Welsh people Totally Explained

Everything about Welsh People totally explained

This article is about Welsh people who are considered to be an ethnic group and a nation. For information about residents of Wales see Demography of Wales:   est. 3,500,000
ť : 3 million

   : 16, 623
ť : 609,711

    1,753,794 (2000 Census )    440,965

       9,966

    84,246 (2001 Census)

   20,000 Welsh people, (Welsh Cymreig, Cymro (Welshman), Cymraes (Welsh women)) are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language. Authors Dr. John Davies and Gwyn A. Williams argue the origin of the "Welsh nation" could be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman withdrawal from Britain. According to a 2001 Labour Force survey, 87 per cent of respondents born in Wales claimed Welsh ethnicity.

History

time in Britain, the ancient Romans encountered tribes in present-day Wales that they called the Ordovices, the Demetae, the Silures and the Deceangli. Speaking Brythonic, a Celtic language, these tribes are traditionally thought to have arrived in Britain from the mainland parts of Europe over the preceding centuries. However, some archaeologists argue that there's no evidence for large-scale Iron Age migrations into Great Britain. The claim has also been made that Indo-European languages may have been introduced to the British Isles as early as the early Neolithic (or even earlier), with Goidelic and Brythonic languages developing indigenously. Current genetic research supports the idea that people living in the British Isles are likely mainly descended from the indigenous European Paleolithic (Old Stone Age hunter gatherers) population (about 80%), with a smaller Neolithic (New Stone Age farmers) input (about 20%). Paleolithic Europeans seem to have been a homogeneous population, possibly due to a population bottleneck (or near-extinction event) on the Iberian peninsula, where a small human population is thought to have survived the glaciation, and expanded into Europe during the Mesolithic. The assumed genetic imprint of Neolithic incomers is seen as a cline, with stronger Neolithic representation in the east of Europe and stronger Paleolithic representation in the west of Europe.
In two recently published books, Blood of the Isles, by Brian Sykes and The Origins of the British, by Stephen Oppenheimer, both authors state that according to genetic evidence, most Welsh people and most Britons descend from the Iberian Peninsula, as a result of different migrations that took place during the Mesolithic and the Neolithic eras, and which laid the foundations for the present-day populations in the British Isles, indicating an ancient relationship among the populations of Atlantic Europe.(External Link

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) According to Stephen Oppenheimer 96% of lineages in Llangefni in north Wales derive from Iberia. Genetic research on the Y-chromosome has shown that the Welsh, like the Irish are genetically very similar to the Basques of Northern Spain and South Western France although the Welsh do contain more Neolithic input than both the Irish and the Basques. (External Link

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)Genetic marker R1b averages from 83-89% amongst the Welsh.(External Link

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) The people in what is now Wales continued to speak Brythonic languages with additions from Latin, as did some other Celts in areas of Great Britain. The surviving poem Y Gododdin is in early Welsh and refers to the Brythonic kingdom of Gododdin with a capital at Din Eidyn (Edinburgh) and extending from the area of Stirling to the Tyne. John Davies places the change from Brythonic to Welsh between 400 and 700. Offa's Dyke was erected in the mid-8th century, forming a barrier between Wales and Mercia.
   The process whereby the indigenous population of 'Wales' came to think of themselves as Welsh isn't clear. There is plenty of evidence of the use of the term Brythoniaid (Britons); by contrast, the earliest use of the word Kymry (referring not to the people but to the land—and possibly to northern Britain in addition to modern day territory of Wales) is found in a poem dated to about 633. The name of the region in northern England now known as Cumbria is believed to be derived from the same root. Only gradually did Cymru (the land) and Cymry (the people) come to supplant Brython. Although the Welsh language was certainly used at the time, Gwyn A. Williams argues that even at the time of the erection of Offa's Dyke, the people to its west saw themselves as Roman, citing the number of Latin inscriptions still being made into the 8th century. However, it's unclear whether such inscriptions reveal a general or normative use of Latin as a marker of identity or its selective use by the early Christian Church. The word Cymry is believed to be derived from the Brythonic combrogi, meaning fellow-countrymen, and thus Cymru carries a sense of "land of fellow-countrymen", "our country"- and, of course, notions of fraternity. The name "Wales", however, comes from a Germanic walha meaning "stranger" or "foreigner".
   There are two words in modern Welsh for the English and this reflects the idea held by some that the modern English derive from various Germanic tribes (although there's little evidence for the extinction of the pre-Germanic inhabitants of England, and the idea ignores both the Scandinavian settlers in England and the Roman and Norman-French influences on English language, culture and identity): Saeson (singular: Sais), meaning originally Saxon; and: Eingl, denoting:-Angles,; meaning Englishmen in modern Welsh. The Welsh word for the English language is Saesneg, while the Welsh word for England is Lloegr.
   There was immigration to Wales after the Norman Conquest, several Normans encouraged immigration to their new lands; the Landsker Line dividing the Pembrokeshire "Englishry" and "Welshry" is still detectable today. The terms Englishry and Welshry are used similarly about Gower.
The population of Wales increased from 587,128 in 1801 to 1,162,139 in 1851 and had reached 2,420,921 by 1911. Part of this increase can be attributed to the demographic transition seen in most industrialising countries during the Industrial Revolution, as death-rates dropped and birth-rates remained steady. However, there was also a large-scale migration of people into Wales during the industrial revolution. The English were the most numerous group, but there were also considerable numbers of Irish and smaller numbers of many other ethnic groups. For example, some Italians migrated to South Wales(External Link

). Wales received other immigration from various parts of the British Commonwealth of Nations in the 20th century, and African-Caribbean and Asian communities add to the ethno-cultural mix, particularly in urban Wales. Recently, parts of Wales have seen an increased number of immigrants from recent EU accession countries such as Poland.

21st century identity

2001 Census Controversy

The 2001 census revealed that one-third of the population of Wales described themselves as of British ethnicity, with respondents having to write in whether or not they were Welsh. Controversy surrounding the method of determining ethnicity began as early as 2000, when it was revealed that respondents in Scotland and Northern Ireland would be able to check a box describing themselves as of Scottish or of Irish ethnicity, an option not available for Welsh or English respondents. Prior to the Census, Plaid Cymru backed a petition calling for the inclusion of a Welsh tick-box and for the National Assembly to have primary law-making powers and its own National Statistics Office. Critics expected a higher proportion of respondants describing themselves as of Welsh ethnicity, similar to Scottish results, had a Welsh tickbox been made available. Additional criticism was leveled at the timing of the census, which was taken in the middle of the Foot and Mouth crisis of 2001, a fact organizers said didn't impact the results. However, the Foot and Mouth crisis did delay UK General Elections, the first time since the Second World War any event postponed an election.
   In the census, as many as 14 per cent of the population took the 'extra step' to write in that they were of Welsh ethnicity. Of these, Gwynedd recorded the highest percentage of those identifying as of Welsh ethnicity (at 27%), followed by Carmarthenshire (23 per cent), Ceredigion (22 per cent) and the Isle of Anglesey (19 per cent). The issue of locals being priced out of the local housing market is common to many rural communities throughout Britain, but in Wales the added dimension of language further complicated the issue, as many new residents didn't learn the Welsh language.
   A Plaid Cymru taskforce headed by David Wigley recommended land should be allocated for affordable local housing, and called for grants for locals to buy houses, and recommended council tax on holiday homes should double.
   However, the same census shows that 25 percent of residents were born outside Wales. The number of Welsh speakers in other places in Britain is uncertain, but numbers are high in the main cities and there are speakers along the Welsh-English border.
   Even among the Welsh speakers, very few people speak only Welsh, with nearly all being bilingual in English. However, a large number of Welsh speakers are more comfortable expressing themselves in Welsh than in English and vice versa, usually depending on the area spoken. Many prefer to speak English in South Wales or the urbanised areas and Welsh in the North or in rural areas. A speaker's choice of language can vary according to the subject domain (known in linguistics as code-switching).
   Thanks to the work of the Mudiad Ysgolion Meithrin (Welsh Nursery School Movement), recent census data reveals a reversal in decades of linguistic decline: there are now more Welsh speakers under five years of age than over 60. For many young people in Wales, the acquisition of Welsh is a gateway to better careers and increased cultural opportunity: Wales's third greatest revenue earner is media products and Cardiff boasts a world-class animation industry.
   Although Welsh is a minority language, and thus threatened by the dominance of English, support for the language grew during the second half of the 20th century, along with the rise of Welsh nationalism in the form of groups such as the political party Plaid Cymru and Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg (Welsh Language Society). The language is used in the bilingual Welsh Assembly and entered on its records, with English translation. Technically it isn't supposed to be used in the British Parliament as it's referred to as a "foreign language" and is effectively banned as disruptive behaviour, but several Speakers (most notably George Thomas, 1st Viscount Tonypandy, himself born in Wales, close by Tonypandy) spoke Welsh in longer English-language speeches.
   Welsh as a first language is largely concentrated in the less urban north and west of Wales, principally Gwynedd, inland Denbighshire, northern and south-western Powys, Ynys Môn, Carmarthenshire, North Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion, and parts of western Glamorgan, although first-language and other fluent speakers can be found throughout Wales. However, Cardiff is now home to an urban Welsh speaking population (both from other parts of Wales and from the growing Welsh medium schools of Cardiff itself) due to the centralisation and concentration of national resources and organisations in the capital.
   The Welsh language is an important part of Welsh identity, but not an essential part. Welsh people actively distinguish between 'Cymry Cymraeg' (Welsh-speaking Welsh), Cymry di-Gymraeg (non Welsh speaking Welsh) and Saeson (English). Parts of the culture are however strongly connected to the language - notably the Eisteddfodic tradition, poetry and aspects of folk music and dance. However, Wales has a strong tradition of poetry in the English language.

Religion

Most Welsh people of faith are affiliated with the Church in Wales or other Christian denominations such as the Presbyterian Church of Wales or Catholicism, although there's even a Russian Orthodox chapel in the semi-rural town of Blaenau Ffestiniog. In particular, Wales has a long tradition of nonconformism and Methodism. Other religions Welsh people may be affiliated with include Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Islam, and Sikhism, with most non-Christian people in Wales found in Cardiff.
The 2001 Census showed that slightly less than 10% of the Welsh population are regular church- or chapel-goers (a slightly smaller proportion than in England or Scotland), although about 70% of the population see themselves as some form of Christian. Judaism has quite a long history in Wales, with a community recorded in Swansea from around 1730. In August 1911, during a period of public order and industrial disputes, Jewish shops across the South Wales coalfield were damaged by mobs. Since that time the Jewish population of that area, which reached a peak of 4000 - 5000 in 1913, has declined with only Cardiff retaining a sizeable Jewish population, of about 2000 in the 2001 Census. The largest non-Christian faith in Wales is Islam, with about 22,000 members in 2001 served by about 40 mosques, following the first mosque established in Cardiff in 1860. A college for training clerics has been established at Llanybydder in west Wales. Islam arrived in Wales in the mid-nineteenth century, and it's thought that Cardiff's Yemeni community is Britain's oldest Muslim community, established when the city was one of the world's largest coal-exporting ports. Hinduism and Buddhism each have about 5000 adherents in Wales, with the rural county of Ceredigion being the centre of Welsh Buddhism. Govinda's temple & restaurant, ran by the Hare Krishna's in Swansea is a focal point for many Welsh Hindus. There are about 2000 Sikhs in Wales, with the first purpose-built gurdwara opened in the Riverside area of Cardiff in 1989. In 2001 some 7000 people classified themselves as following "other religions" including a reconstructed form of Druidism, which was the pre-Christian religion of Wales (not to be confused with the Druids of the Gorsedd at the National Eisteddfod of Wales). Approximately one sixth of the population, some 500,000 people, profess no religious faith whatsoever.
The sabbatarian temperance movement was also historically strong among the Welsh, the sale of alcohol being prohibited on Sundays in Wales by the Sunday Closing Act of 1881 - the first legislation specifically issued for Wales since the Middle Ages. From the early 1960s, local council areas were permitted to hold referendums every seven years to determine whether they should be "wet" or "dry" on Sundays: most of the industrialised areas in the east and south went "wet" immediately, and by the 1980s the last district, Dwyfor in the northwest, went wet, since then there have been no more Sunday-closing referendums.

Symbols

Flag ratio: 2:3|The Welsh flag depicting y Ddraig Goch]] The Welsh flag depicts the Welsh dragon (called Y Ddraig Goch, "the red dragon"), one of the most widely recognized Welsh national symbols and the national animal of Wales. It appears in the early legends of Merlin, and from them is taken to be the battle standard under which the Pendragons, Uther and Arthur rallied their troops. This symbol is said to derive from a tale of the Red Dragon of Wales defeating the White Dragon of England.
Wales also has use of another flag, the flag of Saint David. Although unofficially a national flag it's flown across the country every year to mark Saint David's Day and in 2002 was incorporated into Cardiff City Football Club's logo.
The leek is another national symbol and is worn every year on Saint David's Day. According to legend, St. David (the patron saint of Wales) ordered his troops to identify themselves by wearing the plant on their helmets during a battle against the Saxons. The daffodil is the national flower, symbolizing chivalry and respect in the language of flowers. The Narcissus obvallaris species only grows in the Tenby area of Wales.

Welsh emigration

Migration from Wales to the rest of Britain has been occurring throughout its history. Particularly during the Industrial Revolution hundreds of thousands of Welsh people migrated internally to the big cities of England and Scotland or to work in the coal mines of the north of England. As a result, much of the British population today have ancestry from Wales. The same can be said for the English, Scottish and Irish workers who migrated to Welsh cities such as Merthyr Tydfil or ports such as Pembroke in the Industrial Revolution. As a result, some English, Irish and Scottish have Welsh surnames ("Evans", "Jenkins" "Owen" etc.) and some Welsh have English, Scottish and Irish surnames - as a result, it's relatively rare in South Wales or English-speaking areas to find a person with exclusively Welsh ancestry.
Some thousands of Welsh settlers moved to other parts of Europe, but the number was sparse and concentrated to certain areas. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a small wave of contract miners from Wales arrived into Northern France, and the centre of Welsh-French populations are in coal mining towns of the French department Pas-de-Calais. Welsh settlers from Wales (and later Patagonian Welsh) arrived in Newfoundland, Canada in the early 1900s, many had founded towns in the province's Labrador coast region.
Internationally Welsh people have emigrated, in relatively small numbers (in proportion to population Irish emigration to the United States of America (USA) may have been 26 times greater than Welsh emigration), to many countries, including the USA (in particular, Pennsylvania), Canada and Patagonia. Malad City in Idaho, which began as a Welsh Mormon Settlement, lays claim to having more people of Welsh descent per capita than anywhere outside of Wales itself. Malad's local High School is known as the "Malad Dragons" and flies the Welsh Flag as its school colours. Welsh people have also settled as far as New Zealand and Australia.

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