A Brief History of Anglo-Welsh Relations from William the Conqueror to Henry VIII

 

Relations between Wales and England were often volatile during the time shortly after the Norman Conquest of England to the reign of Henry VIII.  As various English monarchs tried to achieve political and military dominance over Wales, the Welsh, hampered by a lack of decisive and popular leadership, were eventually unable to maintain effective resistance and were officially incorporated into the English administrative and political system with the Act of Union in 1536 and 1542.  When one examines the motives and results of English domination of Wales, one finds that the English monarchs, notably Henry II, Edward I and Henry VIII, believed that an unconquered Welsh frontier on the west left England vulnerable to potential invasions, and that it was a strategic necessity to extend English control over Wales.

Norman Conquest

After the Norman Conquest, William I established marches, governed by English barons, along the border between England and Wales in order to maintain order.  Nevertheless, the mountainous Welsh interior remained a legally unorganized wilderness, according to English standards, and was the refuge of many outlaws.  Soon English adventurers were drawn to Wales by its lawless reputation, and began to cause trouble amongst the Welsh.  The lordships, both Welsh and English, lacked the political unity and internal cohesion to effectively deal with these instigators.  Meanwhile, as the Norman monarchs attempted to solidify control of England, outlaws and potential rebels sheltered in the Welsh countryside posed a definite threat to political stability.

Henry II

The reign of Stephen had cost England a substantial amount of territory, and Henry II devoted much of his reign to gaining back the lands of his grandfather, Henry I.  Although this did not involve conquering so much as reasserting previous rights, Henry demanded the homage of the Welsh princes and Scottish king at Woodstock in 1163 (traditionally, however, the Scottish kings gave homage only for lands south of the Firth of Forth).  In doing so, he expected to maintain order in these lands, and sought recognition of the English crown’s authority there.  Woodstock was, in fact, not one of Henry II’s diplomatic successes, and as a result of his demands, his relationship with Malcolm, King of Scotland, grew cold, and the Welsh, who were made Henry’s vassals, revolted.  Henry attacked Wales, but was unable to maintain permanent submission from the Welsh princes.  In 1177, he tried diplomacy instead of force, and at Geddington Henry was finally accepted as Welsh overlord; the two most prominent princes, Dafydd and Rhys, swore him liege homage.

Edward I

By the thirteenth century, the Welsh were growing impatient under English rule.  A rebellion in 1256 had been provoked by the anglicization of law and administration in Wales, and Edward, still a prince, was sent by his father, Henry III, to subdue the Welsh insurgents.  Henry did not give his son enough support, financially or militarily, to be completely effective, and by 1263 the Welsh were in revolt again following the deterioration of their domestic situation as a result of English influence.  On 12 November 1276, Edward, now King Edward I, decided to wage war on Llewelyn ap Gruffydd, who was the most influential and powerful of the Welsh princes.  Llewelyn refused to give homage to Edward, and the English king determined to put Welsh under permanent English control.  Indeed, Llewelyn needed the victory over the English in order for his country to survive, whereas to Edward, Wales was only another territory to be added to England’s crown.  Nevertheless, the security risk posed by an uncontrolled and volatile Wales was too much for Edward to accept, and he set about a fairly systematic conquest of the Welsh and their country.

After the first war, in 1277, Llewelyn, by now relatively unpopular and unable to gather the support and force necessary to defeat an enemy as strong as Edward, accepted a rather humiliating treaty.  A second war was caused by a legal dispute.  Edward believed he had the right to root out “bad” Welsh laws.  The problem was one of definition, however: the only “good” Welsh laws were those which Edward was accustomed to following.  The Welsh were eventually cut off in the mountainous region of Snowdonia, and Llewelyn was killed,  removing any effective Welsh leadership.  Despite is lack of popularity, he had been the only person capable of uniting the Welsh against the English.  In the end, the Welsh lost for three reasons: internal division, long-time English influence, and greater English strength.  The combination of  these attacked Wales both internally and externally, and the Welsh, for the most part, succumbed to English domination.

The Statute of Wales

The Statute of Wales (1284) continued some Welsh law, especially in areas of debts and contracts, while discontinuing other laws, including those pertaining to criminals.  The statute also united Wales with England, although not on an equal basis.  Other discriminatory laws were passed, including those  which forbade the Welsh from gathering without royal permission, carrying arms at night, or holding lands in new towns.  Another notable aspect of Edward’s conquest of Wales is the construction of a series of castles throughout the Welsh countryside, especially in the North.  These castles, which stand to this day, remain as a testament to Edward’s systematic and forceful subjugation.  Nevertheless, the Welsh resisted complete English domination intermittently for years.

The Tudor Years

It was not until the Tudor dynasty that Wales was officially brought into the English judicial and political system, however.  Henry VII was the son of Owain Tudor, and after the War of the Roses, the Welsh nobility enjoyed an increased influence at the monarch’s court in London.  Although this nobility had been under English influence and education for years, the Welsh felt a special affinity for Henry VII, who had fought under the Welsh standard during the War.  During Henry VIII’s reign, the Act of Union between England and Wales was passed in two parts.  The first, in 1536, set out a trial period in which Henry could change his mind about the union at any time, without consent of Parliament.  He did not, however, and in 1542 the Act was finalized, having advantages and disadvantages for the Welsh.  Although the Welsh were given representation, it was less, per person, than that of the English.  As well, all legal business was to be conducted in English, and intentional squelching of the Welsh language had detrimental effects on its culture as well.  In sum, however, the Welsh and English were technically recognized as equals under English law.

Henry VIII’s reasons for solidifying English control of the legal and political administration of Wales through the union of the two countries are most illustrative of the defensively strategic goals of the English monarchs in domination of Wales.  Throughout a significant portion of medieval history, the English had been vulnerable to attack from the north, through Scotland.  Since the 1100s, relations between Scotland and England had deteriorated, and after the Scots entered into the Auld Alliance with France, another of England’s traditional enemies, the English were particularly concerned about a combined Franco-Scottish military effort, across the northern border, against England.  This fear was intensified after the English Reformation.  When Henry broke with the Catholic church, several Catholic nations threatened invasion of England, now considered heretical.  Despite its natural defense, as an island, weak borders were still strategically undesirable.  Thus, as the Scottish border was uncertain, Henry moved to establish effective and final control of the Welsh and  to solidify the Anglo-Welsh border and to prevent the invasion of England through the west.

Although the Welsh provided little economic incentive (at least until the coalfields were exploited in the 19th century), its position on the western end of the island of Britain gave it strategic value to the English.  As demonstrated by the military actions of kings such as Henry II, Edward I and Henry VIII, who worked to obtain Welsh subjugation to English law and administration at the price of Welsh culture, Wales was a potentially weak region which threatened to attract potential invasion by other European nations.  As well, it was more territory to add to the English monarchy.  Its rugged and mountainous landscape, conducive to hiding fugitives, as well as its perceived lawlessness and lack of definitive and effective leadership made Wales a target for domination by the English, and internal and external forces eventually made this domination possible.

 

   

Content provided by Anne Herman