Welsh Nationalism - Annexation

Annexation

Throughout the period of conquest the Welsh poets kept alive the dream of independence. In what was known as the canu brud (prophetic poetry), the idea of the coming of a messiah-like figure, known as Y Mab Darogan (The Son of Destiny), who would not only remove the English yoke but win back the whole of the Great Britain for the Britons (i.e. the Welsh). In the Welsh-born Henry VII the Welsh believed that "the Son of Destiny" had come and there were no more revolts or talk of revolt – the people of Wales became as loyal as any of the King's other subjects.

During the reign of Henry VIII the Laws in Wales Acts were passed, formally integrating Wales into the English legal system. The repressive measures against the Welsh that had been in place since the revolt of Owain Glyndŵr over a century earlier were removed. It also gave political representation at the Westminster Parliament for Wales. Wales continues to share a legal identity with England to a large degree as the joint entity known simply as England until 1967 and England and Wales since then. The laws also finished the partitioning of Wales into counties that was begun in 1282 and established local government on the English model. The laws had the effect of making English the language to be used for all official purposes, thus effectively excluding non-English speakers from formal office.

On the whole the Welsh who had a way of expressing an opinion welcomed these moves and saw them as further proof that Henry VII and his descendants were the long-awaited sons of destiny and that Wales had regained what it had lost at the conquest of 1282. Patriotism, or a non-politicised form of nationalism, remained a strong force in Wales with pride in its language, customs and history common amongst all levels of society.