TO WHAT EXTENT IS WALES A NATION.

 

                What is a nation, and does Wales qualify for this title.  Or does Wales still continue to be an extension of the ‘Acts of Union’ (1536/1542).  This essay will discuss this question in some detail. 

Let us look at the criteria of nationhood.  All emerging nations must have a beginning in time, a naturally defined infrastructure, and a self wish to move forward towards independence.  The people must be prepared to accept no defeat when times get hard.  National fervour and tenacity must exist if the people are to progress forward.  The Oxford Dictionary (1996) says of the word ‘Nation’,  “A community of people of mainly common descent, history, language etc. forming a state, inhabiting a territory or political institution”.  To this, I believe we should add language, education, and sports.

                Since the ‘Acts of Union’, Wales had suffered with negative propaganda, such terms as “Rooted in Nothing” and “Lost in the sands of time” where common insults portrayed as Wales.  Even the Welsh language was denigrated in the early 19th century as Griffiths (1998) (pers. com.) quotes from an unknown source who said “That Welsh distorts the truth, favours fraud, and abets perjury”. Jones (1994) quotes Bishop Basil Jones of St. David’s in 1886 who said, “Wales was little more than a geographical expression”.  These commentators where to be proved wrong time and time again.

                Any nation must have a stable or increasing basic population and Wales certainly met this specification.  Jones (1994) points out “That the population of Wales in the early 1800s was only 587,000.  A hundred years later (1901) it had risen to over 2 million. The 1991 census gives a population figure of 2.8 million”. He goes on to say “That changes on this scale, changed the very ‘fabric’ of the Wales”.  Whilst the increases between 1800-1900 where due to the sudden explosive industrialisation of the southern counties, (Iron, coal, copper, and tin-plate etc.) it nevertheless provided the first qualification towards nationhood.

Nowadays since the demise of the coal and iron industries, government agencies such as the ‘Welsh Development Board’ have worked to attract industry back into Wales.  To some extent it has been successful in attracting foreign companies to set up assembly lines for car manufacturing. Electronic manufacturers have also invested heavily into the Welsh infrastructure.  The building of ’Motorways’, link roads, a rapid rail system to London, plus a proposed extension to Cardiff airport has consolidated the attractiveness of Wales as a desirable place to set up businesses.  Wales now has a positive image of its own as a manufacturing centre, and relies less and less upon the so-called ‘gifts of government’.  From this vantage point we can take a small backward glance to its past, and look into how the Welsh people themselves have coalesced into a nation.

                The most Welshness of the Welsh is their language.  (With a history going back to the 6th century).  Evans (1989) says “That the common people clung to the Welsh language, because it was ‘their’ language.  It was their language in the sense that it was incorporated into their own institutions, chapels, temperance societies, choral unions, and their Eisteddfodau etc.”  In 1851, some 54% of people could speak Welsh; this has reduced to an all time low of approx. 18% in 1998.  What caused this drop was firstly, the decline of the industrial conurbation’s in which the Welsh was the only language used.  Another reason is the severe decline in the popularity of ‘non-conformist religion’ in which Welsh was extensively used.

However so important is the basic language of any nation, that nowadays there is a massive move to, not only retain it, but to increase its acceptance through Welsh learner classes.  Plaid Cymru itself is pushing for language improvement, and to day the language is now compulsory in all Welsh schools up to 16yrs of age.  There is an increase in teaching of all subjects through the medium of Welsh; Aberystwyth had the first ‘Welsh Medium’ school.  Thus again, we see that the tenacity of the ‘Ideals of nationhood’, have born fruition.  The government seeing this resurrection to nationhood, started to take action, i.e. The ‘Welsh Language Act’ (1966), not very effective, the ‘Welsh Language Board’ (1988), and the ‘Welsh Language Act’ (1992), which gave equal status to the language in all Welsh matters).

                A nations religion is always considered a ‘back to basics’ building block of that nation.  The rise of ‘non conformist religion’ between the early 1800s and the first World War reached over 500,000, (1906), with over 3,00 chapels.  Williams (1950) says “That ‘non conformist religion’ created a nation of hard working, honest, and compliant workers”.  Jones (1994) adds, “The non conformist religion was also a political force in mesh with the burgeoning political Liberalism”.  This huge movement also provided educational programmes, and a source of regulated leisure activities.  Nowadays the need by the population for spiritual relief has been diminished, with better wages leading to modern leisure, use of radio and T.V, property ownership, foreign holiday’s etc.  However their still exists a basic religious fervour and some chapels and churches continue to thrive.  (St. Michaels, Aberystwyth, boasts some 400 members each service).  Thus the religious base still exists to give a moralising support to daily life, and is still a part of the Welsh nationhood.

                In any nation, ‘Culture’ is the very basic ‘glue’ that pulls together all the intellectual strands of art, music, and heritage.  Borrow (1842) said (rather naively), “That if you put five Welshman together they will not only sing, they will build a place (chapel) to sing in”.  Whilst this statement may indicate a Welshman’s love of music and art, I believe that there is much more to nationhood than just this.  Music and cultural poetry has always been a part of the Welsh way if life.  The Eisteddfod (first recorded in 1176) is a yearly cultural gathering very close to the heart of every Welshman.  It provides a platform for both music and culture of every form, and is often a platform for political debate of Welsh affairs.  The youth of Wales is not forgotten as it is in England.  The ‘Urdd’ concerns itself with promoting the Welsh way of life, providing schools, concerts, camps, and even their own ‘Eisteddfod’ to its youth.  Another institution is the ‘National Welsh Orchestra’, which provides concerts throughout Wales, and often backs Welsh singers etc.  Wales can be said to cater from the ‘cradle to the grave’ in its cultural accommodation.

                Education in Wales suffered from early abuse from England.  The ‘Treason of the Blue Books’ (A report of the state of Welsh education in 1847) was commentated on by Jenkins (1992) who said “That the report was full of cheap insults, and gratuitous offensive generalisations”.  This report hurt the Welsh a lot, and from then onwards the Welsh where spurred on to ensure that never again would such a thing be said about them in the future.  Nowadays Wales provides a centre of educational excellence throughout.  The ‘Welsh Intermediate Act (1899), was ahead of England in providing secondary schools education.  The educational needs of the Welsh where further enhanced with the setting up of self contained universities.  Wales now has universities at Lampeter (1822), Aberystwyth (1872), Cardiff (1883), Bangor (1884), and Swansea (1920).  These universities in 1893 joined together to form the ‘University of Wales’.  The ‘Central Wales Board (1896), and the ‘Welsh Dept. of the Board of Education (1907) oversaw the educational standards throughout Wales.  Many of the old ‘Mine Eng. Schools’ have also been upgraded to ‘Polytechnics’.  All this provided Wales with a top-flight educational system independent of England.

The popularisation of Welsh ‘media’ within Wales is ensured with newspapers, such as ’Y Cymro’(1890), ‘Western Mail’ (1869), plus lots of local Welsh language papers. etc.  The importance of Wales as a nation is epitomised by having its own Welsh language radio (B.B.C. Radio Cymru, in 1979), and television services (S4C, in 1982)which are actually produced within Wales, and not imported.

                Heritage is according to Bannerman (1997) “A nations belief, in that, its past shows progression, to the increasing civilisation of its present”.  Perhaps the biggest and most important repository of Welsh culture is the ‘National Library of Wales’ where apart from its natural function (Copy of every book etc.) stores a huge collection of Welsh manuscripts carefully preserved for future historians.  The ‘Museum of Wales’ serves a similar function for Welsh artefacts.  The ‘Folk Museum’ at St. Fagin’s and the ‘Welsh Academy’ also provide artefacts of Welsh heritage.  Whilst some people may scoff at heritage, every nation of any renown, needs proof of its early existence in time, it also provides, pride in its future.

                The politics of an emerging nation must reflect the struggle to divorce itself from the conventional politics of the parent country.  It must have a political ‘ideal’ of its own.  Years of Conservative/Labour governments had done little to aid Wales in its self-determination.  Following ‘World War 2.  The British government realising that Wales wanted one day, have a life of its own, started an appeasement programme.  A succession of ‘bolt-on’ plans to appease the Welsh was instigated.  The following is a table of the main appeasements: -

 

1951

Minister for Welsh Affairs, (Non Cabinet).

1954

First Welsh Affairs Minister (G. Lloyd-George).

1955

Cardiff becomes Wales’s first city.

1959

Red Dragon as official flag.

1959

Eisteddfod Act. Allows County Councils to contribute funds.

1964

Welsh Grand Committee.

1964

Secretary of State for Wales.

1964

Welsh Election Form Act.

1967

Welsh Language Act.

1967

Welsh Arts Council.

1969

Investiture of Prince of Wales.

1973

Ombudsman for County Councils.

1974

Parliamentary Oaths in Welsh allowed.

1975

Welsh Office formed.

1977

CADW-Monuments Council.

1979

First Devolution Act, Failed.

1979

Select Committee for Welsh Affairs.

1988

Welsh Language Board.

1992

Welsh Language Act.

1997

Second Devolution Act, Successful.

1999

Assembly for Wales.

????

Independence.

 

It is very doubtful that Wales will accept anything other than full independence, both politically, with  ‘European Union’ membership, and even monetary independence one day. 

The only really Welsh political party is ‘Plaid Cymru’, (Formed in 1925 at the ‘Eisteddfod’ in Phwelli).  We must recognise the ‘Welsh Labour Party’ as well, but most Welsh people still regard ‘Plaid Cymru’ as the only grass roots party, with 4 MPs. in Parliament.  The party has moved from its ‘Home Rule for Wales’ at any price, to that of independence through referendum, and political affinity with Europe.  It is nowadays a serious party with an increasing membership, and a voice in parliament. 

In conclusion, to the question of  “To what extent is Wales a nation”, one can draw many differing conclusions.  If we look at how Wales has moved ‘from the mists of time’ era, then Wales in the present day is moving easily towards ‘Nationhood’.  However it would be silly to think that this move ‘just happened’.  Wales had to fight every inch of the way towards this aspired independence.  Its language is threatened by its wish for integration with English/European nations.  Whilst attempts are being made in the educational field to keep it alive, it is doubtful if it will survive. 

Wales has however survived the huge industrial collapse of the early 20th century, with new work places and new industries coming to Wales.  Its culture however is firmly based by the wish of the people to maintain their heritage, and to be justly proud of their history.

                It is I believe the wish of the Welsh people to get behind their own Welsh political party ‘Plaid Cymru’ in order to fight for their own independence.  Future referendums will I’m sure show that Wales is now ready for this dramatic change.  People, infrastructure, work, culture, and education, will ensure that Wales is indeed a ‘Nation in Waiting’.

 

REFERENCES.

Bannerman,J. (1996) Societies.  (Penguin, London)P. 44.

Borrow,G. (1842) Walking in Wild Wales (Cambridge Press,London.)P.23.

Evans,D. (1989) History of Wales 1815-1906.(Univ. Press. Cardiff)P. 301,

Jenkins,P. (1992) Modern Wales.(Longman. London.)P. 309,330.

Jones,G. (1984) Modern Wales.(Cambridge Press, London)P. 151,305,

Williams,D.(1950) History of Modern Wales.(Murray. London)P. 276,

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY.

Bannerman,J.  Societies. (Penguin, London.1996)

Borrow,G.  Walking in Wild Wales. (Cambridge Press, London. 1842.)

Evans,D.   History of Wales 1815-1906.(Univ. Press. Cardiff. 1989)

Jenkins,P.  Modern Wales.(Longman. London. 1992)

Jones,G.   Modern Wales.(Cambridge Press, London. 1984)

Lane,J. et al.  GCSE-History.(Letts Press. London)

Weigallid,A.  A-Level History.(Letts Press, London. 1982)

Williams,D  History of Modern Wales.(Murray. London. 1950)