Dieu et Mon Droit | |||||
| Anthem | "God Save the King" | ||||
| Capital (and largest city) |
London | ||||
| Language official |
English | ||||
| others | Cymraeg (Welsh) Gàidhlig na h-Alba (Scots Gaelic) Gàidhlig na hÉireann (Irish Gaelic) Kernewek (Cornish) | ||||
| Religion main |
Anglicanism (England) Presbyterian (Scotland) | ||||
| others | Roman Catholic (Wales & Ireland) | ||||
| Legislature | House of Commons & House of Lords | ||||
| Emperor of the British Isles or King of Great Britain | George I 1720 - 1727 George II 1727 - 1760 George III 1760 - 1796 | ||||
| Royal house: | Hanover | ||||
| Prime Minister | Robert Walpole Spencer Compton Henry Pelham 1st Duke of Newcastle 4th Duke of Devonshire 1st Duke of Newcastle 3rd Earl of Bute George Grenville 2nd Marquess Rockingham Pitt the Elder 3rd Duke of Grafton Lord North 2nd Marquess Rockingham 2nd Ealr of Shelburne 3rd Duke of Portland Pitt the Younger | ||||
| Population | approx 7,000,000 | ||||
| Established | 21st November 1720 | ||||
| Currency | Sterling | ||||
The signing of the Cytundeb Manceinion (the Treaty of Manchester) saw the start of the period known alternatively as Yr Alwedigaeth Saeson (The English Occupation) and the Cyfnod Ymerodraeth Ynysoedd Prydain (The era of the Empire of the British Isles). In Welsh annals it lasted from 21st November 1720 until the 16th August 1759 when the invasion force of Rhisiart I landed at Harlech, but the Anglo-Scottish state continued to occupy Welsh territory up till the signing of the Cytundeb Amwythig (Treaty of Shrewsbury) on the 23rd August 1796 in the grounds of Castell Amwythig, 76 years of foreign rule over the country.
The use of the phrase Yr Alwedigaeth Saeson is slightly misleading as it was not the Kingdom of England that conquered the Welsh Kingdom, but the Anglo-Scottish kingdom, the United Kingdom of England and Scotland (UKES), but as the English were seen as the traditional enemies of the Welsh, the term soon became established both amongst the people in Wales and the exiled ruling classes.
With the signing of the Cytundeb Manceinion however a new state emerged, the United Kingdom of Great Britain. The remaining senior Welsh nobility having no option but to agree to an act of union with the Anglo-Scottish kingdom. The treaty named the new state as the United Kingdom of Great Britain, although an alternative name soon became popular within the English nobility, that of the Empire of the British Isles. An act of parliament in 1721 gave the popular term legal precedence and whilst the kingdom continued to be referred to as the UK-GB, within England itself the use of British Empire became widespread. King George of England-Scotland became the new monarch of the enlarged kingdom, taking some of the titles used previously by the brenin Cymru. His titles following the cytundeb Manceinion was "His Majesty The King of Great Britain, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, Archtreasurer and Prince-Elector of the Holy Roman Empire, Lord of Snowdonia. With the conquest of Wales, George I of UK-ES also began using the title, King of the Britons (a title previously claimed by the Welsh Kings) though this title tended to only be used within Wales and rarely on official state documents. George II and George III used the titles "George, by the Grace of God, The King of Great Britain, France and Ireland, Emperor of the British Isles, Defender of the Faith, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, Archtreasurer and Prince-Elector of the Holy Roman Empire, Lord of Snowdonia.
Following the signing of the Cytundeb Manceinion a raft of acts were passed in the House of Commons to merge Wales into the Anglo-Scottish state.
Yr Alwedigaeth Saeson (The English Occupation)[]
Flag used by the Imperial British State; 1720-1796
In Welsh annals, the occupation is usually dated as starting in February 1718, however, the years 1718 and 1719 are called Blynyddoedd y Rhyfel (the Years of War) rather than being formally part of the occupation itself. The year 1720 itself is usually referred to as Blwyddyn y Dagrau (the year of tears). Upon the signing of the Treaty of Manchester (November 21st 1720), acts of Parliament were passed in 1721 creating the United Kingdom of Great Britain (sometimes called the Imperial State of Britain). The same acts granted the King the title of Emperor of the British Isles. Within Wales itself, the Crown continued to be called the "Welsh" Crown, with the king also using the title "king of the Britons". Prince George was granted the use of the title Prince of Gwynedd. The Royal Coat of Arms was also
The Royal Arms of the UK-GB 1720-1796
changed to reflect the Crowns new reach, showing all the crowns under its control. 1st Quarter showing England and Scotland, 2nd Quarter France and Wales, 3rd Quarter Ireland and the 4th Quarter the Hanoverian territories in Germany.
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The 1720's[]
The 1720's began with the war still raging in parts of Wales. The war itself had been largely completed by October the previous year with only Ynys Mon remaining free from English control, though the isle was under blockade by English ships and the islands main fortress, Biwmares, was under siege from the sea. The interior of Wales, the canolbarth, was still largely free of English soliders, but the Is-Iarll Aberhonddu was under no illusion over his control of the area with the town of Aberhonddu under siege during January and the English forces overrunning its defences, sacking the town in the February. With the Anrheithiaswn Aberhonddu complete, the Anglo-Scottish forces controlled all of Wales, the Marches and the southern counties of Gwlad yr Haf and Dyfaint Glan Hafren. Only Ynys Mon stood free, but with English guns in Castell Caernarfon, English ships bombarding the coast and the fortress at Biwmares. For a brief moment, the attention shifted from the north back to the south with the Gwrthryfel Gwent (Rebellion of Gwent). Gruffydd ap Goronwy, Arglwydd Caerleon rose in rebellion against the English with his men taking the castells Cil-y-Coed (Caldicot) and Cas-Gwent (Chepstow) cutting the southern supply route for the English armies.
The next few months would see a guerilla war fought by Ap Goronwy's men that helped delay the invasion of Ynys Mon as well as focusing cooler heads in London to look at ways to end the fighting without costing the English exchequer any more sums of money.
During March and April, the fortunes of the Gwent Rebellion waxed high. The occupation of the two fortresses, especially Cas-Gwent, allowed them to strangle any attempts by the English to dislodge them. By the end of May however, a lack of men, money and a failure to get any other part of Wales to rise up with them saw the end of the rebellion. With few men left to him and with no heavy artillery, Gruffydd knew that he would be able to hold the fortresses much longer. An English relief force arrived on the opposite side of the Afon Wy. Rather than sacrifice the lives of his men, Gruffydd ordered his men to abandon the castell.
With the loss of Cas-Gwent, the English forces quickly placed Cil-y-Coed under siege. Gruffydd was caught outside the castells walls with a small band of men and was captured. With his capture, his followers melted away, leaving the castell gates open to Cil-y-Coed. Gruffydd and other leaders of the rebellion were sent to Caerwrangon and held there for trial. At the end of July the English launched an invasion of Ynys Mon.
In the north, soliders flooded onto the isle of Mon, surrounding Biwmares from the landside. Inside the walls of the fortress, the last remaining independent lords of Wales, Gwion Cam, Iarll Mon and Iago Sais, Arglwydd-Archesgob Tyddewi mulled over their remaining options. Under a flag of truce, the Iarll's son, Bleddyn ap Gwion, travelled to the Duke of Cornwalls headquarters in Castell Caernarfon (Palas Harlech being too ruined) to seek a formal end to hostilities.
Bleddyn ap Gwion travelled throughout Wales, under guard by English soldier, summoning the remaining Welsh nobility to a Convocation to be held at Biwmares. The nobility were not left with much option but to attend. Under a flag of safe passage the collected nobles of Wales met in Castell Biwmares, the English land forces pulling back from the town, though the naval blockade remains firmly in place. For a week the nobles argue over what terms they would accept from the Anglo-Scottish state for their willing surrender, but the most important issue was retaining their lands and titles under the new regime. Cornwall's representative explained that all lords willing to swear fealty to George I would be confirmed in their titles and lands. One condition that Cornwall insisted on however was the expulsion of the Arglwydd-Archesgob, which Iago reluctantly accepted.
The Arglwydd-Archesgob and Iarll Gwion travelled under safe passage to Manchester to meet with Cornwall again and on the 21st November 1720, the Cytundeb Manceinion (The Treaty of Manchester) was signed. The Iarll remained in Manchester, the guest of the Duke of Cornwall, the Arglwydd-Archesgob travelled to Liverpool, again under safe passage, where he boarded a ship bound for France and exile.
|
1st Emperor of the British Isles | |
| Predecessor | New Creation |
| Successor | George II |
| Born | 28 May 1660 Hanover |
| Died | 11th June 1727 Osnabrück |
| Spouse | Sophia Dorothea of Celle |
1721
The year started with an element of goodwill by the English towards the Welsh. An act of parliament was passed entitling Welsh representation in Westminster. In order to be either a candidate or an elector for a county seat, a man had to own (not rent) freehold property valued for the land tax at two pounds a year. This was known as the 40 shilling freehold. The Act also enabled the remaining nobles in Wales to sit in the House of Lords in the same manner as their Scottish or English equivalents.
The original Act allowed for one member to be elected per Cantref. This was the method by which the Senedd had seen its members elected or selected and saw 77 new county MP's elected and sent to Westminster in addition to borough MP's which numbered 15. In many cantrefi the election amounted to the local noble selecting a man according to the instruction of Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, who had been installed as the first Governor-General of Wales late in 1720. With Welsh MP's outnumbering their Scottish counterparts, this first tranche of MP's were short-lived. Newcastle held a review of Welsh constituencies in the April of 1721 decided to reduce the number of MP's. The result was a reordering of the Welsh political map, removing the cantref as a political measure and replacing with counties based still on the original Welsh system, but by using this the number of county MP's was reduced to 20 MP's plus the 15 Borough MP's (35 in total) which mollified the Scottish politicians.
1722
With the Welsh quiet, Newcastle felt able in early 1722 to conduct a tour around the conquered kingdom. Leaving the English capital of Wales, Ludlow, he travelled through northern Wales before moving down the western coast. Y Llys yn Alltud (Welsh Court in Exile) had started planning on retaking the kingdom and Dug Dyfed issued orders to Catrawd Ffin, the Y Cyffinwyr (The Border Regiment/Borderers) to prepare for the invasion. By early March, the invasion fleet of Dug Dyfed was ready to sail from Sant Malo in Brittany. The Y Goresgyniad Cyntaf however was a dismal failure. Spring storms wrecked the fleet as it sailed around Pen y Tir (Lands End, also called Penn an Wlas in Cornish), sending the fleet back to France without ever firing a gun in anger.
The English were unaware of this initial invasion and Newcastle was arriving in Carmarthen when news reached him of the aborted attempt. He ordered the garrisons at Milford and Pembroke be increased as he continued his tour through Glamorgan before finishing for Christmas in the Princely palace in Senghennyd.
1723
Despite the Y Goresgyniad Cyntaf failing, the officers of Y Cyffinwyr continued to plan for a series of actions against the English. In March, the Gwrthryfel Morgannwg a Gwent (Glamorgan & Gwent Rebellion) burst into life with Y Cyffinwyr engaging English forces on the 12th March 1723 with the Ysgarmes o Lydney (skirmish of Lydney). Raids by Y Cyffinwyr continue throughout the spring into summer with victories at Littledean, St Owens Cross (Ergyng), Llandenny, Langstone, Sedbury Fort. The run of good fortune ended with the ysgarmes o Matharn on the 22nd June, where the Cyffinwyr were defeated. Retreating back into MOrgannwg, the Welsh forces were engaged by the English at Y Tyllgoed (Fairwater, Cardiff), where the result was inconclusive. The English forces however went on to riot through Cardiff, recorded in the Welsh Annals as Dinistrio Caerdydd (the Sack of Cardiff).
The troops go to ground following this, with Newcastle putting bounties on the heads of the officers involved with the revolt.
By November, informants have provided Newcastle with enough information to flush Y Cyffinwyr out into the open, the Brwydr Caer Llan (Battle of Caer Llan) on the 11th November saw the Catrawd Ffin defeated and captured. Newcastle orders the officers to be sent to Gloucester, where they are held pending trial. The men are sent overseas in indentured servitude to the American colonies. At a trial in early December, Newcastle found the 15 officers captured alive at Caer Llan guilty of treason and all 15 were executed at Gloucester Gaol
1725
June: Spies tip off the English who await the 2nd Invasion fleet of King Rhys. Forced to abandon his landings English Squadrons dog his path back to Brittany
1727
January: New anti Welsh laws are implemented. The Ecclesiastical Colleges are shut down.
March: Worcester rises up in rebellion. The population are then massacred as the English re-take control.
July: The Duke of Newcastle is replaced by Thomas Howard 8th Duke of Norfolk as Governor-General of Wales.
1729
April: Builth Wells rises in revolt,
July: Builth Wells raised to the ground
|
2nd Emperor of the British Isles | |
| Predecessor | George I |
| Successor | George III |
| Born | 10 November 1683 Herrenhausen Palace, Hanover |
| Died | 25 October 1760 Kensington Palace, London |
| Spouse | Caroline of Ansbach |
The 1730's[]
This decade will see further integration with the rest of the United Kingdom, with taxes starting to be generated within the former Welsh Kingdom, and with Welshmen being introduced into the British Navy and Army. The decade would also witness the major Gwynedd Rebellion led by Lord of Cricceith. The decade would close with the Welsh coming the closest to re-attaining independence with the Pembrokeshire Rebellion aimed at combining with an invasion by King Rhys. Its failure almost condemned Rhys's political aspirations for independence for Wales.
1730
August: Naval Battle of Lands End sees the 3rd Invasion fleet defeated.
1732
January to April: Major rebellion in Gwynedd led by Lord Hywel of Cricceith. A simultaneous revolt in Ceredigion is quickly put down. Troops are moved north where a guerrilla war is fought for four months. The English are savage in the their attempts to put down the rebellion. In April Hywel is captured and executed and the rebellion ends.
June: The first born sons of all remaining Welsh Lords are taken hostage by the English authorities.
December: Death of the Duke of Norfolk and the appointment of the Duke of Rutland as 3rd Governor-General of Wales.
1736
March: Rhys leads the 4th Invasion Fleet. Atlantic storms again wreck the fleet.
1738
August: Appointment of George Cholmondeley, 3rd Earl of Cholmondeley as the 4th Governor-General of Wales.
1739
July to December: The Archbishop of Wales leads a rebellion in Pembrokeshire to aid the landing of the 5th Invasion Fleet. The fleet however is delayed and doesn't make landfall until the December by which point the English Authorities have managed to put down the Rebellion. Rhys is defeated in the Battle of Pembroke.
The 1740's[]
This decade would see Wales destablise, with the failure of Rhys' 5th Invasion attempt prompting more stringent anti-Welsh measures being introduced. The banning of the Welsh language from public life, the closure of the monastic houses in Wales and the Roman Church being closely monitored. The British would also try an introduce Anglicanism into the kingdom during this period as well. The decade would also see by far the biggest rebellion, the Gwrthryfel Pum Mlynedd (Five Year Revolt), which whilst not being Wales wide did see vast tracts of the Welsh countryside become no-go areas to the English and Scottish occupiers. That Rhys was unable to capitalise on this revolt seemed to damn Wales to British rule to all but the most patriotic of Welshmen.
1740
March: The Earl of Cholmondeley orders the closure of all monastic houses in Wales. Whilst the Roman Catholic churches are allowed to continue providing pastoral services, the Monastic orders are deemed subversive.
August: The Church of England opens its first church in Ludlow
1743
January: After almost four years of relative peace the English execute 200 heads of gentry and lower nobility families, known in Wales as the Merthyron Uchelwrol (Noble Martyrs)
1744
March: Wales rises up in full Rebellion. The fortress and city of Caerodor taken from the English
April: The English move another army into Wales to deal with the rebellion
1745
January: Rhys tries to raise an Army to bring to Wales but cannot raise the funds.
1749
August: By Act of Parliament, the Welsh language was now formally banned within the United Kingdom from all aspects of public life
November: After five years of revolt English control is firm again. By the end of the month the fortress of Caerodor falls to the English
The 1750's[]
The final decade before the return of some semblance of Welsh independence. It would see a continuing hard line taken against symbols of Welsh independence with the continued crack down on the use of the Welsh language, the banning of prominent symbols of independence. It would also see the beginnings of an underground movement championing the use of songs such as Hen Wlad fy Nhadau and the use of the Dragon Standard.
1750
July: Rhys leads the 6th Invasion fleet and engages the English in the naval battle of Milford Haven. He is killed during the action
1753
June: Stricter anti-Welsh laws are introduced. The banning of the flying of pre-conquest Welsh standards, such as the flag of Neith or the Dragon standard. Many people are sent to the English Colonies in America.
1754
March: A Religious Ordinances Bill is passed whereby all Roman Catholic priests dying or leaving their posts within Wales are now to be replaced with Anglican priests.
August: The Duke of Manchester is replaced by the 3rd Duke of Argyll who moves the Welsh capital from Ludlow to Amwythig.
1756
September: The 16th September has over the last couple of decades been associated with the last successful revolt against English Rule, and this year riots occur across most of Wales. Argyll anticipating this has had troops stationed near most major centres to put down any riots that get out of hand.
1759
17th August 1759: With the successful landing of Rhisiart and the raising of the Dragon Standard the English Occupation is recorded as being at an end. The next 37 years are recorded as being the 2nd War of Welsh Independence
List of Governor-Generals of Wales[]
- Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne; 1720-1727
- Thomas Howard, 8th Duke of Norfolk; 1727-1732
- John Manners, 3rd Duke of Rutland; 1732-1738
- George Cholmondeley, 3rd Earl of Cholmondeley; 1738-1749
- Robert Montagu, 3rd Duke of Manchester; 1749-1754
- Archibald Campbell, 3rd Duke of Argyll; 1754-1760
- Augustus Henry FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton; 1760-1765
- Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis (The Earl Cornwallis); 1765-1769
- Richard Boyle, 2nd Earl of Shannon; 1769-1771
- John Stuart, 4th Earl of Bute & 1st Marquess of Bute; 1771-1778
- George Boscawen, 3rd Viscount Falmouth; 1778-1785
- George Nugent-Temple-Grenville, 1st Marquess of Buckingham (Former Foreign Secretary of the Anglo-Scottish State and leading negotiator with the Earl of Pembroke ending the 2nd War of Welsh Independence); 1785-1796