James James.
  
• Finally in 1905 the best town in wolrd, Cardiff, was elevated to city status .
  
• In 1916 it was a big day for Wales people when David Lloyd George became the first Welsh Prime Minister of the UK. He was also the only Prime Minister to speak English as a second language, Welsh being his first.
  
• In 1995 the first radio broadcast in Welsh was made. The BBC begins to broadcast Welsh language programs from their studio.
  
• 1955 Cardiff = capital of Wales
  
• 1997 The Welsh public votes yes to the establishment of the National Assembly for Wales, allowing Wales to become a distinct constitutional entity within the UK for the first time in 40 years.
  

Welsh is one of the oldest spoken languages in Europe.