North Wales () is the northernmost unofficial region of Wales. It is bordered to the south by the counties of Ceredigion and Powys in Mid Wales and to the east by the counties of Shropshire and Cheshire in England. North Wales is divided in to three traditional regions, viz; ''Upper Gwynedd'' (or ''Gwynedd above the Conwy'' defined as the area north of the River Dyfi and west of the River Conwy); ''Lower Gwynedd'' (or ''Gwynedd below the Conwy'' also known as the ''Perfeddwlad'' and defined as the region east of the River Conwy and west of the River Dee) and Ynys Môn (or Anglesey), a large island off the north coast..

The southern boundary is arbitrary and its definition may depend on the use being made of the term. For example the boundary of North Wales Police differs from the boundary of the North Wales area of the Environment Agency Wales.

History

North Wales is steeped in history and was for almost a millennium known as the Kingdom of Gwynedd. The mountainous stronghold of Snowdonia formed the nucleus of that realm and would become the last redoubt of independent Wales — only overcome in 1283. To this day it remains a stronghold of the Welsh language and a centre for Welsh national and cultural identity.

World Heritage Sites

North Wales is home to two of the three UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Wales. These are Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and canal and, collectively, the Edwardian castles and town walls of the region which comprise those at Caernarfon, Beaumaris, Conwy and Harlech.

Political divisions

The region is made up of the following administrative areas:

the county borough of Wrexham (''Wrecsam'')

the county of Flintshire (''Sir y Fflint'')

the county of Denbighshire (''Sir Ddinbych'')

the county borough of Conwy

the county of Gwynedd

the county of the Isle of Anglesey (''Ynys Môn'')

Related constituencies

North Wales was a European Parliament constituency until 1999. Currently, there is an electoral region for the National Assembly for Wales with the name (used, in parallel with the smaller ''constituencies'', to elect top-up members under the Additional Member System), which covers the north-east of Wales (specifically the entire area of the former pre-1996 county of Clwyd) as well as the Northern-most coastal areas of north-western Wales; the rest of North Wales is covered by Mid and West Wales.

Geography

The area is mostly rural with many mountains and valleys. This, in combination with its coast (on the Irish Sea), has ensured that tourism is the principal industry. Farming, which was once the principal economic force in the area, is now much reduced in importance. The average income per capita of the local population is the lowest in the UK and much of the region has EU Objective 1 status.

The eastern part of North Wales contains the most populous areas, with more than 300,000 people living in the areas around Wrexham and Deeside. Wrexham is North Wales' largest town, with a population of 68,000 in 2005. The majority of other settlements are along the coast, including some popular resort towns, such as Rhyl, Llandudno and Pwllheli. The A55 road links these towns cities like Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham and the port of Holyhead for ferries to Ireland; few routes connect North Wales with South Wales. There are two cathedral cities Bangor and St. Asaph and a number of mediaeval castles (e.g., Criccieth, Dolbadarn, Harlech, Caernarfon Castle, Beaumaris, Conwy).

Geology

North Wales has a very diverse and complex geology with Precambrian schists along the Menai Strait and the great Cambrian dome behind Harlech and underlying much of western Snowdonia. In the Ordovician period much volcanism deposited a range of minerals and rocks over the north western parts of Gwynedd whilst to the east of the River Conwy lies a large area of upland rolling hills underlain by the Silurian mudstones and grits comprising the Denbigh and Migneint Moors. To the east, around Llangollen, to the north on Halkyn Mountain and the Great Orme and in eastern Anglesey are beds of limestone from which metals have been mined since pre-Roman times. Added to all this are the complexities posed by Parys Mountain and the outcrops of unusual minerals such as Jasper and Mona Marble which make the area of special interest to geologists.

Language

North Wales has a distinct regional identity. Its dialect of the Welsh language differs from that of other regions such as South Wales in some ways; for example '''' is used in most of the North instead of '''' for "milk"; a simple sentence such as ''go upstairs now'' might be '''' in North Wales, where it might be '''' in South Wales. Colloquially, a person from North Wales (especially one who speaks with this dialect or accent) is known as a ''North Walian'', or a ''Gog'' (from the Welsh '''', meaning "north").

Local media

Newspapers

Two daily newspapers are published in North Wales. The region-wide North Wales edition of the ''Daily Post'', based at Trinity Mirror's offices in Llandudno Junction, is distributed from Monday to Saturday, whilst ''The Leader'' (formerly the ''Evening Leader'') publishes three editions for Wrexham, Chester and Flintshire and is based at the headquarters of NWN Media in Mold.

Additionally, nine weekly newspapers provide local and community news:

Trinity Mirror titles

''Caernarfon and Denbigh Herald'' (Arfon and Dwyfor editions)

''The Mail'' (Bangor/Anglesey and Holyhead/Anglesey editions)

''North Wales Weekly News'' (General, Colwyn Bay and Conwy Valley editions)

NWN Media titles

''Denbighshire Free Press''

''Flintshire Standard''

''The Journal'' (Rhyl, Prestatyn and Abergele editions)

''North Wales Chronicle'' (North Gwynedd and Anglesey)

''North Wales Pioneer'' (Llandudno and Colwyn Bay editions)

''Wrexham Leader''

The weekly Aberyswyth-based ''Cambrian News'' covers southern Gwynedd and publishes separate editions for the Arfon/Dwyfor and Meirionydd districts.

A weekly Welsh-language newspaper, ''Y Cymro'' is published each week by the ''Cambrian News'' from its Porthmadog office alongside two localised Welsh titles, ''Y Cyfnod'' (Bala) and ''Y Dydd'' (Dolgellau). ''Yr Herald Gymraeg'' is distributed by Trinity Mirror as a pull-out section in the Wednesday edition of the ''Daily Post''. There are also 24 Papurau Bro (''area papers'') providing community news and generally published each month.

Radio

Although no BBC local radio stations exist for North Wales, the Corporation's national services BBC Radio Wales and BBC Radio Cymru cover the region from its broadcasting centre in Bangor, a smaller studio and newsroom in Wrexham and a satellite studio in Mold.

Three commercial radio stations serve the area — Heart North West and Wales broadcasts local breakfast and drivetime programming for Wrexham, Flintshire, Denbighshire and Conwy county as well as Cheshire and the Wirral. Heart Cymru airs an extended local programming service, predominantly in the Welsh language, for Gwynedd and Anglesey. Both stations broadcast from studios in Gwersyllt on the outskirts of Wrexham. Real Radio Wales broadcasts a national service from Cardiff but also operates from a news and advertising office in Wrexham.

Three community radio stations broadcast on FM — Calon FM serving Wrexham County Borough & parts of southern Flintshire, Tudno FM broadcasting to Llandudno & surrounding areas and Point FM serving Rhyl, parts of the Vale of Clwyd and eastern areas of Conwy county. In addition, a fourth community station, Wrexham FM, broadcasts online.

Television

News coverage of North Wales is generally provided within the BBC's ''Wales Today'', ''Newyddion'' and ''Ffeil'' programmes (the latter two broadcast on S4C) and ITV's ''Wales Tonight'' programme. BBC Cymru Wales news teams are based at the Corporation's Bangor, Wrexham and Mold studios while ITV Wales runs a newsroom in Colwyn Bay.

S4C has an administrative office in Caernarfon, where a cluster of independent production companies are also based or partly based including Rondo Media, Cwmni Da, Antena, Griffilms and Tinopolis.

Sport

Football

Wrexham F.C. play in the English football league system; having been a member of the Football League for over 80 years, in 2008 they were relegated into the Conference National for the first time in their existence. They remain the highest ranked team in the region, and play at the Racecourse Ground in Wrexham and train at Colliers Park, Gresford. Colwyn Bay F.C. also play in the English pyramid at Conference North level.

There are a number of teams playing within the semi-professional domestic leagues the Welsh Premier League and the Cymru Alliance.

Rugby League

Wales is represented in the European Super League by Crusaders Rugby League, they re-located to Wrexham for the 2010 season from south Wales. They play at the Racecourse Ground and train at Stansty Park both in Wrexham.

Rugby Union

In September 2008 it was announced by the Welsh Rugby Union that a development team based in North Wales would be created, with a long term goal of becoming the fifth Welsh Region in the Celtic League. It was envisaged that this would both help the growth of the game in the area, and provide a larger pool of players for the Welsh national team to be selected from.

Attractions

In 2000, The Wales Tourist Board tourist identified the top 10 most visited attractions in the region. They included:

Llangollen

Portmeirion

Caernarfon Castle

Conwy Castle

Bodnant Garden

Llechwedd Slate Caverns

Swallow Falls

Great Orme Tramway

Penrhyn Castle

Erddig

See also

Geography of Wales

South Wales

West Wales

Mid Wales

North Wales Police

North Wales Fire and Rescue Service

Kingdom of Gwynedd

References

External links

PDF book by Alfred Neobard Palmer published in 1910

Category:Regions of Wales Category:Subdivisions of Wales

cy:Gogledd Cymru et:Põhja-Wales es:Gales del Norte fr:Galles du Nord

Native name	''Cymru''
Conventional long name	Wales
Common name	Wales
Alt flag	A flag of a red dragon passant on a green and white field.
National motto	''Cymru am byth''('''')
National anthem	''Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau''('''')
Map width	250px
Map caption
Capital	Cardiff (''Caerdydd'')
Largest city	capital
Languages type	Official languages
Languages	Welsh, English
Demonym	Welsh (''Cymry'')
Government type	Devolved Government in a Constitutional monarchy
Leader title2	First Minister
Leader name2	Carwyn Jones AM
Leader title4	Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Leader name4	David Cameron MP
Leader title5	Secretary of State (in the UK government)
Leader name5	Cheryl Gillan MP
Leader title1	Monarch
Leader name1	Elizabeth II
Legislature	UK ParliamentNational Assembly for Wales
Sovereignty type	Unification
Established event1
Established date1	1057
Area magnitude	1 E10
Area km2	20,779
Area sq mi	8,022
Population estimate	3,006,400
Population estimate year	mid 2010
Population census	2,903,085
Population census year	2001
Population density km2	140
Population density sq mi	361
Gdp ppp	US$85.4 billion
Gdp ppp year	2006 (for national statistics)
Gdp ppp per capita	US$30,546
Currency	Pound sterling
Currency code	GBP
Time zone	GMT
Utc offset	0
Time zone dst	BST
Utc offset dst	+1
Cctld	.uk
Calling code	44
Date format	dd/mm/yyyy (AD or CE)
Drives on	left
Patron saint	Saint David, ''Dewi Sant'' }}

Wales (, ; pronounced ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km² (8,023 sq mi). Wales has over 1,200 km (746 mi) of coastline, including its offshore islands; the largest, Anglesey (), is also the largest island in the Irish Sea. Generally mountainous, its highest mountains are in the north and central areas, especially in Snowdonia (), which contains Snowdon (), its highest peak.

During the Iron Age and early medieval period, Wales was inhabited by the Celtic Britons. A distinct Welsh national identity emerged in the centuries after the Roman withdrawal from Britain in the 5th century, and Wales is regarded as one of the modern Celtic nations today. Gruffydd ap Llywelyn was recognised as king of Wales in 1057. Llywelyn ap Gruffydd's death in 1282 marked the completion of Edward I of England's conquest of Wales. The castles and town walls erected to ensure its permanence are now UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Owain Glyndŵr briefly restored independence to what was to become modern Wales, in the early 15th century. Wales was subsequently annexed by England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542 since when, excluding those matters now devolved to Wales, English law has been the legal system of Wales and England. Distinctive Welsh politics developed in the 19th century. Welsh Liberalism, exemplified in the early 20th century by Lloyd George, was displaced by the growth of socialism and the Labour Party. Welsh national feeling grew over the century; ''Plaid Cymru'' was formed in 1925 and ''Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg'' (The Welsh Language Society) in 1962. The National Assembly for Wales, created in 1999 following a referendum, holds responsibility for a range of devolved policy matters.

Wales lies within the north temperate zone, its changeable, maritime climate making it one of the wettest countries in Europe. It was an agricultural society for most of its early history, the country's terrain making arable farming secondary to pastoral farming, the primary source of Wales' wealth. In the 18th century, the introduction of the slate and metallurgical industries, at the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, began to transform the country into an industrial nation; the UNESCO World Heritage Sites Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and the Blaenavon Industrial Landscape date from that period. The south Wales coalfield's exploitation in the Victorian era caused a rapid expansion of the Welsh population. Two-thirds of Wales' three million population live in south Wales, mainly in and around the cities of Cardiff (), Swansea () and Newport (), and in the nearby valleys. Another concentration live in eastern north Wales. Cardiff, Wales' capital, is the country's most populous city, with 317,500 residents, and for a period was the biggest coal port in the world. Today, with the country's traditional heavy industries (coal, steel, copper, tinplate and slate) either gone or in decline, Wales' economy depends on the public sector, light and service industries, and tourism.

Although Wales shares a close political and social history with the rest of Great Britain, it has retained a distinct cultural identity. Wales is officially bilingual, the Welsh and English languages having equal status. The Welsh language is an important element of Welsh culture, and its use is supported by national policy. Over 580,000 Welsh speakers live in Wales, more than 20% of the population. From the late 19th century onwards, Wales acquired its popular image as the "land of song," attributable in part to the revival of the ''eisteddfod'' tradition. At international sporting events, such as the FIFA World Cup, Rugby World Cup and the Commonwealth Games, Wales is represented by national teams regulated and organised by over fifty national governing bodies of sports in Wales. At the Olympic Games, Welsh athletes compete as part of a Great Britain team. Although football has traditionally been the more popular sport in north Wales, rugby union is seen as a symbol of Welsh identity and an expression of national consciousness.

Etymology

Etymology of Wales

The Anglo-Saxon word for 'foreign' or 'foreigner' was ''Waelisc'' and a 'foreign(er's) land' was called ''Wēalas''. The modern English forms of these words with respect to the modern country are Welsh (the people) and Wales (the land), respectively.

Historically in Britain the words were not restricted to modern Wales or to the Welsh but were used indiscriminately to refer to anything that the Anglo-Saxons associated with Celtic Britons, including other foreign lands (e.g., Cornwall), places once associated with Celtic Britons (e.g., Walworth in County Durham and Walton in West Yorkshire), the surnames of people (e.g., Walsh and Wallace) and various other things that were once new and foreign to the Anglo-Saxons (e.g., the walnut). None of these historic usages is necessarily connected to Wales or the Welsh.

The Anglo-Saxon words are derived from the same Germanic root (singular ''Walh'', plural ''Walha''), applied to Italic and Celtic peoples and places, that has provided modern names for Continental lands (e.g., Wallonia and Wallachia) and peoples (e.g., the Vlachs via a borrowing into Old Church Slavonic), none of which has any connection to Wales or the Welsh.

Etymology of Cymru

The modern Welsh name for themselves is Cymry, and Cymru is Welsh for "Land of the Cymry". The etymological origin of ''Cymry'' is from the Brythonic word ''combrogi'', meaning "fellow-countrymen". The use of the word ''Cymry'' as a self-designation derives from the post-Roman Era relationship of the Welsh with the Brythonic-speaking peoples of northern England and southern Scotland, the peoples of ''Yr Hen Ogledd'' (). In its original use, it amounted to a self-perception that the Welsh and the "Men of the North" were one people, exclusive of all others. In particular, the term was not applied to the Cornish or the Breton peoples, who are of similar heritage, culture, and language to both the Welsh and the Men of the North. The word came into use as a self-description probably before the 7th century. It is attested in a praise poem to Cadwallon ap Cadfan (''Moliant Cadwallon'', by Afan Ferddig) c. 633. In Welsh literature, the word ''Cymry'' was used throughout the Middle Ages to describe the Welsh, though the older, more generic term ''Brythoniaid'' continued to be used to describe any of the Britonnic peoples (including the Welsh) and was the more common literary term until c. 1100. Thereafter ''Cymry'' prevailed as a reference to the Welsh. Until c. 1560 ''Cymry'' was used indiscriminately to mean either the people (Cymry) or their homeland (Cymru).

The Latinised forms of these names are Cambrian or Cambric ("Welsh") and Cambria ("Wales"). They survive as lesser-used alternative names for Wales, Welsh and the Welsh people. Examples include the Cambrian Mountains (which cover most of Wales), the newspaper ''Cambrian News'', as well as the organisations Cambrian Airways, Cambrian Railways and Cambrian Archaeological Association. Outside Wales, this form survives as the name of Cumbria in North West England, which was once a part of ''Yr Hen Ogledd''. This form also appears at times in literary references, perhaps most notably in the pseudohistorical ''Historia Regum Britanniae'' of Geoffrey of Monmouth, where the character of Camber is described as the eponymous King of Cymru.

History

Prehistoric origins

Wales has been inhabited by modern humans for at least 29,000 years. Continuous human habitation dates from the end of the last ice age, between 12,000 and 10,000 years before present (BP), when Mesolithic hunter-gatherers from central Europe began to migrate to Great Britain. At that time sea levels were much lower than today, and the shallower parts of what is now the North Sea were dry land. The east coast of present day England and the coasts of present day Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands were connected by the former landmass known as Doggerland, forming the British Peninsula on the European mainland. Wales was free of glaciers by about 10,250 BP, the warmer climate allowing the area to become heavily wooded. The post-glacial rise in sea level separated Wales and Ireland, forming the Irish Sea. Doggerland was submerged by the North Sea and, by 8,000 BP, the British Peninsula had become an island. By the beginning of the Neolithic (c. 6,000 BP) sea levels in the Bristol Channel were still about 33 feet (10 m) lower than today. John Davies has theorised that the story of Cantre'r Gwaelod's drowning and tales in the Mabinogion, of the waters between Wales and Ireland being narrower and shallower, may be distant folk memories of this time.

Neolithic colonists integrated with the indigenous people, gradually changing their lifestyles from a nomadic life of hunting and gathering, to become settled farmers about 6,000 BP – the Neolithic Revolution. They cleared the forests to establish pasture and to cultivate the land, developed new technologies such as ceramics and textile production, and built cromlechs such as Pentre Ifan, Bryn Celli Ddu and Parc Cwm long cairn between about 5,500 BP and 5,800 BP. In common with people living all over Great Britain, over the following centuries the people living in what was to become known as Wales assimilated immigrants and exchanged ideas of the Bronze Age and Iron Age Celtic cultures. According to John T. Koch and others, Wales in the Late Bronze Age was part of a maritime trading-networked culture that also included the other Celtic nations, England, France, Spain and Portugal where Celtic languages developed. By the time of the Roman invasion of Britain the area of modern Wales had been divided among the tribes of the Deceangli, Ordovices, Cornovii, Demetae and Silures for centuries. The only town in Wales founded by the Romans, Caerwent, is in South Wales. Both Caerwent and Carmarthen, also in southern Wales, became Roman ''civitates''. Wales had a rich mineral wealth. The Romans used their engineering technology to extract large amounts of gold, copper and lead, as well as modest amounts of some other metals such as zinc and silver. Roman economic development was concentrated in south-eastern Britain, and no significant industries located in Wales. This was largely a matter of circumstance, as Wales had none of the necessary materials in suitable combination, and the forested, mountainous countryside was not amenable to industrialisation. Although Latin became the official language of Wales, the people tended to continue to speak in Brythonic. While Romanisation was far from complete, the upper classes of Wales began to consider themselves Roman, particularly after the ruling of 212 that granted Roman citizenship to all free men throughout the Empire. Further Roman influence came through the spread of Christianity, which gained many followers after Christians were allowed to worship freely in 313.

Early historians, including the 6th century cleric Gildas, have noted 383 as a significant point in Welsh history, as it is stated in literature as the foundation point of several medieval royal dynasties. In that year the Roman general Magnus Maximus, or Macsen Wledig, stripped all of western and northern Britain of troops and senior administrators, to launch a successful bid for imperial power; continuing to rule Britain from Gaul as Emperor. Gildas, writing in about 540, says that Maximus left Britain not only with all of its Roman troops, but also with all of its armed bands, governors, and the flower of its youth, never to return. Having left with the troops and Roman administrators, and planning to continue as the ruler of Britain in the future, his practical course was to transfer local authority to local rulers. The earliest Welsh genealogies give Maximus the role of founding father for several royal dynasties, including those of Powys and Gwent. It was this transfer of power that has given rise to the belief that he was the father of the Welsh Nation. He is given as the ancestor of a Welsh king on the Pillar of Eliseg, erected nearly 500 years after he left Britain, and he figures in lists of the Fifteen Tribes of Wales.

Post-Roman era

The 400 years following the collapse of Roman rule is the most difficult to interpret in the history of Wales. After the Roman departure from Britain in 410, much of the lowlands of Britain to the east and south-east were overrun by various Germanic tribes. However by 500 AD, the land that would become Wales had divided into a number of kingdoms free from Anglo-Saxon rule. The kingdoms of Gwynedd, Powys, Dyfed and Seisyllg, Morgannwg and Gwent emerged as independent Welsh successor states. Archaeological evidence, in the Low Countries and what was to become England, shows early Anglo-Saxon migration to Great Britain reversed between 500 to 550, which concurs with Frankish chronicles. John Davies notes this as consistent with the British victory at Badon Hill, attributed to Arthur by Nennius. This tenacious survival by the Romano-Britons and their descendants in the western kingdoms was to become the foundation of what we now know as Wales. With the loss of the lowlands, England's kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria, and later Wessex, wrestled with Powys, Gwent and Gwynedd to define the frontier between the two peoples.

Having lost much of what is now the West Midlands to Mercia in the 6th and early 7th centuries, a resurgent late-seventh-century Powys checked Mercian advancement. Aethelbald of Mercia, looking to defend recently acquired lands, had built Wat's Dyke. According to John Davies, this endeavour may have been with Powys king Elisedd ap Gwylog's own agreement, however, for this boundary, extending north from the valley of the River Severn to the Dee estuary, gave Oswestry to Powys. Another theory, after carbon dating placed the dyke's existence 300 years earlier, is that it may have been built by the post-Roman rulers of Wroxeter. King Offa of Mercia seems to have continued this consultative initiative when he created a larger earthwork, now known as Offa's Dyke (). Davies wrote of Cyril Fox's study of Offa's Dyke: "In the planning of it, there was a degree of consultation with the kings of Powys and Gwent. On the Long Mountain near Trelystan, the dyke veers to the east, leaving the fertile slopes in the hands of the Welsh; near Rhiwabon, it was designed to ensure that Cadell ap Brochwel retained possession of the Fortress of Penygadden." And, for Gwent, Offa had the dyke built "on the eastern crest of the gorge, clearly with the intention of recognizing that the River Wye and its traffic belonged to the kingdom of Gwent." However, Fox's interpretations of both the length and purpose of the Dyke have been questioned by more recent research. Offa's Dyke largely remained the frontier between the Welsh and English, though the Welsh would recover by the 12th century the area between the Dee (), and the Conwy known then as ''Y Berfeddwlad''. By the eighth century, the eastern borders with the Anglo-Saxons had broadly been set.

In 853 the Vikings raided Anglesey, but in 856 Rhodri Mawr defeated and killed their leader, Gorm. The Britons of Wales later made their peace with the Vikings and Anarawd ap Rhodri allied with the Norsemen occupying Northumbria to conquer the north. This alliance later broke down and Anarawd came to an agreement with Alfred, king of Wessex, with whom he fought against the west Welsh. According to ''Annales Cambriae'', in 894, "Anarawd came with the Angles and laid waste Ceredigion and Ystrad Tywi."

Medieval Wales

The southern and eastern parts of Great Britain lost to English settlement became known in Welsh as ''Lloegyr'' (Modern Welsh ''Lloegr''), which may have referred to the kingdom of Mercia originally, and which came to refer to England as a whole. The Germanic tribes who now dominated these lands were invariably called ''Saeson'', meaning "Saxons". The Anglo-Saxons called the Romano-British 'Walha', meaning 'Romanised foreigner' or 'stranger'. The Welsh continued to call themselves ''Brythoniaid'' (Brythons or Britons) well into the Middle Ages, though the first written evidence of the use of ''Cymru'' and ''y Cymry'' is found in a praise poem to Cadwallon ap Cadfan (''Moliant Cadwallon'', by Afan Ferddig) c. 633. In Armes Prydain, believed to be written around 930–942, the words ''Cymry'' and ''Cymro'' are used as often as 15 times. However, from the Anglo-Saxon settlement onwards, the people gradually begin to adopt the name ''Cymry'' over ''Brythoniad.

From 800 onwards, a series of dynastic marriages led to Rhodri Mawr's (r. 844–77) inheritance of Gwynedd and Powys. His sons in turn would found three principal dynasties (Aberffraw for Gwynedd, Dinefwr for Deheubarth, and Mathrafal for Powys). Rhodri's grandson Hywel Dda (r. 900–50) founded Deheubarth out of his maternal and paternal inheritances of Dyfed and Seisyllwg in 930, ousted the Aberffraw dynasty from Gwynedd and Powys, and then codified Welsh law in the 940s. Maredudd ab Owain (r. 986–99) of Deheubarth (Hywel's grandson) would, (again) temporarily oust the Aberffraw line from control of Gwynedd and Powys.

Maredudd's great-grandson (through his daughter Princess Angharad) Gruffydd ap Llywelyn (r. 1039–63) would conquer his cousins' realms from his base in Powys, and even extend his authority into England. Historian John Davies states that Gruffydd was "the only Welsh king ever to rule over the entire territory of Wales... Thus, from about 1057 until his death in 1063, the whole of Wales recognised the kingship of Gruffudd ap Llywelyn. For about seven brief years, Wales was one, under one ruler, a feat with neither precedent nor successor." Owain Gwynedd (1100–70) of the Aberffraw line was the first Welsh ruler to use the title ''princeps Wallensium'' (prince of the Welsh), a title of substance given his victory on the Berwyn Mountains, according to John Davies.

Within four years of the Battle of Hastings England had been completely subjugated by the Normans. William I of England established a series of lordships, allocated to his most powerful warriors along the Welsh border, the boundaries fixed only to the east. This frontier region, and any English-held lordships in Wales, became known as ''Marchia Wallie'', the Welsh Marches, in which the Marcher Lords were subject to neither English nor Welsh law. The area of the March varied as the fortunes of the Marcher Lords and the Welsh princes ebbed and flowed. The March of Wales, which existed for over 450 years, was abolished under the Acts of Union in 1536.

Owain Gwynedd's grandson Llywelyn Fawr (the Great, 1173–1240), wrested concessions out of the Magna Carta in 1215 and receiving the fealty of other Welsh lords in 1216 at the council at Aberdyfi, became the first Prince of Wales. His grandson Llywelyn ap Gruffydd also secured the recognition of the title ''Prince of Wales'' from Henry III with the Treaty of Montgomery in 1267. Later however, a succession of disputes, including the imprisonment of Llywelyn's wife Eleanor, daughter of Simon de Montfort, culminated in the first invasion by King Edward I of England. As a result of military defeat, the Treaty of Aberconwy exacted Llywelyn's fealty to England in 1277. Peace was short lived and, with the 1282 Edwardian conquest, the rule of the Welsh princes permanently ended. With Llywelyn's death and his brother prince Dafydd's execution, the few remaining Welsh lords did homage for their lands to Edward I. Llywelyn's head was carried through London on a spear; his baby daughter Gwenllian was locked in the priory at Sempringham, where she remained until her death 54 years later.

To help maintain his dominance, Edward constructed a series of great stone castles. Beaumaris, Caernarfon and Conwy. His son, the future King Edward II of England, was born at Edward's new castle at Caernarfon in 1284. He became the first English Prince of Wales, not as an infant, but in 1301. The apocryphal story that Edward tricked the Welsh by offering them a Welsh-born Prince who could speak no English, was first recorded in 1584. The title also provided an income from the north–west part of Wales known as the Principality of Wales, until the Act of Union (1536), after which the term principality, if used at all, was believed to be associated with the whole of Wales. After the failed revolt in 1294–95 of Madog ap Llywelyn – who styled himself Prince of Wales in the so-called Penmachno Document – there was no major uprising until that led by Owain Glyndŵr a century later, against Henry IV of England. In 1404, Owain was reputedly crowned Prince of Wales in the presence of emissaries from France, Spain and Scotland. Glyndŵr went on to hold parliamentary assemblies at several Welsh towns, including Machynlleth. The rebellion was ultimately to founder, however, and Owain went into hiding in 1412, with peace being essentially restored in Wales by 1415. Although the English conquest of Wales took place under the 1284 Statute of Rhuddlan, a formal Union did not occur until 1536, shortly after which Welsh law, which continued to be used in Wales after the conquest, was fully replaced by English law, under what would become known as the Act of Union.

Industrial Wales

Prior to the British Industrial Revolution, which saw a rapid economic expansion between 1750 and 1850, there were signs of small-scale industries scattered throughout Wales. These ranged from industries connected to agriculture, such as milling and the manufacture of woollen textiles, through to mining and quarrying. Until the Industrial Revolution, Wales had always been reliant on its agricultural output for its wealth and employment and the earliest industrial businesses were small scale and localised in manner. The emerging industrial period commenced around the development of copper smelting in the Swansea area. With access to local coal deposits and a harbour that could take advantage of Cornwall's copper mines and the copper deposits being extracted from the then largest copper mine in the world at Parys Mountain on Anglesey, Swansea developed into the world's major centre for non-ferrous metal smelting in the 19th century. The second metal industry to expand in Wales was iron smelting, and iron manufacturing became prevalent in both the north and the south of the country. In the north of Wales, John Wilkinson's Ironworks at Bersham was a significant industry, while in the south, a second world centre of metallurgy was founded in Merthyr Tydfil, where the four ironworks of Dowlais, Cyfarthfa, Plymouth and Penydarren became the most significant hub of iron manufacture in Wales. In the 1820s, south Wales alone accounted for 40% of all pig iron manufactured in Britain.

In the late 18th century, slate quarrying began to expand rapidly, most notably in north Wales. The most notable site, opened in 1770 by Richard Pennant, is Penrhyn Quarry which, by the late 19th century, was employing 15,000 men; and along with Dinorwic Quarry, dominated the Welsh slate trade. Although slate quarrying has been described as 'the most Welsh of Welsh industries', it is coal mining which has become the single industry synonymous with Wales and its people. Initially, coal seams were exploited to provide energy for local metal industries but, with the opening of canal systems and later the railways, Welsh coal mining saw a boom in its demand. As the south Wales coalfield was exploited, mainly in the upland valleys around Aberdare and later the Rhondda, the ports of Swansea, Cardiff and later Penarth, grew into world exporters of coal and, with them, came a population boom. By its height in 1913, Wales was producing almost 61 million tons of coal. As well as in South Wales, there was also a significant coalfield in the north-east of the country, particularly around Wrexham. As Wales was reliant on the production of capital goods rather than consumer goods, it possessed few of the skilled craftspeople and artisans found in the workshops of Birmingham or Sheffield in England and had few factories producing finished goods – a key feature of most regions associated with the Industrial Revolution. However, there is increasing support that the industrial revolution was reliant on harnessing the energy and materials provided by Wales and, in that sense, Wales was of central importance.

Modern Wales

Historian Kenneth Morgan described Wales on the eve of the First World War as a "relatively placid, self-confident, and successful nation". Output from the coalfields continued to increase, with the Rhondda Valley recording a peak of 9.6 million tons of coal extracted in 1913. The outbreak of the First World War (1914–1918) saw Wales, as part of the United Kingdom, enter hostilities with Germany. A total of 272,924 Welshmen served in the war, representing 21.5% of the male population. Of these, roughly 35,000 were killed. The two most notable battles of the War to include Welsh forces were those at Mametz Wood on the Somme and Third Ypres.

The first quarter of the 20th century also saw a shift in the political landscape of Wales. Since 1865, the Liberal Party had held a parliamentary majority in Wales and, following the general election of 1906, only one non-Liberal Member of Parliament, Keir Hardie of Merthyr Tydfil, represented a Welsh constituency in Westminster. Yet by 1906, industrial dissension and political militancy had begun to undermine Liberal consensus in the Southern coalfields. In 1916, David Lloyd George became the first Welshman to become Prime Minister of Britain when he was made head of the 1916 coalition government. In December 1918, Lloyd George was re-elected at the head of a Conservative-dominated coalition government, and his poor handling of the 1919 coalminers' strike was a key factor in destroying support for the Liberal party in south Wales. The industrial workers of Wales began shifting towards a new political organisation, established by Hardie and others to ensure an elected representation for the working class, and now called the Labour party. When in 1908 the Miners' Federation of Great Britain became affiliated to the Labour Party the four Labour candidates sponsored by miners were all elected as MPs. By 1922, half of the Welsh seats in Westminster were held by Labour politicians, which was the beginning of a Labour hegemony which would dominate Wales into the 21st century.

Despite economic growth in the first two decades of the 20th century, from the early 1920s to the late 1930s, Wales' staple industries endured a prolonged slump, leading to widespread unemployment and poverty in the South Wales valleys. For the first time in centuries, the population of Wales went into decline; the scourge of unemployment only relented with the production demands of the Second World War. The Second World War (1939–1945) saw Welsh servicemen and women fight in all the major theatres of war, with some 15,000 of them killed. Bombing raids brought major loss of life as the German Air Force targeted the docks at Swansea, Cardiff and Pembroke. After 1943, 10% of Welsh conscripts aged 18 were sent to work in the coal mines to rectify labour shortages; they became known as Bevin Boys. Pacifist numbers during both World Wars were fairly low, especially in the Second World War, which was seen as a fight against fascism. Of the political parties active in Wales, only Plaid Cymru advocated a neutral stance, on the grounds that it was an 'imperialist war'.

The 20th century saw a revival in Welsh national feeling. Plaid Cymru was formed in 1925, seeking greater autonomy or independence from the rest of the UK. In 1955, the term England and Wales became common for describing the area to which English law applied, and Cardiff was proclaimed as capital city of Wales. ''Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg'' () was formed in 1962, in response to fears that the language may soon die out. Nationalist sentiment grew following the flooding of the Tryweryn valley in 1965 to create a reservoir supplying water to the English city of Liverpool. Despite 35 of the 36 Welsh Members of Parliament voting against the bill, with the other abstaining, Parliament still passed the bill and the village of Capel Celyn was submerged, highlighting Wales' powerlessness in her own affairs in the face of the numerical superiority of English MPs in the Westminster Parliament. Both the Free Wales Army and ''Mudiad Amddiffyn Cymru'' (, abbreviated as MAC) were formed as a direct result of the Tryweryn destruction, conducting campaigns from 1963. In the years leading up to the investiture of Prince Charles as Prince of Wales in 1969, these groups were responsible for a number of bomb blasts—destroying water pipes, tax and other offices and part of a dam being built for a new English-backed project in Clywedog, Montgomeryshire. In 1966 the Carmarthen Parliamentary seat was won by Gwynfor Evans at a by-election, Plaid Cymru's first Parliamentary seat. In the following year, the Wales and Berwick Act 1746 was repealed and a legal definition of Wales and of the boundary with England was stated.

By the end of the 1960s, the regional policy of bringing firms into disadvantaged areas of Wales through financial incentives, had proven very successful in diversifying the once industrial landscape. This policy, begun in 1934, was enhanced by the construction of industrial estates and improving transport communications, most notably the M4 motorway linking Wales directly to London. There was a belief that the foundations for stable economic growth had been firmly established in Wales during this period; but these views were shown to be wildly optimistic after the recession of the early 1980s saw the collapse of much of the manufacturing base that had been built over the preceding forty years.

The first referendum, in 1979, in which the Welsh electorate voted on the creation of an assembly for Wales resulted in a large majority for the "no" vote. However, in 1997, a referendum on the same issue secured a "yes", although by a very narrow majority. The National Assembly for Wales (''Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru'') was set up in 1999 (as a consequence of the Government of Wales Act 1998) and possesses the power to determine how the central government budget for Wales is spent and administered, although the UK parliament reserves the right to set limits on the powers of the Welsh Assembly.

The governments of the United Kingdom and of Wales almost invariably define Wales as a country. The Welsh Assembly Government says: "Wales is not a Principality. Although we are joined with England by land, and we are part of Great Britain, Wales is a country in its own right." The title ''Prince of Wales'' is still conferred on the heir apparent to the British throne, currently Prince Charles. However the Prince of Wales has no constitutional role in modern Wales. According to the Welsh Assembly Government: "Our Prince of Wales at the moment is Prince Charles, who is the present heir to the throne. But he does not have a role in the governance of Wales, even though his title might suggest that he does."

Government and politics

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom (UK). Constitutionally, the UK is a ''de jure'', unitary state, its parliament and government in Westminster. In the House of Commons – the lower house of the UK government – Wales is represented by 40 MPs (of 646) from Welsh constituencies. Labour MPs hold 29 of the 40 seats, the Liberal Democrats hold four seats, Plaid Cymru, three and the Conservatives, three. A Secretary of State for Wales sits in the UK cabinet and is responsible for representing matters pertaining to Wales. The Wales Office is a department of the United Kingdom government, responsible for Wales. Cheryl Gillan has been Secretary of State for Wales since 12 May 2010, replacing Peter Hain of the previous Labour administration. Gillan was appointed to the new Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition Westminster government following the United Kingdom general election of 2010.

Referendums held in Wales and Scotland in 1997 chose to establish a limited form of self-government in both countries. In Wales, the consequent process of devolution began with the Government of Wales Act 1998, which created the National Assembly for Wales (). Powers of the Secretary of State for Wales were transferred to the devolved government on 1 July 1999, granting the Assembly responsibility to decide how the Westminster government's budget for devolved areas is spent and administered. The 1998 Act was amended by the Government of Wales Act 2006 which enhanced the Assembly's powers, giving it legislative powers akin to the Scottish Parliament and Northern Ireland Assembly. The Assembly consists of 60 members, known as Assembly Members (). Members (AMs ()) are elected for four year terms under an additional member system. Forty of the AMs represent geographical constituencies, elected under the First Past the Post system. The remaining twenty AMs represent five electoral regions, each representing between seven and nine constituencies, using the d'Hondt method of proportional representation. The Assembly must elect a First Minister, who selects ministers to form the Welsh Assembly Government.

Labour remained the largest Assembly party following the 2007 election, winning 26 of the 60 seats. Having insufficient support to form a government, the Labour Party entered into the 'One Wales' agreement with Plaid Cymru, forming a coalition, the Labour leader as First Minister. Carwyn Jones has been First Minister and leader of Welsh Labour since Rhodri Morgan retired from office in December 2009, after nine years and ten months as First Minister. Ieuan Wyn Jones, Deputy First Minister in the coalition government, is leader of Plaid Cymru, the second-largest party in the Assembly with 14 of the 60 seats. The Presiding Officer of the Assembly is Rosemary Butler of Welsh Labour. Other Assembly parties are the Conservative Party, the loyal opposition with 13 seats, the Liberal Democrats with six seats, and one independent member. The Lib-Dems had previously formed part of a coalition government with Labour in the first Assembly. Under the 'One Wales' agreement, a referendum on giving the Welsh assembly full law-making powers on devolved 'matters' is promised "as soon as practicable, at or before the end of the assembly term (in 2011)" and both parties have agreed "in good faith to campaign for a successful outcome to such a referendum".

The twenty areas of responsibility devolved to the Welsh Assembly Government, known as 'matters', include agriculture, economic development, education, health, housing, local government, social services, tourism, transport and the Welsh language. On its creation in 1999, the National Assembly for Wales had no primary legislative powers. However, since the Government of Wales Act 2006 (GoWA 2006) came into effect in 2007, the Assembly has power to pass primary legislation as Assembly Measures on some specific matters within the areas of devolved responsibility. Further matters have been added subsequently, either directly by the UK Parliament or by the UK Parliament approving a Legislative Competence Order (LCO); a request from the National Assembly for additional powers. The GoWA 2006 allows for the Assembly to gain primary lawmaking powers on a more extensive range of matters within the same devolved areas if approved in a referendum.

A referendum on extending the law-making powers of the National Assembly was accordingly held on 3 March 2011. It asked the question: "Do you want the Assembly now to be able to make laws on ''all'' matters in the 20 subject areas it has powers for?" The result of the vote was that 63.49% voted 'yes', and 36.51% voted 'no'. Consequently, the Assembly is now able to make laws, known as Acts of the Assembly, on all matters in the subject areas, without needing the UK Parliament's agreement.

Wales is also a distinct UK electoral region of the European Union represented by four Members of the European Parliament.

Local government

For the purposes of local government, Wales has been divided into 22 council areas since 1996. These "principal areas" are responsible for the provision of all local government services.

Map of principal areas

Blaenau Gwent †

Bridgend (county borough)>Bridgend (''Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr'') †

Caerphilly (county borough)>Caerphilly (''Caerffili'') †

*Cardiff (''Caerdydd'') *

*Carmarthenshire (''Sir Gaerfyrddin'')

*Ceredigion

Conwy (county borough)>Conwy †

*Denbighshire (''Sir Ddinbych'')

*Flintshire (''Sir y Fflint'')

*Gwynedd

*Isle of Anglesey (''Ynys Môn'')

*Merthyr Tydfil (''Merthyr Tudful'') †

*Monmouthshire (''Sir Fynwy'')

*Neath Port Talbot (''Castell-nedd Port Talbot'') †

*Newport (''Casnewydd'') *

*Pembrokeshire (''Sir Benfro'')

*Powys

*Rhondda Cynon Taf †

*Swansea (''Abertawe'') *

*Torfaen (''Tor-faen'') †

*Vale of Glamorgan (''Bro Morgannwg'') †

Wrexham (county borough)>Wrexham (''Wrecsam'') †

''Areas are Counties, unless marked *(for Cities) or † (for County Boroughs). Welsh language forms are given in parentheses, where they differ from the English.''.

Note: Wales has five cities. In addition to Cardiff, Newport and Swansea, the communities of Bangor and St David's also have city status in the United Kingdom.

Law and order

By tradition, Welsh Law was compiled during an assembly held at Whitland around 930 CE by Hywel Dda, king of most of Wales between 942 and his death in 950. The 'law of Hywel Dda' (), as it became known, codified the previously existing folk laws and legal customs that had evolved in Wales over centuries. Welsh Law emphasised the payment of compensation for a crime to the victim, or the victim's kin, rather than on punishment by the ruler. Other than in the Marches, where law was imposed by the Marcher Lords, Welsh Law remained in force in Wales until the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284. Edward I of England annexed the Principality of Wales following the death of Llywelyn the Last and Welsh Law was replaced for criminal cases under the Statute. Marcher Law and Welsh Law (for civil cases) remained in force until Henry VIII of England annexed the whole of Wales under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535-1542 (often referred to as the Acts of Union of 1536 and 1543), after which English Law applied to the whole of Wales. The Wales and Berwick Act 1746 provided that all laws that applied to England would automatically apply to Wales (and the Anglo-Scottish border town of Berwick) unless the law explicitly stated otherwise. This act, with regard to Wales, was repealed in 1967. However, excluding those matters devolved to Wales since 1999, English law has been the legal system of Wales and England since 1536.

English law is regarded as a common law system, with no major codification of the law, and legal precedents are binding as opposed to persuasive. The court system is headed by the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom which is the highest court of appeal in the land for criminal and civil cases. The Supreme Court of Judicature of England and Wales is the highest court of first instance as well as an appellate court. The three divisions are the Court of Appeal; the High Court of Justice and the Crown Court. Minor cases are heard by the Magistrates' Courts or the County Court.

Since devolution in 2006, the Welsh Assembly has had the authority to draft and approve some laws outside of the UK Parliamentary system to meet the specific needs of Wales. Under powers conferred by Legislative Competency Orders agreed by all parliamentary stakeholders, it is able to pass laws known as Assembly Measures in relation to specific fields, such as health and education. As such, Assembly Measures are a subordinate form of primary legislation, lacking the scope of UK-wide acts of parliament, but able to be passed without the approval of the UK parliament or Royal Assent for each 'act'. Through this primary legislation, the Welsh Assembly Government can then also draft more specific secondary legislation. In 2007 the Wales and Cheshire Region (known as the Wales and Cheshire Circuit before 2005) came to an end when Cheshire was attached to the North-Western England Region. From that point Wales became a legal unit in its own right.

Wales is served by four regional police forces, Dyfed-Powys Police, Gwent Police, North Wales Police and South Wales Police. There are four prisons in Wales, though all are based in the southern half of the country. As well as no northern provision for Welsh prisoners, there are no female prisons in Wales, with inmates being housed in English prisons.

Geography and natural history

Wales is a generally mountainous country on the western side of central southern Great Britain. It is about 274 km (170 mi) north–south and 97 km (60 mi) east–west. The oft-quoted 'size of Wales' is about 20,779 km² (8,023 sq mi). Wales is bordered by England to the east and by sea in all other directions: the Irish Sea () to the north and west, St George's Channel () and the Celtic Sea () to the southwest and the Bristol Channel () to the south. Altogether, Wales has over 1,180 km (733 mi) of coastline. Over 50 islands lie off the Welsh mainland; the largest being Anglesey (), in the northwest.

Much of Wales' diverse landscape is mountainous, particularly in the north and central regions. The mountains were shaped during the last ice age, the Devensian glaciation. The highest mountains in Wales are in Snowdonia (''Eryri''), of which five are over 1,000 m (3,281 ft); known as 'super-mountains'. The highest of these is Snowdon (''Yr Wyddfa''), at 1,085 m (3,560 ft). The 14 (or 15 if including Garnedd Uchaf; often discounted due to its low topographic prominence) Welsh mountains over 3,000 feet (914 m) high are known collectively as the Welsh 3000s and are located in a small area in the north-west.

The highest outside the 3000s is Aran Fawddwy, at 905 metres (2,969 ft), in the south of Snowdonia. The Brecon Beacons () are in the south (highest point Pen-y-Fan, at 886 metres (2,907 ft)), and are joined by the Cambrian Mountains in Mid Wales. The highest point being Pumlumon at 752 metres (2,467 ft).

Wales has three national parks: Snowdonia, Brecon Beacons and Pembrokeshire Coast. It has five Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. These areas include Anglesey, the Clwydian Range, the Gower Peninsula and the Wye Valley. The Gower Peninsula was the first area in the United Kingdom to be designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, in 1956. Forty two percent of the coastline of South and West Wales is designated as Heritage Coast, with 13 specific designated strips of coastline maintained by the Countryside Council of Wales. As from 2010 the coastline of Wales has 45 Blue Flag beaches and five Blue Flag marinas. Despite its Heritage and award winning beaches; the south and west coasts of Wales, along with the Irish and Cornish coasts, are frequently blasted by Atlantic westerlies/south westerlies that, over the years, have sunk and wrecked many vessels. On the night of 25 October 1859, over 110 ships were destroyed off the coast of Wales when a hurricane blew in from the Atlantic. More than 800 lives were lost across Britain due to the storm but the greatest tragedy was the sinking of the Royal Charter of the coast of Anglesey in which 459 people died. The number of shipwrecks around the coast of Wales reached a peak in the 19th century with over 100 craft losses and an average loss of life of about 78 sailors per year. Wartime action caused losses near Holyhead, Milford Haven and Swansea. Due to offshore rocks and unlit islands, Anglesey and Pembrokeshire are still notorious for shipwrecks, most notably the Sea Empress Disaster in 1996.

The first border between Wales and England was zonal, apart from around the River Wye, which was the first accepted boundary. Offa's Dyke was supposed to form an early distinct line but this was thwarted by Gruffudd ap Llewellyn, who reclaimed swathes of land beyond the dyke. The Act of Union of 1536 formed a linear border stretching from the mouth of the Dee to the mouth of the Wye. Even after the Act of Union, many of the borders remained vague and moveable until the Welsh Sunday Closing act of 1881, which forced local businesses to decide which country they fell within to accept either the Welsh or English law.

The ''Seven Wonders of Wales'' is a list in doggerel verse of seven geographic and cultural landmarks in Wales probably composed in the late 18th century under the influence of tourism from England. All the "wonders" are in north Wales: Snowdon (the highest mountain), the Gresford bells (the peal of bells in the medieval church of All Saints at Gresford), the Llangollen bridge (built in 1347 over the River Dee, St Winefride's Well (a pilgrimage site at Holywell) in Flintshire, the Wrexham () steeple (16th-century tower of St Giles' Church, Wrexham), the Overton Yew trees (ancient yew trees in the churchyard of St. Mary's at Overton-on-Dee) and Pistyll Rhaeadr – a tall waterfall, at 240 ft (73 m). The wonders are part of the rhyme: :''Pistyll Rhaeadr and Wrexham steeple,'' :''Snowdon's mountain without its people,'' :''Overton yew trees, St Winefride's Wells,'' :''Llangollen bridge and Gresford bells.''

Geology

The earliest geological period of the Paleozoic era, the Cambrian, takes its name from the Cambrian Mountains in mid-Wales where geologists first identified Cambrian remnants. In evolutionary studies the Cambrian is the period when most major groups of complex animals appeared (the Cambrian explosion). The older rocks underlying the Cambrian rocks in Wales lacked fossils which could be used to differentiate their various groups and were referred to as Pre-cambrian.

In the mid-19th century, two prominent geologists, Roderick Murchison and Adam Sedgwick (who first proposed the name of the Cambrian period), independently used their studies of the geology of Wales to establish certain principles of stratigraphy and palaeontology. The next two periods of the Paleozoic era, the Ordovician and Silurian, were named after ancient Celtic tribes from this area based on Murchison's and Sedgwick's work.

Climate

Wales lies within the north temperate zone. It has a changeable, maritime climate and is one of the wettest countries in Europe. Welsh weather is often cloudy, wet and windy, with warm summers and mild winters. The long summer days and short winter days are due to Wales' northerly latitudes (between 53° 43′ N and 51° 38′ N). Aberystwyth, at the mid point of the country's west coast, has nearly 17 hours of daylight at the summer solstice. Daylight at midwinter there falls to just over seven and a half hours. The country's wide geographic variations cause localised differences in sunshine, rainfall and temperature. Average annual coastal temperatures are and in low lying inland areas, lower. It becomes cooler at higher altitudes; annual temperatures decrease on average approximately each 100 metres (330 ft) of altitude. Consequently, the higher parts of Snowdonia experience average annual temperatures of . Temperatures in Wales are kept higher than would otherwise be expected at its latitude by the North Atlantic Drift, a branch of the Gulf Stream. The ocean current, bringing warmer water to northerly latitudes, has a similar effect on most of north west Europe. As well as its influence on Wales' coastal areas, air warmed by the Gulf Stream is carried further inland by the prevailing winds.

At low elevations, summers tend to be warm and sunny. Average maximum temperatures range between and . Winters tend to be fairly wet, but rainfall is rarely excessive and the temperature usually stays above freezing. Spring and autumn feel quite similar and the temperatures tend to stay above – also the average annual daytime temperature.

The sunniest time of year tends to be between May and August. The south-western coast is the sunniest part of Wales, averaging over 1700 hours of sunshine annually. Wales' sunniest town is Tenby, Pembrokeshire. The dullest time of year tends to be between November and January. The least sunny areas are the mountains, some parts of which average less than 1200 hours of sunshine annually. The prevailing wind is south-westerly. Coastal areas are the windiest, gales occur most often during winter, on average between 15 and 30 days each year, depending on location. Inland, gales average fewer than six days annually.

Rainfall patterns show significant variation. The further west, the higher the expected rainfall; up to 40% more. At low elevations, rain is unpredictable at any time of year, although the showers tend to be shorter in summer. The uplands of Wales have most rain, normally more than 50 days of rain during the winter months (December to February), falling to around 35 rainy days during the summer months (June to August). Annual rainfall in Snowdonia averages between 3,000 millimetres (120 in) (Blaenau Ffestiniog) and 5,000 millimetres (200 in) (Snowdon's summit). The likelihood is that it will fall as sleet or snow when the temperature falls below , and snow tends to be lying on the ground there for an average of 30 days a year. Snow falls several times each winter in inland areas, but is relatively uncommon around the coast. Average annual rainfall in those areas can be less than 1,000 millimetres (39 in). Met Office statistics show Swansea to be the wettest city in Great Britain, with an average annual rainfall of 1,360.8 millimetres (53.57 in). This has led to the old adage "If you can see Mumbles Head it is going to rain – if you can't, it is raining". Cardiff is Great Britain's fifth wettest city, with 908 millimetres (35.7 in). Rhyl is Wales' driest town, its average annual rainfall 640 millimetres (25 in).

Highest maximum temperature: at Hawarden Bridge, Flintshire on 2 August 1990. Lowest minimum temperature: at Rhayader, Radnorshire (now Powys) on 21 January 1940. Maximum number of hours of sunshine in a month: 354.3 hours at Dale Fort, Pembrokeshire in July 1955. Minimum number of hours of sunshine in a month: 2.7 hours at Llwynon, Brecknockshire in January 1962. Maximum rainfall in a day (0900 UTC – 0900 UTC): 211 millimetres (8 in) at Rhondda, Glamorgan, on 11 November 1929. Wettest spot – an average of 4,473 millimetres (176 in) rain a year at Crib Goch in Snowdonia, Gwynedd (making it also the wettest spot in the United Kingdom).

Flora and fauna

thumb|The Red Kite (''Milvus milvus'')a national symbol of Welsh wildlife

Wales’ wildlife is typical of Britain with several distinctions. Due to its long coastline Wales hosts a variety of seabirds. The coasts and surrounding islands are home to colonies of gannets, Manx Shearwater, puffins, kittiwakes, shags and razorbills. In comparison, with 60% of Wales above the 150m contour, the country also supports a variety of upland habitat birds, including raven and ring ouzel. Birds of prey include the merlin, hen harrier and the red kite, a national symbol of Welsh wildlife. In total, more than 200 different species of bird have been seen at the RSPB reserve at Conwy, including seasonal visitors.

The larger Welsh mammals died out during the Norman period, including the brown bear, wolf and the wildcat. Today, mammals of note include shrews, voles, badgers, otters, hedgehogs and fifteen species of bat. Two species of small rodent, the yellow-necked mouse and the dormouse, are of special Welsh note being found at the historically undisturbed border area. Other animals of note include, otter, stoat and weasel. The Pine Marten which has the occasional sighting, has not been officially recorded since the 1950s. The polecat was nearly driven to extinction in Britain, but hung on in Wales and is now rapidly spreading. Feral goats can be found in Snowdonia.

Like Cornwall, Brittany and Ireland, the waters of South-west Wales of Gower, Pembrokeshire and Cardigan Bay attract marine animals including basking sharks, Atlantic grey seals, leatherback turtles, dolphins, porpoises, jellyfish, crabs and lobsters. Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion in particular are recognised as an area of international importance for Bottlenose dolphins, and New Quay has the only summer residence of bottlenose dolphins in the whole of the UK. River fish of note include char, eel, salmon, shad, sparling and Arctic char, whilst the Gwyniad is unique to Wales, found only in Bala Lake. Wales is also known for its shellfish, including cockles, limpet, mussels and periwinkles. Herring, mackerel and hake are the more common of the country's seafish.

The north facing high grounds of Snowdonia support a relict pre-glacial flora including the iconic Snowdon lily -''Lloydia serotina'' – and other alpine species such as ''Saxifraga cespitosa'', ''Saxifraga oppositifolia'' and ''Silene acaulis'' – an eco-system not found elsewhere in the UK. Wales also hosts a number of plant species not found elsewhere in the UK including the Spotted Rock-rose ''Tuberaria guttata'' on Anglesey and ''Draba aizoides'' on the Gower.

Education

thumb|right|300px|St. David's Building, University of Wales, Lampeter ('''') A distinct education system has developed in Wales. Formal education before the 18th century was the preserve of the elite. The first grammar schools were established in Welsh towns such as Ruthin, Brecon and Cowbridge. One of the first successful schooling systems was started by Griffiths Jones, who introduced the circulating schools in the 1730s; believed to have taught half the country's population to read. In the 19th century, with increasing state involvement in education, Wales was forced to adopt an education system that was English in ethos even though the country was predominantly Non-conformist, Welsh speaking and demographically uneven due to the economic expansion in the south. In some schools, to ensure Welsh children spoke English at school, the Welsh Not was used; a policy seen as a hated symbol of English oppression. The "not", a piece of wood hung round the neck by string, was given to any child overheard speaking Welsh, who would pass it to a different child if overheard speaking Welsh. At the end of the day, the wearer of the "not" would be beaten. The extent of its practice, however, is difficult to determine. State and local governmental edicts resulted in schooling in the English language which, following ''Brad y Llyfrau Gleision'' (the ), was seen as more academic and worthwhile for children.

The University College of Wales opened in Aberystwyth in 1872. Cardiff and Bangor followed, and the three colleges came together in 1893 to form the University of Wales. The Welsh Intermediate Education Act of 1889 created 95 secondary schools. The Welsh Department for the Board of Education followed in 1907, which gave Wales its first significant educational devolution. A resurgence in Welsh language schools in the later half of the 20th century at nursery and primary level saw attitudes shift towards teaching in the medium of Welsh. In schools where English is the first language, Welsh is a compulsory subject until the age of 16. However, there has never been a Welsh-language college, and in the University of Wales, at the start of the 21st century only 100 of its 5000 academic staff were teaching through the medium of Welsh. In 2006 there were 33 nursery, 1555 primary, 244 secondary comprehensive and 43 special schools with 56 independent schools in Wales. In 2004 the country had 505,208 pupils taught by 27,378 teachers.

Economy

Over the last 250 years, Wales has been transformed first from a predominantly agricultural country to an industrial, and now a post-industrial economy. Since the Second World War, the service sector has come to account for the majority of jobs, a feature typifying most advanced economies. Total headline Gross Value Added (GVA) in Wales in 2009 was £44.5 billion, or £14,842 per head of population; 74.3 per cent of the UK average. In the three months to July 2010, the employment rate for working-age adults in Wales was 67 per cent, compared to 70.7 per cent across the UK as a whole.

From the middle of the 19th century until the post-war era, the mining and export of coal was a dominant industry. At its peak of production in 1913, nearly 233,000 men and women were employed in the South Wales coalfield, mining 56 million tons of coal. Cardiff was once the largest coal-exporting port in the world and, for a few years before the First World War, handled a greater tonnage of cargo than either London or Liverpool. In the 1920s, over 40% of the male Welsh population worked in heavy industry. According to Professor Phil Williams, the Great Depression "devastated Wales", north and south, due to its "overwhelming dependence on coal and steel". From the mid 1970s, the Welsh economy faced massive restructuring with large numbers of jobs in traditional heavy industry disappearing and being replaced eventually by new ones in light industry and in services. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Wales was successful in attracting an above average share of foreign direct investment in the UK. However, much of the new industry was essentially of a "branch factory" ("screwdriver factory") type where a manufacturing plant or call centre is located in Wales but the most highly-paid jobs in the company are retained elsewhere.

Due to poor-quality soil, much of Wales is unsuitable for crop-growing and livestock farming has traditionally been the focus of agriculture. The Welsh landscape (protected by three national parks) and 45 Blue Flag beaches, as well as the unique culture of Wales, attract large numbers of tourists, who play an especially vital role in the economy of rural areas. Wales has struggled to develop or attract high value-added employment in sectors such as finance and research and development, attributable in part to a comparative lack of 'economic mass' (i.e. population) – Wales lacks a large metropolitan centre. The lack of high value-added employment is reflected in lower economic output per head relative to other regions of the UK – in 2002 it stood at 90% of the EU25 average and around 80% of the UK average. In June 2008, Wales made history by becoming the first nation in the world to be awarded Fairtrade Status.

The pound sterling is the currency used in Wales. Numerous Welsh banks issued their own banknotes in the 19th century. The last bank to do so closed in 1908, since when, although banks in Scotland and Northern Ireland continue to have the right to issue banknotes in their own countries, the Bank of England has a monopoly on the issue of banknotes in Wales. The Commercial Bank of Wales, established in Cardiff by Sir Julian Hodge in 1971, was taken over by the Bank of Scotland in 1988 and absorbed into its parent company in 2002. The Royal Mint, who issue the coinage circulated through the whole of the UK, have been based at a single site in Llantrisant since 1980. Since decimalisation, in 1971, at least one of the coins in UK circulation has depicted a Welsh design, e.g. the 1995 and 2000 one Pound coin (shown left). However, Wales has not been represented on any coin minted from 2008.

Healthcare

Public healthcare in Wales is provided by NHS Wales (''''), which was originally formed as part of the NHS structure for England and Wales created by the National Health Service Act 1946, but with powers over the NHS in Wales coming under the Secretary of State for Wales in 1969. In turn, responsibility for NHS Wales was passed to the Welsh Assembly and Executive under devolution in 1999. Historically, Wales was served by smaller 'cottage' hospitals, built as voluntary institutions. As newer more expensive diagnostic techniques and treatments became available through medical advancement, much of the clinical work of the country has been concentrated in newer, larger district hospitals. As of 2006, there were seventeen district hospitals in Wales, although none situated in Powys. NHS Wales provides public healthcare in Wales and employs some 90,000 staff, making it Wales’ biggest employer. The Minister for Health and Social Services is the person within the Welsh Assembly Government who holds cabinet responsibilities for both health and social care in Wales.

A 2009 Welsh health survey, conducted by the Welsh Assembly, reported that 51% of adults reported their health good or excellent, while 21% described their health as fair or poor. The survey also recorded that 27% of Welsh adults had a long-term chronic illness, such as arthritis, asthma, diabetes and heart disease. Enquiries into health related lifestyle choices report 27% of the adult population are smokers, 45% admit drinking alcohol above recommended guidelines at least once a week, while 29% undertake the recommended weekly physical activity.

Demographics

In 2011, Wales' population was estimated to have risen to over three million for the first time (mid 2010 estimate: 3,006,400). Data from the last census (2001) reported the population in Wales as 2,903,085. The main population and industrial areas are in South Wales, consisting of the cities of Cardiff, Swansea and Newport and surrounding areas, with another significant population in the north-east around Wrexham. According to the 2001 census, 96% of the population was White British, and 2.1% non-white (mainly of British Asian origin). Most non-white groups were concentrated in the southern port cities of Cardiff, Newport and Swansea. Welsh Asian and African communities developed mainly through immigration since the Second World War. In the early 21st century, parts of Wales saw an increased number of immigrants settle from recent EU accession countries such as Poland; though a 2007 study showed a relatively low number of employed immigrant workers from the former Eastern bloc countries in Wales compared to other regions of the United Kingdom.

In the 2001 Labour Force Survey, 72% of adults in Wales considered their national identity as wholly Welsh and another 7% considered themselves to be partly Welsh (Welsh and British were the most common combination). A recent study estimated that 35% of the Welsh population have surnames of Welsh origin (5.4% of the English and 1.6% of the Scottish population also bore 'Welsh' names). However, many modern surnames derived from old Welsh personal names actually arose in England. In 2001, a quarter of the Welsh population were born outside Wales, mainly in England; about 3% were born outside the UK. The proportion of people who were born in Wales differs across the country, with the highest percentages in the South Wales Valleys and the lowest in Mid Wales and parts of the north-east. In both Blaenau Gwent and Merthyr Tydfil, 92% were Welsh-born, compared to only 51% and 56% in the border counties of Flintshire and Powys. Just over 1.75 million Americans report themselves to have Welsh ancestry, as did 440,965 Canadians in Canada's 2006 census.

Languages

In his 1707 work ''Archaeologia Britannica'' Edward Lhuyd, Keeper of the Ashmolean Museum, noted the similarity between the two Celtic language families: Brythonic or P–Celtic (Breton, Cornish and Welsh); and Goidelic or Q–Celtic (Irish, Manx and Scottish Gaelic). He argued that the Brythonic languages originated in Gaul (France), and that the Goidelic languages originated in the Iberian Peninsula. Lhuyd concluded that as the languages had been of Celtic origin, the people who spoke those languages were Celts. (According to a more recent hypothesis, also widely embraced today, Goidelic and Brythonic languages, collectively known as Insular Celtic languages, evolved together for some time separately from Continental Celtic languages such as Gaulish and Celtiberian.) From the 18th century, the peoples of Brittany, Cornwall, Ireland, Isle of Man, Scotland and Wales were known increasingly as Celts, and they are regarded as the modern Celtic nations today.

The Welsh Language Act 1993 and the Government of Wales Act 1998 provide that the English and Welsh languages be treated on a basis of equality. English is spoken by almost all people in Wales and is the ''de facto'' main language. Code-switching is common in all parts of Wales and is known by various terms, though none is recognised by professional linguists. "Wenglish" is the Welsh English language dialect. It has been influenced significantly by Welsh grammar and includes words derived from Welsh. According to John Davies, Wenglish has "been the object of far greater prejudice than anything suffered by Welsh". Northern and western Wales retain many areas where Welsh is spoken as a first language by the majority of the population, and English learnt as a second language. The 2001 census showed 582,400 people, 20.8% of the Welsh population, were able to speak Welsh, an increase from the 19.0% shown in the 1981 census. According to language surveys conducted in 2004 and 2006, that number has dropped slightly to 20.5%, and the number of fluent speakers dropped by 3% between 1992 and 2006. Although monoglotism in young children continues, life-long monoglotism in Welsh is recognised to be a thing of the past.

Road signs in Wales are generally in both English and Welsh; where place names differ in the two languages, both versions are used (e.g. "Cardiff" and "Caerdydd"). The decision as to which is placed first being that of the local authority. During the 20th century, a number of small communities of speakers of languages other than Welsh or English, such as Bengali or Cantonese, established themselves in Wales as a result of immigration.

Religion

The largest religion in Wales is Christianity, with 71.9% of the population describing themselves as Christian in the 2001 census. The Church in Wales with 56,000 adherents has the largest attendance of the denominations. It is a province of the Anglican Communion, and was part of the Church of England until disestablishment in 1920 under the Welsh Church Act 1914. The Presbyterian Church of Wales was born out of the Welsh Methodist revival in the 18th century and seceded from the Church of England in 1811.

The second largest attending faith in Wales is Roman Catholic, with an estimated 43,000 members. Non-Christian religions are small in Wales, making up approximately 1.5% of the population. The 2001 census recorded 18.5% of people declaring no religion, while 8% did not reply to the question. The patron saint of Wales is Saint David (''''), with St David's Day ('''') celebrated annually on 1 March.

In 1904, there was a religious revival (known by some as the 1904-1905 Welsh Revival or simply The 1904 Revival) which started through the evangelism of Evan Roberts and saw large numbers of people converting to nonconformist and Anglican Christianity, sometimes whole communities. Robert's style of preaching became the blueprint for new religious bodies such as Pentacostalism and the Apostolic Church. The Apostolic Church holds its annual Apostolic Conference in Swansea each year, usually in August.

Islam is the largest non-Christian religion in Wales, with more than 30,000 reported Muslims in the 2001 census. There are also communities of Hindus and Sikhs mainly in the South Wales cities of Newport, Cardiff and Swansea, while the largest concentration of Buddhists is in the western rural county of Ceredigion. Judaism was the first non-Christian faith (excluding pre-Roman animism) to be established in Wales however, as of the year 2001, the community has declined to approximately 2,000. Paganism and Wicca are also growing in Wales. According to the 2001 Census, there are 7,000-recorded Wiccans in England and Wales, with 31,000 Pagans.

Culture

Wales has a distinctive culture including its own language, customs, holidays and music.

Wales has three UNESCO World Heritage Sites: The Castles and Town walls of King Edward I in Gwynedd; Pontcysyllte Aqueduct; and the Blaenavon Industrial Landscape.

Mythology

The remnants of the native Celtic mythology of the pre-Christian Britons was passed down orally, in much altered form, by the ''cynfeirdd'' (). Some of their work survives in much later medieval Welsh manuscripts, known as: the Black Book of Carmarthen and the Book of Aneirin (both 13th century); the Book of Taliesin and the White Book of Rhydderch (both 14th century); and the Red Book of Hergest (c. 1400). The prose stories from the White and Red Books are known as the ''Mabinogion'', a title given to them by their first translator, Lady Charlotte Guest, and also used by subsequent translators. Poems such as ''Cad Goddeu'' (The Battle of the Trees) and mnemonic list-texts like the ''Welsh Triads'' and the ''Thirteen Treasures of the Island of Britain'', also contain mythological material. These texts also include the earliest forms of the Arthurian legend and the traditional history of post-Roman Britain.

Other sources of Welsh folklore include the 9th century Latin historical compilation ''Historia Britonum'' (the History of the Britons) and Geoffrey of Monmouth's 12th century Latin chronicle ''Historia Regum Britanniae'' (the History of the Kings of Britain), as well as later folklore, such as ''The Welsh Fairy Book'' by W. Jenkyn Thomas.

Visual arts

Many works of Celtic art have been found in Wales. In the Early Medieval period, the Celtic Christianity of Wales was part of the Insular art of the British Isles. A number of illuminated manuscripts from Wales survive, of which the 8th century Hereford Gospels and Lichfield Gospels are the most notable. The 11th century Ricemarch Psalter (now in Dublin) is certainly Welsh, made in St David's, and shows a late Insular style with unusual Viking influence.

The best of the few Welsh artists of the 16th–18th centuries tended to leave the country to work, many of them moving to London and Italy. Richard Wilson (1714–82) is arguably the first major British landscapist. Although more notable for his Italian scenes, he painted several Welsh scenes on visits from London. By the late 18th century, the popularity of landscape art grew and clients were found in the larger Welsh towns, allowing more Welsh artists to stay in their homeland. Artists from outside Wales were also drawn to paint Welsh scenery, at first due to the Celtic Revival. Then in the early 19th century, the Napoleonic Wars preventing the Grand Tour to continental Europe, travel through Wales came to be considered more accessible. An Act of Parliament in 1857 provided for the establishment of a number of art schools throughout the United Kingdom and the Cardiff School of Art opened in 1865. Graduates still very often had to leave Wales to work but Betws-y-Coed became a popular centre for artists and its artist's colony helped form the Royal Cambrian Academy of Art in 1881. The sculptor Sir William Goscombe John made many works for Welsh commissions, although he had settled in London. Christopher Williams, whose subjects were mostly resolutely Welsh, was also based in London. Thomas E. Stephens and Andrew Vicari had very successful careers as portraitists based respectively in the United States and France. Sir Frank Brangwyn was Welsh by origin but spent little time in Wales.

Many Welsh painters gravitated towards the art capitals of Europe. Augustus John and his sister Gwen John, lived mostly in London and Paris. However the landscapists Sir Kyffin Williams and Peter Prendergast lived in Wales for most of their lives, though remaining in touch with the wider art world. Ceri Richards was very engaged in the Welsh art scene; as a teacher in Cardiff and even after moving to London. He was a figurative painter in international styles including Surrealism. Various artists have moved to Wales, including Eric Gill, the London-Welshman David Jones and the sculptor Jonah Jones. The Kardomah Gang was a intellectual circle centred on the poet Dylan Thomas and poet and artist Vernon Watkins in Swansea, which also included the painter Alfred Janes.

South Wales had several notable potteries, one of the first important sites being the Ewenny Pottery in Bridgend, which began producing earthenware in the 17th century. In the 18th and 19th centuries, with more scientific methods becoming available more refined ceramics were produced led by the Cambrian Pottery (1764–1870, also known as "Swansea pottery") and later Nantgarw Pottery near Cardiff, which was in operation from 1813 to 1822 making fine porcelain and then utilitarian pottery until 1920. Portmeirion Pottery, founded in 1960 by Susan Williams-Ellis, daughter of Clough Williams-Ellis, creator of the italianate village of Portmeirion, Gwynedd, is based in Stoke-on-Trent, England.

Literature in Wales

Wales can claim one of the oldest unbroken literary traditions in Europe. The literary tradition of Wales stretches back to the sixth century and, with the inclusion of Geoffrey of Monmouth and Gerald of Wales, boasts two of the finest Latin authors of the Middle Ages. The earliest body of Welsh verse, by poets Taliesin and Aneirin, survive not in their original form, but in medieval versions and have undergone significant linguistic changes. Welsh poetry and native lore and learning survived the Dark Ages, through the era of the Poets of the Princes (c1100–1280) and then the Poets of the Gentry (c1350-1650). The Poets of the Princes were professional poets who composed eulogies and elegies to the Welsh princes while the Poets of the Gentry where a school of poets that favoured the cywydd metre. The period is notable for producing one of Wales' greatest poets, Dafydd ap Gwilym. After the Anglicisation of the gentry the tradition declined.

Despite the extinction of the professional poet, the integration of the native elite into a wider cultural world did bring other literary benefits. Humanists such as William Salesbury and John Davies brought Renaissance ideals from English universities when they returned to Wales. While in 1588 William Morgan became the first person to translate the Bible into Welsh. From the 16th Century onwards the proliferation of the 'free-metre' verse became the most important development in Welsh poetry, but from the middle of the 17th century a host of imported accentual metres from England became very popular. By the 19th century the creation of a Welsh epic, fuelled by the eisteddfod, became an obsession with Welsh language writers. The output of this period was prolific in quantity but unequal in quality. Initially the eisteddfod was askance with the religious denominations, but in time these bodies came to dominate the competitions, with the bardic themes becoming increasingly scriptural and didactic. The period is notable for the adoption by Welsh poets of bardic names, made popular by the eisteddfod movement.

Major developments in 19th century Welsh literature include Lady Charlotte Guest's translation of the Mabinogion, one of the most important medieval Welsh prose tales of Celtic mythology, into English. 1885 saw the publication of ''Rhys Lewis'' by Daniel Owen, credited as the first novel written in the Welsh language. The 20th century experienced an important shift away from the stilted and long-winded Victorian Welsh prose, with Thomas Gwynn Jones leading the way with his 1902 work ''Ymadawiad Arthur''. The slaughter in the trenches of the First World War, had a profound effect on Welsh literature with a more pessimistic style of prose championed by T. H. Parry-Williams and R. Williams Parry. The industrialisation of south Wales saw a further shift with the likes of Rhydwen Williams who used the poetry and metre of a bygone rural Wales but in the context of an industrial landscape. Though the inter-war period is dominated by Saunders Lewis, for his political and reactionary views as much as his plays, poetry and criticism.

After the end of the Second World War, several Welsh poets and writers in the English language came to note. These included Alexander Cordell, whose novels are often set within a historic Wales, while Gwyn Thomas became the voice of the English speaking Welsh valleys with his humorous take on grim lives. At the same time the post war period saw the emergence of one of the most notable and popular Welsh writers of the 20th century; Dylan Thomas one of the most innovative poets of his time. Other important authors born in Wales, but not writing in the Welsh language or with a 'Welsh' style, include Nobel Prize winner Bertrand Russell and children's writer Roald Dahl.

Sport

Over fifty national governing bodies regulate and organise their sports in Wales. Most of those involved in competitive sports select, organise and manage individuals or teams to represent their country at international events or fixtures against other countries. Wales is represented at major world sporting events such as the FIFA World Cup, Rugby World Cup and the Commonwealth Games. At the Olympics Games, Welsh athletes compete alongside those of Scotland, England and Northern Ireland as part of a Great Britain team.

Although football has traditionally been the more popular sport in North Wales, rugby union is seen as a symbol of Welsh identity and an expression of national consciousness. The Welsh national rugby union team takes part in the annual Six Nations Championship and has also competed in every Rugby World Cup, hosting the tournament in 1999. The five professional sides that replaced the traditional club sides in major competitions in 2003 were replaced in 2004 by the four regions: Scarlets; Cardiff Blues; Newport Gwent Dragons; and the Ospreys. The Welsh regional teams play in the Magners League, the Anglo-Welsh Cup (LV Cup), the European Heineken Cup and the European (Amlin) Challenge Cup.

Wales has had its own football league since 1992. For historical reasons, two Welsh clubs (Cardiff City, and Swansea City) play in the English Football League. Another four Welsh clubs play in English football's feeder leagues: Wrexham, Newport County, Merthyr Town and Colwyn Bay.

In international cricket, Wales and England field a single representative team, administered by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), called the England cricket team, or simply 'England'. Occasionally, a separate Wales team play limited-overs competitions. Glamorgan County Cricket Club is the only Welsh participant in the England and Wales County Championship.

Wales has produced several world-class participants of individual sports including snooker players Ray Reardon, Terry Griffiths, Mark Williams and Matthew Stevens. Track athletes who have made a mark on the world stage, including the 110-metre hurdler Colin Jackson who is a former world record holder and the winner of numerous Olympic, World and European medals as well as Tanni Grey-Thompson who has won 11 Paralympic gold medals. Wales also has a tradition of producing world-class boxers. Joe Calzaghe was WBO World Super-Middleweight Champion who then won the WBA, WBC and Ring Magazine super middleweight and Ring Magazine Light-Heavyweight titles. Other former boxing World champions include Enzo Maccarinelli, Freddie Welsh, Howard Winstone, Percy Jones, Jimmy Wilde, Steve Robinson and Robbie Regan.

Media

All Welsh television broadcasts are digital. The last of the analogue transmitters ceased broadcasts in April 2010, and Wales became the UK's first digital nation. Cardiff is home to the television output of Wales. BBC Cymru Wales is the national broadcaster. Based in Llandaff, Cardiff, it produces Welsh-oriented English and Welsh language television for BBC ONE Wales, BBC TWO Wales and S4C channels. BBC Cymru Wales has also produced programmes, such as Life on Mars, Dr Who and Torchwood, shown worldwide. ITV the UK's main commercial broadcaster has a Welsh-oriented service branded as ITV Wales, whose studios are in Culverhouse Cross, Cardiff. S4C, based in Llanishen, Cardiff, first broadcast on 1 November 1982. Its output was mostly Welsh language at peak hours, but shared English language content with Channel 4 at other times. Since the digital switchover in April 2010, the channel has broadcast exclusively in Welsh. BBC Cymru Wales provide S4C with ten hours of programming per week. Their remaining output is commissioned from ITV and independent producers.

BBC Cymru Wales is Wales' only national radio broadcaster. BBC Radio Wales is their English language radio service, broadcasting throughout Wales in English. BBC Radio Cymru is their Welsh language radio service, broadcasting throughout Wales in Welsh. A number of independent radio stations broadcast to the Welsh regions, predominantly in English. Several regional radio stations broadcast in Welsh: output ranges from two, two minute news bulletins each weekday (Radio Maldwyn), through over 14 hours of Welsh language programmes weekly (Swansea Sound), to essentially bilingual stations offering between 37% and 44% of programme content (Heart Cymru (formerly Champion 103) and Radio Ceredigion respectively).

Most of the newspapers sold and read in Wales are national newspapers available throughout Britain, unlike in Scotland where many newspapers have rebranded into Scottish based titles. The ''Western Mail'' is Wales' only national daily newspaper. Wales-based regional daily newspapers include: ''Daily Post'' (which covers north Wales); ''South Wales Evening Post'' (Swansea); ''South Wales Echo'' (Cardiff); and ''South Wales Argus'' (Newport). ''Y Cymro'' is a Welsh language newspaper, published weekly. ''Wales on Sunday'' is the only Welsh Sunday newspaper to cover the whole of Wales.

The Welsh Books Council (WBC) is the Welsh Assembly Government funded body tasked with promoting Welsh literature. The WBC provides publishing grants for qualifying English and Welsh language publications. Around 600–650 books are published each year, by some of the dozens of Welsh publishers. Wales' main publishing houses include Gomer Press, Gwasg Carreg Gwalch, Honno, the University of Wales Press and Y Lolfa.

Magazines published in Welsh and English cover general and specialist subjects. ''Cambria'', a Welsh affairs magazine published bi-monthly in English, has subscribers in over 30 countries. Titles published quarterly in English include ''Planet'' and ''Poetry Wales''. Welsh language magazines include the current affairs titles ''Golwg'' () (published weekly) and ''Barn'' () (monthly). Among the specialist magazines, ''Y Wawr'' () is published quarterly by ''Merched y Wawr'', the national organisation for women. ''Y Traethodydd'' (), a quarterly publication by The Presbyterian Church of Wales, first appeared in 1845; the oldest Welsh publication still in print.

Cuisine

About 78% of the land surface of Wales is given over to agricultural use. However, very little of this is arable land; the vast majority consists of permanent grass pasture or rough grazing for herd animals such as sheep and cows. Although both beef and dairy cattle are raised widely, especially in Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire, Wales is more well-known for its sheep farming and thus lamb is the meat traditionally associated with Welsh cooking.

Traditional dishes include laverbread (made from laver (porphyra umbilicalis), an edible seaweed); bara brith (fruit bread); Cawl (a lamb stew); cawl cennin (leek soup); Welsh cakes; and Welsh lamb. Cockles are sometimes served as a traditional breakfast with bacon and laverbread.

Although Wales has its own traditional food, and has absorbed much of the cuisine of England, Welsh diets now owe more to the countries of India, China and the United States. Chicken Tikka Masala is the country's favourite dish while hamburgers and Chinese food outsell fish and chips as a takeaway.

Performing arts

Music

Wales is often referred to as "the land of song", and is notable for its harpists, male choirs, and solo artists. The principal Welsh festival of music and poetry is the annual ''National Eisteddfod''. The ''Llangollen International Eisteddfod'' echoes the National Eisteddfod but provides an opportunity for the singers and musicians of the world to perform. Traditional music and dance in Wales is supported by a myriad of societies. The Welsh Folk Song Society has published a number of collections of songs and tunes.

Traditional instruments of Wales include ''telyn deires'' (triple harp), fiddle, crwth, ''pibgorn'' (hornpipe) and other instruments. The Cerdd Dant Society promotes its specific singing art primarily through an annual one-day festival.

The BBC National Orchestra of Wales performs in Wales and internationally. The Welsh National Opera is based at the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff Bay, while the National Youth Orchestra of Wales was the first of its type in the world.

Wales has a tradition for producing notable singing artists including Sir Geraint Evans, Dame Gwyneth Jones, Dame Anne Evans, Dame Margaret Price, Ivor Novello, John Cale, Sir Tom Jones, Bonnie Tyler, Bryn Terfel, Mary Hopkin, Charlotte Church, Katherine Jenkins, Meic Stevens, Dame Shirley Bassey and Duffy.

Popular bands to have emerged from Wales have included the Beatles-nurtured power pop group Badfinger in the 1960s, Man and Budgie in the 1970s and The Alarm in the 1980s. Wales experienced a strong emergence of groups during the 1990s led by Manic Street Preachers, followed by the likes of the Stereophonics and Feeder; notable during this period were Catatonia, Super Furry Animals, and Gorky's Zygotic Mynci who gained popular success as dual-language artists. Recently successful Welsh bands include Lostprophets, Bullet for My Valentine, Funeral for a Friend and Kids in Glass Houses. The Welsh traditional and folk music scene is in resurgence with performers and bands such as Crasdant, Carreg Lafar, Fernhill, Siân James and The Hennessys.

The emergence of male voice choirs in the 19th century, has remained a lasting tradition in Wales. Originally these choirs where formed as the tenor and bass sections of chapel choirs, and embraced the popular secular hymns of the day. Many of the historic choirs continue to survive in modern Wales singing a mixture of traditional and popular songs.

Drama

The earliest surviving Welsh plays are two medieval miracle plays, ''Y Tri Brenin o Gwlen'' and ''Y Dioddefaint a'r Atgyfodiad''. A recognised Welsh tradition of theatre emerged on the 18th century, in the form of an interlude, a metrical play performed at fairs and markets. The larger Welsh towns began building theatres during the 19th century, and drew in the likes of James Sheridan Knowles and William Charles Macready to Wales. Along with the playhouses, there existed mobile companies at visiting fairs, though from 1912, most of these travelling theatres settled, purchasing theatres to perform in.

Drama in the early 20th century thrived, but the country failed to produce a Welsh National Theatre company. After the Second World War the substantial number of amateur companies that existed before the outbreak of hostilities, reduced by two thirds. Though the increasing competition of television in the 1950s and 1960s, saw a need for greater professionalism in the theatre. The result of which saw the plays of the likes of Emlyn Williams and Alun Owen staged, while Welsh actors, including Richard Burton, Rachel Roberts, Donald Houston and Stanley Baker were establishing themselves as artistic talents. Welsh actors to have crossed the Atlantic more recently to star in Hollywood films include: Ioan Gruffudd; John Rhys-Davies; Anthony Hopkins; Matthew Rhys; Michael Sheen; and Catherine Zeta-Jones.

Welsh comedians include Tommy Cooper, Griff Rhys Jones, Harry Secombe and Paul Whitehouse.

Dance

Dance as a pastime is a popular hobby in Wales, while the country's traditional dance lie in folk dancing and clog dancing. The first mention of dancing in Wales was recorded in a 12th Century account by Giraldus Cambrensis, but by the 19th Century traditional dance had all but died out; attributed to the influence of Nonconformists and their belief that any physical diversion was worthless and satanic, especially mixed dancing. These ancient dances, orally passed down, were almost single-handedly rescued by Lois Blake (1890–1974) who recorded them in numerous instruction pamphlets, recording both steps and music. In a similar vein, clog dancing was preserved and developed by the likes of Howel Wood (1882–1967) who perpetuated the art at local and national stages. Clog dancing, traditionally a male dominated art, is now a common part of eisteddfodau. In 2010, a 30 year traditional dance festival held in Caernarvon came to an end after a lack of attending participants, though clog dancing has seen a revival during the early part of the 21st century.

The Welsh Folk Dance Society was founded in 1949, and it supports a network of national amateur dance teams and publishes support material. Contemporary dance grew out of the capital in the 1970s, one of the earliest companies, Moving Being, came from London to Cardiff in 1973. Jumpers Dance Company was formed in 1978, eventually becoming The Dance Company of Wales. Conversely, Wales does not have its own national ballet company.

Museums and libraries

The National Museum [of] Wales was founded by royal charter in 1907 and is now a Welsh Government sponsored body. The National Museum is made up of seven sites across the country, including the National Museum Cardiff, St Fagans National History Museum and Big Pit National Coal Museum. In April 2001, the attractions attached to the National Museum were granted free entry by the Assembly, and this action saw the visitor numbers to the sites increase during 2001–2002 by 87.8% to 1,430,428.

Aberystwyth is home to the National Library of Wales, which houses some of the most important collections in Wales, including the John William's Library and the Shirburn Castle collection. As well as its printed collection the Library holds important Welsh art collections including portraits and photographs, ephemera such as postcards, posters and Ordnance Survey maps.

Festivals

As well as celebrating many of the traditional religious festivals of Great Britain, such as Easter and Christmas, Wales has its own unique celebratory days. An early festivity was Mabsant, where local parishes would celebrate the patron saint of their local church. This celebration died out in the 19th century, to be replaced by Saint David's Day; celebrated on 1 March throughout Wales, and by Welsh expats around the world.

Commemorating the patron saint of friendship and love, Dydd Santes Dwynwen's popularity has been increasing recently. It is celebrated on 25 January in a similar way to St Valentine's Day; by exchanging cards and by holding parties and concerts.

Calan Gaeaf, associated with the supernatural and the dead, is observed on 1 November. It has largely been replaced by Hallowe'en. Other festivities include Calan Mai, celebrating the beginning of summer, Calan Awst and Gŵyl Fair y Canhwyllau.

Transport

The main road artery linking cities and other settlements along the south Wales coast is the M4 motorway. It also provides a link to England and eventually, London. The Welsh section of the motorway, managed by the Welsh Assembly Government, runs from the Second Severn Crossing to Pont Abraham, Carmarthenshire, connecting the cities of Cardiff, Newport and Swansea. In north Wales the A55 expressway performs a similar role along the north Wales coast providing connections between Holyhead and Bangor, and Wrexham and Flintshire. It also links to England, principally Chester. The main north-south Wales link is the A470, which runs from Cardiff to Llandudno.

Cardiff International Airport is the only large and international airport in Wales. Providing links to European and North American destinations, it is about 12 miles (19 km) southwest of Cardiff city centre, in the Vale of Glamorgan. Highland Airways ran internal flights between Anglesey (Valley) and Cardiff, from May 2007 until March 2010, until the company went into administration. The service (dubbed "Ieaun Air" after Deputy First Minister Ieuan Wyn Jones, AM for Ynys Môn) resumed on 10 May 2010, with Isle of Man airline Manx2 the carrier.

The country also has a significant railway network managed by the Welsh Assembly Government, which reopened old railway lines to extend rail usage. Cardiff Central and Cardiff Queen Street are the busiest and the major hubs on the internal and national network. Beeching cuts in the 1960s mean that most of the remaining network is geared toward east-west travel to or from England. Services between north and south Wales operate through the English towns of Chester and Shrewsbury. Valley Lines services operate in Cardiff, the South Wales Valleys and surrounding area and are heavily used as commuter lines. Arriva Trains Wales is the major operator of rail services within Wales. It also operates routes from within Wales to Crewe, Manchester, Birmingham and Cheltenham. Virgin Trains operate services from north Wales to London as part of the West Coast Main Line. First Great Western operate services from London to Newport and Cardiff every half hour, with an hourly continuation to Swansea. It also runs services from Cardiff and Newport to southern England. CrossCountry offer services from Cardiff to Nottingham and Newcastle upon Tyne via the West Midlands, East Midlands and Yorkshire.

Wales is served by four commercial ferry ports. Regular ferry services to Ireland operate from Holyhead, Pembroke and Fishguard. The Swansea to Cork service, cancelled in 2006, was reinstated in March 2010.

National symbols

The Flag of Wales incorporates the red dragon () of Prince Cadwalader along with the Tudor colours of green and white. It was used by Henry VII at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485 after which it was carried in state to St. Paul's Cathedral. The red dragon was then included in the Tudor royal arms to signify their Welsh descent. It was officially recognised as the Welsh national flag in 1959. The British Union Flag incorporates the flags of Scotland, Ireland and England, but has no Welsh representation. Technically it is represented by the flag of England, as the Laws in Wales act of 1535 annexed Wales to England, following the 13th-century conquest.

The daffodil and the leek are also symbols of Wales. The origins of the leek can be traced to the 16th century, while the daffodil became popular in the 19th century, encouraged by David Lloyd-George. This is attributed to confusion of the Welsh for leek, ''cenhinen'', and that for daffodil, ''cenhinen Bedr'' or St. Peter's leek. A report in 1916 gave preference to the leek, which has appeared on British pound coins.

The Prince of Wales' heraldic badge is sometimes used to symbolise Wales. The badge, known as the Prince of Wales's feathers, consists of three white feathers emerging from a gold coronet. A ribbon below the coronet bears the German motto ''Ich dien'' (). Several Welsh representative teams, including the Welsh rugby union, and Welsh regiments in the British Army (the Royal Welsh, for example) use the badge, or a stylised version of it. However, its use is controversial and rejected by some as a symbol of the British monarchy, rather than of Wales.

''"Hen Wlad fy Nhadau" ()'' is the National Anthem of Wales, and is played at events such as football or rugby matches involving the Wales national team as well as the opening of the Welsh Assembly and other official occasions.

See also

Aberfan disaster

Aneurin Bevan

Chartism

Merthyr Rising

Dic Penderyn

Rebecca Riots

Tonypandy Riots

Y Wladfa

References

Bibliography

External links

Welsh Assembly Government

National Assembly for Wales

Wales Legislation Online, Cardiff Law School

BBC Wales

VisitWales.com The official international guide to places to stay and things to do in Wales.

VisitWales.co.uk The official UK guide to places to stay and things to do in Wales.

Wales – Official Gateway to Wales

Gathering the Jewels – Welsh Heritage and Culture

Photographs of Wales

Category:British Isles Category:Celtic nations Category:Island countries Category:Northern Europe Category:NUTS 1 statistical regions of the United Kingdom Category:NUTS 1 statistical regions of the European Union Category:Western Europe Wales

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name	Alicia Keys
background	solo_singer
birth name	Alicia Augello Cook
alias	Lellow
birth place	January 25, 1981
origin	New York City, New York, United States
instrument	Vocals, piano, keyboards, cello, synthesizer, vocoder, guitar, bass guitar
genre	Soul, R&B;, pop, hip hop, jazz, neo soul, electronic
occupation	singer-songwriter, record producer, actress
years active	1997–present
label	RCA, J, Arista, Columbia
website	}}

Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), better known by her stage name Alicia Keys, is an American R&B; singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Keys was raised by a single mother in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan in New York City. At age seven, Keys began playing the piano. She attended Professional Performing Arts School and graduated at 16 as valedictorian. Keys released her debut album with J Records, having had previous record deals first with Columbia and then Arista Records.

Keys' debut album, ''Songs in A Minor'', was a commercial success, selling over 12 million copies worldwide. She became the best-selling new artist and best-selling R&B; artist of 2001. The album earned Keys five Grammy Awards in 2002, including Best New Artist and Song of the Year for "Fallin'". Her second studio album, ''The Diary of Alicia Keys'', was released in 2003 and was also another success worldwide, selling eight million copies. The album garnered her an additional four Grammy Awards in 2005. Later that year, she released her first live album, ''Unplugged'', which debuted at number one in the United States. She became the first female to have an ''MTV Unplugged'' album to debut at number one and the highest since Nirvana in 1994.

Keys made guest appearances on several television series in the following years, beginning with ''Charmed''. She made her film debut in ''Smokin' Aces'' and went on to appear in ''The Nanny Diaries'' in 2007. Her third studio album, ''As I Am'', was released in the same year and sold six million copies worldwide, earning Keys an additional three Grammy Awards. The following year, she appeared in ''The Secret Life of Bees'', which earned her a nomination at the NAACP Image Awards. She released her fourth album, ''The Element of Freedom'', in December 2009, which became Keys' first chart-topping album in the United Kingdom. Throughout her career, Keys has won numerous awards and has sold over 30 million albums worldwide and 25 million singles, which makes her one of the best selling artists of all time. ''Billboard'' magazine named her the top R&B; artist of the 2000–2009 decade, establishing herself as one of the best-selling artists of her time. In 2010, VH1 included Keys on its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. ''Billboard'' magazine placed her number ten on their list of Top 50 R&B;/Hip-Hop Artists of the Past 25 Years.

Life and career

1981–96: Early life

Keys was born Alicia Augello Cook on January 25, 1981, in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan, in New York City, New York. She is the only child of Teresa Augello, a paralegal and part-time actress, and Craig Cook, a flight attendant. Keys' mother is of Italian, Scottish, and Irish descent, and her father is African American; Keys has expressed that she was comfortable with her biracial heritage because she felt she was able to "relate to different cultures". Her parents separated when she was two and she was subsequently raised by her mother during her formative years in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan. In 1985, Keys made an appearance on ''The Cosby Show'' at the age of four, where she and a group of girls played the parts of Rudy Huxtable's sleepover guests in the episode "Slumber Party". Throughout her childhood, Keys was sent to music and dance classes by her mother. She began playing the piano when she was seven and learned classical music by composers such as Beethoven, Mozart and Chopin. Keys enrolled in the Professional Performing Arts School at the age of 12, where she majored in choir and began writing songs at the age of 14. She graduated in three years as valedictorian at the age of 16.

In 1994 Keys met long-term manager Jeff Robinson after she enrolled in his brother's after-school program. The following year Robinson introduced Keys to her future A&R; at Arista Records, Peter Edge, who later described his first impressions to HitQuarters: "I had never met a young R&B; artist with that level of musicianship. So many people were just singing on top of loops and tracks, but she had the ability, not only to be part of hip-hop, but also to go way beyond that." Edge helped Robinson create a showcase for Keys and also got involved in developing her demo material. He was keen to sign Keys himself but was unable to do so at that time due to being on the verge of leaving his present record company. Keys signed to Columbia Records soon after. At the same time as signing a recording contract with Columbia Records, Keys was accepted into Columbia University. At first, Keys attempted to manage both but after four weeks dropped out of college to pursue her musical career fulltime.

1997–2000: Career beginnings

Keys signed a demo deal with Jermaine Dupri and So So Def Recordings, where she appeared on the label's Christmas album performing "The Little Drummer Girl". She also co-wrote and recorded a song entitled "Dah Dee Dah (Sexy Thing)", which appeared on the soundtrack to the 1997 film, ''Men in Black''. The song was Keys' first professional recording; however, it was never released as a single and her record contract with Columbia ended after a dispute with the label. Keys was unhappy with the label because her career had stalled during her two years under contract at Columbia due to executive indecision over her direction and major changes within the company. Keys called Clive Davis, who sensed a "special, unique" artist from her performance and signed her to Arista Records, which later disbanded. Keys almost chose Wilde as her stage name until her manager suggested the name Keys after a dream he had. Keys felt that name represented her both as a performer and person. Following Davis to his newly formed J Records label, she recorded the songs "Rock wit U" and "Rear View Mirror", which were featured on the soundtracks to the films ''Shaft'' (2000) and ''Dr. Dolittle 2'' (2001), respectively.

2001–2002: ''Songs in A Minor''

Keys released her first studio album, ''Songs in A Minor'', in June 2001. It debuted at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200 and sold 236,000 copies in its first week. The album sold over 6.2 million copies in the United States, where it was certified six times Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It went on to sell over 12 million copies worldwide, establishing Keys' popularity both inside and outside the United States, where she became the best-selling new artist and best-selling R&B; artist of 2001. The album's lead single, "Fallin'", spent six weeks at number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The album's second single, "A Woman's Worth", was released in February 2002 and peaked at number 7 on the ''Billboard Hot 100'' and number three on the ''Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs'', as her second Top 10 single in both charts. The album's third single, "How Come You Don't Call Me", was released in June 2002 and peaked at number 59 on the ''Billboard Hot 100'' and number 30 on the ''Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs''. The album's fourth single, "Girlfriend", was released in November 2002 in UK and peaked at number 82 on the ''Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs''. The following year, the album was reissued as ''Remixed & Unplugged in A Minor'', which included eight remixes and seven unplugged versions of the songs from the original.

''Songs in A Minor'' led Keys to win five awards at the 2002 Grammy Awards: Song of the Year, Best Female R&B; Vocal Performance, and Best R&B; Song for "Fallin'", Best New Artist, and Best R&B; Album; "Fallin'" was also nominated for Record of the Year. Keys became the second female solo artist to win five Grammy Awards in a single night, following Lauryn Hill at the 41st Grammy Awards. That same year, she collaborated with Christina Aguilera for the latter's upcoming album ''Stripped'' on a song entitled "Impossible", which Keys wrote, co-produced, and provided with background vocals. During the early 2000s, Keys also made small cameos in television series ''Charmed'' and ''American Dreams''.

2003–2005: ''The Diary of Alicia Keys'' and ''Unplugged''

Keys followed up her debut with ''The Diary of Alicia Keys'', which was released in December 2003. The album debuted at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200, selling over 618,000 copies its first week of release, becoming the largest first-week sales for a female artist in 2003. It sold 4.4 million copies in the United States and was certified four times Platinum by the RIAA. It sold eight million copies worldwide, becoming the sixth biggest-selling album by a female artist and the second biggest-selling album by a female R&B; artist. The album's lead single, "You Don't Know My Name", peaked at number three on the ''Billboard Hot 100'' and number one on ''Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs'' for eight consecutive weeks, his first Top 10 single in both charts since 2002's "A Woman's Worth ". The album's second single, "If I Ain't Got You", was released in February 2004 and peaked at number 4 on the ''Billboard Hot 100'' and number one on the ''Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs'' for six weeks. The album's third single, "Diary", peaked at number 8 on the ''Billboard Hot 100'' and number two on the ''Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs'' chart, being their third consecutive Top 10 single in both charts. The album's fourth and final single, "Karma", which peaked at number 20 on the ''Billboard Hot 100'' and number 17 on the ''Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs'', first release to fail to achieve top ten status on both charts. "If I Ain't Got You" became the first single by a female artist to remain on the ''Billboard'' Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs chart for over a year. Keys also collaborated with recording artist Usher on the song "My Boo" from his 2004 album, ''Confessions (Special Edition)''. The song topped the ''Billboard Hot 100'' for six weeks and ''Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs'' for three weeks, became her first number-one single in ''Hot 100'' since 2001's "Fallin'".

Keys won Best R&B; Video for "If I Ain't Got You" at the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards; she performed the song and "Higher Ground" with Lenny Kravitz and Stevie Wonder. Later that year, Keys released her novel ''Tears for Water: Songbook of Poems and Lyrics'', a collection of unreleased poems from her journals and lyrics. The title derived from one of her poems, "Love and Chains" from the line: "I don't mind drinking my tears for water." She said the title is the foundation of her writing because "everything I have ever written has stemmed from my tears of joy, of pain, of sorrow, of depression, even of question". The book sold over US$500,000 and Keys made ''The New York Times'' bestseller list in 2005. The following year, she won a second consecutive award for Best R&B; Video at the MTV Video Music Awards for the video "Karma". Keys performed "If I Ain't Got You" and then joined Jamie Foxx and Quincy Jones in a rendition of "Georgia on My Mind", the Hoagy Carmichael song made famous by Ray Charles in 1960 at the 2005 Grammy Awards. That evening, she won four Grammy Awards: Best Female R&B; Vocal Performance for "If I Ain't Got You", Best R&B; Song for "You Don't Know My Name", Best R&B; Album for ''The Diary of Alicia Keys'', and Best R&B; Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals" for "My Boo" with Usher.

Keys performed and taped her installment of the ''MTV Unplugged'' series in July 2005 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. During this session, Keys added new arrangements to her original songs and performed a few choice covers. The session was released on CD and DVD in October 2005. Simply titled ''Unplugged'', the album debuted at number one on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200 chart with 196,000 units sold in its first week of release. The album sold one million copies in the United States, where it was certified Platinum by the RIAA, and two million copies worldwide. The debut of Keys' ''Unplugged'' was the highest for an ''MTV Unplugged'' album since Nirvana's 1994 ''MTV Unplugged in New York'' and the first ''Unplugged'' by a female artist to debut at number one. The album's first single, "Unbreakable", peaked at number 34 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number four on the Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs. It remained at number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot Adult R&B; Airplay for 11 weeks. The album's second and final single, "Every Little Bit Hurts", was released in January 2006, it failed to enter the U.S. charts.

Keys opened a recording studio in Long Island, New York, called The Oven Studios, which she co-owns with her production and songwriting partner Kerry "Krucial" Brothers. The studio was designed by renowned studio architect John Storyk of WSDG, designer of Jimi Hendrix' Electric Lady Studios. Keys and Brothers are the co-founders of KrucialKeys Enterprises, a production and songwriting team who assisted Keys in creating her albums as well as create music for other artists.

2006–2008: Film debut and ''As I Am''

In 2006, Keys won three NAACP Image Awards, including Outstanding Female Artist and Outstanding Song for "Unbreakable". She also received the Starlight Award by the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In October 2006, she played the voice of Mommy Martian in the "Mission to Mars" episode of the children's television series ''The Backyardigans'', in which she sang an original song, "Almost Everything Is Boinga Here". That same year, Keys nearly suffered a mental breakdown. Her grandmother had died and her family was heavily dependent on her. She felt she needed to "escape" and went to Egypt for three weeks. She explained: "That trip was definitely the most crucial thing I've ever done for myself in my life to date. It was a very difficult time that I was dealing with, and it just came to the point where I really needed to—basically, I just needed to run away, honestly. And I needed to get as far away as possible."

Keys made her film debut in early 2007 in the crime film ''Smokin' Aces'', co-starring as an assassin named Georgia Sykes opposite Ben Affleck and Andy García. Keys received much praise from her co-stars in the film; Reynolds said that Keys was "so natural" and that she would "blow everybody away". ''Smokin' Aces'' had a hit moderate performance at the box office, earning only $57,103,895 worldwide during its theatrical run. In the same year, Keys earned further praise for her second film, ''The Nanny Diaries'', based on the 2002 novel of the same name, where she co-starred alongside Scarlett Johansson and Chris Evans. ''The Nanny Diaries'' had a hit moderate performance at the box office, earning only $44,638,886 worldwide during its theatrical run. She also guest starred as herself in the "One Man Is an Island" episode of the drama series ''Cane''.

Keys released her third studio album, ''As I Am'', in November 2007; it debuted at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200, selling 742,000 copies in its first week. It gained Keys her largest first week sales of her career and became her fourth consecutive number one album, tying her with Britney Spears for the most consecutive number-one debuts on the ''Billboard'' 200 by a female artist. The week became the second largest sales week of 2007 and the largest sales week for a female solo artist since singer Norah Jones' album ''Feels like Home'' in 2004. The album has sold nearly four million copies in the United States and has been certified three times Platinum by the RIAA. It has sold nearly six million copies worldwide. Keys received five nominations for ''As I Am'' at the 2008 American Music Award and ultimately won two. The album's lead single, "No One", peaked at number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for fifth consecutive weeks and Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs for ten consecutive weeks, became her first number-one single in ''Hot 100'' since 2004's "My Boo" and becoming Keys' third and fifth number-one single on each chart, respectively. The album's second single, "Like You'll Never See Me Again", was released in late 2007 and peaked at number 12 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number one on the ''Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs'' for seven consecutive weeks. From October 27, 2007, when "No One" reached No. 1, through February 16, 2008, the last week "Like You'll Never See Me Again" was at No. 1, the Keys was on top of the chart for 17 weeks, more consecutive weeks than any other artist in ''Hot R&B;/Hip/Hop Songs'' chart. The album's third single, "Teenage Love Affair", which peaked at number 54 on the '''Billboard Hot 100'' and number three on the ''Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs''. The album's fourth and final single, "Superwoman", which peaked at number 82 on the ''Billboard Hot 100'' and number 12 on the ''Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs''.

"No One" earned Keys the awards for Best Female R&B; Vocal Performance and Best R&B; Song at the 2008 Grammy Awards. Keys opened the ceremony singing Frank Sinatra's 1950s song "Learnin' the Blues" as a "duet" with archival footage of Sinatra in video and "No One" with John Mayer later in the show. Keys also won Best Female R&B; Artist during the show. She starred in "Fresh Takes", a commercial micro-series created by Dove Go Fresh, which premiered during ''The Hills'' on MTV from March to April 2008. The premiere celebrated the launch of new Dove Go Fresh. She also signed a deal as spokesperson with Glacéau's VitaminWater to endorse the product, and was in an American Express commercial for the "Are you a Cardmember?" campaign. Keys, along with The White Stripes' guitarist and lead vocalist Jack White, recorded the theme song to ''Quantum of Solace'', the first duet in Bond soundtrack history. In 2008, Keys was ranked in at number 80 the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists. She also starred in ''The Secret Life of Bees'', a film adaptation of Sue Monk Kidd's acclaimed 2003 bestseller novel of the same name alongside Jennifer Hudson, Dakota Fanning, Paul Bettany and Queen Latifah, released in October 2008 via Fox Searchlight. ''The Secret Life of Bees'' had a hit moderate performance at the box office, earning only $39,947,322 worldwide during its theatrical run. Her role earned her a nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture at the NAACP Image Awards. She also received three nominations at the 2009 Grammy Awards and won Best Female R&B; Vocal Performance for "Superwoman".

In an interview with ''Blender'' magazine, Keys allegedly said "'Gangsta rap' was a ploy to convince black people to kill each other, 'gangsta rap' didn't exist" and went on to say that it was created by "the government". The magazine also claimed she said that Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G. were "essentially assassinated, their beefs stoked by the government and the media, to stop another great black leader from existing". Keys later wrote a statement clarifying the issues and saying her words were misinterpreted. Later that year, Keys was criticized by anti-smoking campaigners after billboard posters for her forthcoming concerts in Indonesia featured a logo for the A Mild cigarette brand sponsored by tobacco firm Philip Morris. She apologized after discovering that the concert was sponsored by the firm and asked for "corrective actions". In response, the company withdrew its sponsorship.

2009–2010 ''The Element of Freedom'', marriage and motherhood

Keys and manager Jeff Robinson signed a film production deal to develop live-action and animated projects with Disney. Their first film will be a remake of the 1958 comedy ''Bell, Book and Candle'' and will star Keys as a witch who casts a love spell to lure a rival's fiancé. Keys and Robinson also formed a television production company called Big Pita. Keys and Robinson will develop live-action and animated projects from their company, Big Pita and Little Pita, with Keys as producer, thespian, banner spearheading soundtrack and music supervision.

Keys collaborated with the record producer Swizz Beatz to write and produce "Million Dollar Bill" for Whitney Houston's seventh studio album, ''I Look to You''. Keys had approached Clive Davis for permission to submit a song for the album. Keys also collaborated with the recording artist Jay-Z on the song "Empire State of Mind" from his 2009 album, ''The Blueprint 3''. The song topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and became her fourth number-one single on that chart. At the 53rd Grammy Awards ceremony, "Empire State of Mind" won Best Rap/Sung Collaboration and Best Rap Song. It had also been one of the five nominees for Record of the Year. The following month, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers honored Keys with the Golden Note Award, an award given to artists "who have achieved extraordinary career milestones". She collaborated with Spanish recording artist Alejandro Sanz for "Looking for Paradise", which topped the Hot Latin Songs chart, this was Keys' first number one on all three charts, which also made her the first African-American of non-Hispanic origin to reach #1 on the ''Hot Latin Tracks''. Keys released her fourth studio album, ''The Element of Freedom'', in December 2009. It debuted at number two on the ''Billboard'' 200, selling 417,000 copies in its first week. As part of the promotional drive for the album, she performed at the Cayman Island Jazz Festival on December 5, the final night of the three day festival which will be broadcast on Black Entertainment Television (BET). The album's lead single, "Doesn't Mean Anything", has peaked at number 60 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number 14 on the ''Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs''. Keys was ranked as the top R&B; recording artist of the 2000–2009 decade by ''Billboard'' magazine and ranked at number five as artist of the decade, while her song, "No One", was ranked at number six on the magazine's songs of the decade. In the United Kingdom, ''The Element of Freedom'' became Keys' first album to top the UK Albums Chart. The album's second single, "Try Sleeping with a Broken Heart", was released in November 2009 and peaked at number 27 on the ''Billboard Hot 100'' and number two on the ''Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs''. The album's third single, "Put It in a Love Song", featuring Grammy-winner Beyoncé, peaked at number 60 on the ''Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs''. The music video for the single, which was filmed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, has been postponed several times, and later it was confirmed that Alicia Keys' team made a decision not to release the video. The album's fourth single, "Empire State of Mind (Part II) Broken Down", was released in February 2010 and peaked at number 55 on the ''Billboard Hot 100'' and number 76 on the ''Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs''. The album's fifth single, "Un-Thinkable (I'm Ready)", was released in May 2010 and peaked at number 21 on the ''Billboard Hot 100'' and number one on the ''Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs'', for twelve consecutive weeks and became the album's most successful single, becoming Keys' eighth number-one single on ''Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs'' chart. The album's sixth and final single, "Wait Til You See My Smile", was released in December 2010 in the U.K only.

In May 2009, Swizz Beatz announced that he and Keys were romantically involved, and in May 2010, a representative for Keys and Swizz Beatz confirmed that they were engaged and expecting a child together. During the time of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the couple took part of a union and had the unborn child blessed in a Zulu ceremony, which took place in the Illovo suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa. Keys and Swizz Beatz were married on the French island of Corsica on July 31, 2010. On October 14, 2010, Keys gave birth to a son, Egypt Daoud Ibarr Dean, in New York City.

2011-Present: Ten Year Celebration, Project 5, Stick Fly and Upcoming New Album

In June 2011, ''Songs in A Minor'' was re-released as deluxe and collector's editions in commemoration of its 10th anniversary. To support the release, Keys embarked on a four-city promotional tour, entitled Piano & I: A One Night Only Event With Alicia Keys, featuring only her piano. Keys is also set to co-produce the Broadway premiere of ''Stick Fly'', which will open in December 2011. On September 26, 2011, was the premiere of ''Project 5'' known as ''Five'', short film that marks the debut of Alicia Keys as a director. It is a documentary of five episodes that tell stories of five women who were victims of breast cancer and how it affected their lives. The production also has co-direction of the actresses Jennifer Aniston, Demi Moore and film director Patty Jenkins.

On September 23, she performed at ''iHeart Music Festival'' and sang her new song "A Place Of My Own", which is present in her fifth studio album. On October 7, RCA Music Group announced it was disbanding J Records along with Arista Records and Jive Records. With the shutdown, Keys (and all other artists previously signed to these three labels) will release her future material on the RCA Records brand.

Musical style

An accomplished pianist, Keys incorporates piano into a majority of her songs and often writes about love, heartbreak and female empowerment. She has cited several musicians as her inspirations, including Prince, Nina Simone, Barbra Streisand, Marvin Gaye, Quincy Jones, Donny Hathaway and Stevie Wonder. Keys' style is rooted in gospel and vintage soul music, supplemented by bass and programmed drumbeats. She heavily incorporates classical piano with R&B;, soul and jazz into her music. She began experimenting with other genres, including pop and rock, in her third studio album, ''As I Am'', transitioning from neo soul to a 1980s and 1990s R&B; sound with her fourth album, ''The Element of Freedom''. Patrick Huguenin of the ''New York Daily News'' stated that her incorporation of classical piano riffs contributed to her breakout success. ''Jet'' magazine states she "thrives" by touching her fans with "piano mastery, words and melodious voice". ''The Independent'' described her style as consisting of "crawling blues coupled with a hip-hop backbeat", noting that her lyrics "rarely stray from matters of the heart". ''Blender'' magazine referred to her as "the first new pop artist of the millennium who was capable of changing music."

Keys has a vocal range of a contralto, which spans three octaves. She can sing from B flat over an octave below middle C (B₂) to B below soprano C (B₅). Often referred to as the "Princess of Soul", Keys has been commended as having a strong, raw and impassioned voice; others feel that her voice is "emotionally manufactured" at times and that she pushes her voice out of its natural range. Keys' songwriting is often criticized for lack of depth, which has led to her writing abilities being called limited. Her lyrics have been called generic, clichéd and that her songs revolve around generalities. Greg Kot of the ''Chicago Tribune'' feels that she "[pokes] around for multi-format hits rather than trying to project any sort of artistic vision". Diversely, Jon Pareles of ''Blender'' magazine stated that the musical composition of her songs makes up for their lyrical weakness, while Gregory Stephen Tate of ''The Village Voice'' compared Keys' writing and production to 1970s music.

Joanna Hunkin of ''The New Zealand Herald'' reviewed one of Keys' performances, where Kylie Minogue also attended. She described Minogue's reaction to Keys' performance, saying "it was obvious she was just as much of a fan as the 10,000 other people at Vector Arena". She went on to say that Minogue was "the original pop princess bowing down to the modern-day queen of soul". Hunkin characterized Keys' opening performance as a "headbanging, hip-gyrating performance" and her energy as "high-octane energy most bands save for their closing finale". At the end of her two-hour performance, fans "screamed, stomped and begged for a second encore". Hillary Crosley and Mariel Concepcion of ''Billboard'' magazine noted that her shows are "extremely coordinated" with the audience's attention span "consistently maintained". The show ended with a standing ovation and Keys "proved that a dynamic performance mixed with superior musicianship always wins". Throughout her career, Keys has won numerous awards and is listed on the Recording Industry Association of America's best-selling artists in the United States, with 15 million certified albums. She has sold over 30 million albums worldwide and has established herself as one of the best-selling artists of her time.

Philanthropy

Keys is the co-founder and Global Ambassador of Keep a Child Alive, a non-profit organization that provides medicine to families with HIV and AIDS in Africa. Keys and U2 lead singer Bono recorded a cover version of Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush's "Don't Give Up", in recognition of World AIDS Day 2005. Keys and Bono's version of the song was retitled "Don't Give Up (Africa)" to reflect the nature of the charity it was benefiting. She visited African countries such as Uganda, Kenya and South Africa to promote care for children affected by AIDS. Her work in Africa was documented in the documentary ''Alicia in Africa: Journey to the Motherland'' and was available in April 2008.

Keys has also donated to Frum tha Ground Up, a non-profit organization that aids children and teenagers with scholarships. She performed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as part of the worldwide Live 8 concerts to raise awareness of the poverty in Africa and to pressure the G8 leaders to take action. In 2005, Keys performed on ''ReAct Now: Music & Relief'' and ''Shelter from the Storm: A Concert for the Gulf Coast'', two benefit programs that raised money for those affected by Hurricane Katrina. In July 2007, Keys and Keith Urban performed The Rolling Stones' 1969 song "Gimme Shelter" at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey at the American leg of the Live Earth concerts.

Keys performed Donny Hathaway's 1973 song "Someday We'll All Be Free" at the ''America: A Tribute to Heroes'' televised benefit concert following the September 11 attacks. She participated in the Nobel Peace Prize Concert which took place at the Oslo Spektrum in Oslo, Norway, on December 11, 2007, along with other various artists. She recorded a theme song for Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama. She joined Joss Stone and Jay-Z on the effort, which served as a theme song for Obama's campaign. For her work, Keys was honored at the 2009 BET Awards with the Humanitarian Award. Keys performed the song "Prelude to a Kiss", retitled "Send Me an Angel", from her 2007 album ''As I Am'' for the "Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief" telethon in response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake.

Discography

''Songs in A Minor'' (2001)

''The Diary of Alicia Keys'' (2003)

''As I Am'' (2007)

''The Element of Freedom'' (2009)

''TBA'' (2012)

;Live albums

''Unplugged'' (2005)

Tours

{|class="wikitable" ! style="background:darkGrey;"| Year !! style="background:darkGrey;"| Title !! style="background:darkGrey;"| Number ofperformances |- style="background:#dcdcdc;" | style="text-align:center; width:5px;;"| 2001/2002 || style="background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center;"| ''Songs in A Minor Tour'' || style="background:#dcdcdc;"| 58 |- style="background:#dcdcdc;" | style="text-align:center; width:5px;;"| 2004|| style="background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center;"| ''Verizon Ladies First Tour'' || style="background:#dcdcdc;"| 25 |- style="background:#dcdcdc;" | style="text-align:center; width:5px;;"| 2005 || style="background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center;"| ''The Diary Tour'' || style="background:#dcdcdc;"| 36 |- style="background:#dcdcdc;" | style="text-align:center; width:5px;;"| 2008 || style="background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center;"| ''As I Am Tour'' || style="background:#dcdcdc;"| 94 |- style="background:#dcdcdc;" | style="text-align:center; width:5px;;"| 2010 || style="background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center;"| ''The Freedom Tour'' || style="background:#dcdcdc;"| 50 |- style="background:#dcdcdc;" | style="text-align:center; width:5px;;"| 2011 || style="background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center;"| ''Piano & I: A One Night Only Event With Alicia Keys'' || style="background:#dcdcdc;"| 5 |}

Filmography

Television
!Year	!Title	!Role	!Notes
1985	''The Cosby Show''	Maria
2001	''Charmed''	P3 VIP Patron (uncredited)
	''American Dreams''	Fontella Bass	"Rescue Me" (season 2, episode 6)
''The Proud Family''	Herself (voice)
2005	''Sesame Street''	Herself	Season 36
2006	''The Backyardigans''	Mommy Martian (voice)
		Herself	"One Man Is an Island" (season 1, episode 7)
''Elmo's Christmas Countdown''	Herself	Christmas television special
2008		Alex	Starred in all five episodes
2010	American Idol (season 9)	Herself	Mentor
Film
!Year	!Title	!Role	!Notes
	''Smokin' Aces''	Georgia Sykes	Debut filmMain role
	Lynette	Support role
2008		June Boatwright	Main role
Director
!Year	!Title	!Type	!Notes
	2004		Music video	MTV Video Music Award for Best R&B; Video
2011	''Project 5''	Short film/Documentary

See also

List of artists who reached number one in the United States

List of awards and nominations received by Alicia Keys

List of honorific titles in popular music

References

Further reading

External links

Alicia Keys at Billboard.com

Alicia Keys at Discogs

Alicia Keys at Metacritic

Category:1981 births Category:Living people Category:Actors from New York City Category:African American composers Category:African American female singer-songwriters Category:African American film actors Category:African American pianists Category:African American poets Category:African American record producers Category:American contraltos Category:American hip hop musicians Category:American multi-instrumentalists Category:American music arrangers Category:American music video directors Category:American musicians of Irish descent Category:American people of Italian descent Category:American people of Scottish descent Category:American philanthropists Category:American pop singer-songwriters Category:American rhythm and blues keyboardists Category:American rhythm and blues singer-songwriters Category:American soul keyboardists Category:American soul singers Category:American television actors Category:Echo winners Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Hip hop singers Category:Neo soul singers Category:People from Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan Category:J Records artists Category:RCA Records artists Category:Rhythm and blues pianists Category:Singers from New York City Category:Songwriters from New York Category:World Music Awards winners

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name	Yu Dafu
birth date	December 07, 1896
birth place	Fuyang, Zhejiang, China
death date	September 17, 1945
occupation	Short Story writer and Poet
website	}}

Yu Dafu () (December 7, 1896—September 17, 1945). Born in Fuyang, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, was a modern Chinese short story writer and poet.

Early years

Yu Dafu's father died at when he was only three, leaving the family poverty-stricken and destitute. He received a number of scholarships through the Chinese government and went on to receive a traditional Chinese education in Hangzhou. Chronologically he studied in Jiangxing-Fu Middle School (before he came to Hangzhou), Hangzhou-Fu Middle School, Yuying Academy (育英学堂, formerly of Zhejiang University).

In 1912, he entered Hangchow University (later its major part merged into Zhejiang University) preparatory through examination. He was there only for a short period before he was expelled for participation in a student strike.

He then moved to Japan, where he studied economics at the Tokyo Imperial University between 1913 and 1922, where he met other Chinese intellectuals (namely, Guo Moruo, Zhang Ziping and Tian Han). Together, in 1921 they founded the ''Chuangzao she'' 創造社 ("Creation Society"), which promoted vernacular and modern literature. One of his earlier works ''Chenlun'' 沉淪, also his most famous, published in Japan in 1921. The work had gained immense popularity in China, shocking the world of Chinese literature with its frank dealing with sex, as well as grievances directed at the incompetence of Chinese government at the time.

In 1922, he returned to China as a literary celebrity and worked as the editor of ''Creation Quarterly'', editing journals and writing short stories. In 1923, after an attack of tuberculosis, Yu Dafu directed his attention to the welfare of the masses.

In 1927, he worked as an editor of the ''Hongshui'' literary magazine. He later came in conflict with the Communist Party of China and fled back to Japan.

Second Sino-Japanese war

After the start of the Second Sino-Japanese war, he returned to China and worked as a writer of anti-Japanese propaganda in Hangzhou, and later in Zhejiang. From 1938 to 1942, he worked as a literary editor for the newspaper Sin Chew Jit Poh in Singapore.

In 1942 when the Imperial Japanese Army invaded Singapore, he was forced to flee to Sumatra. Known under a different identity, he settled there among other overseas Chinese and began a brewery business with the help of the locals. Later he was forced to help the Japanese military police as an interpreter when it was discovered that he was one of the few "locals" in the area who could speak Japanese.

In 1945, he was arrested by the Kempeitai when his true identity was finally discovered. It is believed that he was executed by the Japanese shortly after the surrender of Japan.

Works

''Chenlun'' 沉淪 "''Sinking''" (1921)

''Riji jiuzhong'' 日記九種 “''Nine Diaries''” (1927)

''Guoqu'' 過去 “''The Past''" (1927)

his first novel?? (1928) (moderately successful)

his second novel?? (1932)

''Chuben'' 出奔 "''Flight''" (1935)

His most popular work, breaking all Chinese sales records, was ''Jih-chi chiu-chung'' "''Nine Diaries''", which detailed his affair with the writer Wang Ying-hsin. The most critically acclaimed work is ''Kuo-ch'u'' or "''The Past''", written in 1927.

References

Encyclopædia Britannica 2005 Ultimate Reference Suite DVD, article- "Yü Ta-fu"

External links

Category:1896 births Category:1945 deaths Category:Chinese expatriates in Japan Category:Hangzhou High School alumni Category:People from Hangzhou Category:Republic of China poets Category:University of Tokyo alumni Category:Zhejiang University alumni

de:Yu Dafu es:Yu Dafu fr:Yu Dafu it:Yu Dafu no:Yu Dafu zh:郁達夫

name	Oliver Cromwell
office	1st Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland
term start	16 December 1653| term_end 3 September 1658 ()
predecessor	Council of State
successor	Richard Cromwell
term start2	1640
term end2	1642
constituency mp2	Cambridge
term start3	1640
term end3	1640
monarch2	Charles I
term start4	1628
term end4	1629
monarch2	Charles I
constituency mp4	Huntingdon
birth date	April 25, 1599
birth place	Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire
death date	September 03, 1658
death place	Whitehall, London
restingplace	Tyburn, London
nationality	English
spouse	Elizabeth Bourchier
relations
children
alma mater	Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge
occupation	Farmer; Parliamentarian; Military commander
religion	Puritan (Independent)
signature	Кромвель Оливер автограф 1651.JPG
nickname	Old Ironsides
allegiance	Roundhead
branch	Eastern Association ''(1643–1645)''; New Model Army ''(1645–1646)''
serviceyears	1643–51
rank	Colonel ''(1643 – bef. 1644)''; Lieutenant-General of Horse ''(bef. 1644–45)''; Lieutenant-General of Cavalry ''(1645–46)''
commands	Cambridgeshire Ironsides ''(1643 – bef. 1644)''; Eastern Association ''(bef. 1644–45)''; New Model Army ''(1645–46)''
battles	Gainsborough; Marston Moor; Newbury II; Naseby; Langport; Preston; Dunbar; Worcester }}

Oliver Cromwell (25 April 1599 – 3 September 1658) was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland and Ireland.

Cromwell was one of the commanders of the New Model Army which defeated the royalists in the English Civil War. After the execution of King Charles I in 1649, Cromwell dominated the short-lived Commonwealth of England, conquered Ireland and Scotland, and ruled as Lord Protector from 1653 until his death in 1658.

Cromwell was born into the ranks of the middle gentry, and remained relatively obscure for the first 40 years of his life. Along with his brother, Henry, he kept a small holding of chickens and sheep, selling eggs and wool to support himself. His lifestyle resembled that of a yeoman farmer until he received an inheritance from his uncle. After undergoing a religious conversion during the same decade, Cromwell made an independent style of puritanism an essential part of his life. As a ruler he executed an aggressive and effective foreign policy and did as much as any English leader to shape the future of the land he governed. But his Commonwealth collapsed after his death and the royal family was restored in 1660. An intensely religious man—a self-styled Puritan Moses—he fervently believed God was guiding his victories. He was never identified with any one sect or position, however, and strongly favoured religious tolerance for all the various Protestant groups.

He was elected Member of Parliament for Cambridge in the Short (1640) and Long (1640–49) Parliaments. He entered the English Civil War on the side of the "Roundheads" or Parliamentarians and became a key military leader. Nicknamed "Old Ironsides", he was quickly promoted from leading a single cavalry troop to command of the entire army. In 1649 he was one of the signatories of Charles I's death warrant and was a member of the Rump Parliament (1649–1653), which selected him to take command of the English campaign in Ireland during 1649–50. He led a campaign against the Scottish army between 1650 and 1651. On 20 April 1653 he dismissed the Rump Parliament by force, setting up a short-lived nominated assembly known as the Barebones Parliament, before being made Lord Protector of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland on 16 December 1653. He was buried in Westminster Abbey. After the Royalists returned to power, they had his corpse dug up, hung in chains, and beheaded.

Cromwell has been one of the most controversial figures in the history of the British Isles—considered a regicidal dictator by some historians such as David Hume and Christopher Hill as quoted by David Sharp, he was considered a hero of liberty by others such as Thomas Carlyle and Samuel Rawson Gardiner. In a 2002 BBC poll in Britain, Cromwell was elected as one of the Top 10 Britons of all time. His measures against Catholics in Scotland and Ireland have been characterised as genocidal or near-genocidal. In Ireland his record is harshly criticised.

Early years

He was born at Cromwell House in Huntingdon on 25 April 1599, to Robert Cromwell and Elizabeth Steward. He was descended from Katherine Cromwell (born c. 1482), an elder sister of Tudor statesman Thomas Cromwell. Katherine was married to Morgan ap William, son of William ap Yevan of Wales. The family line continued through Richard Williams, alias Cromwell, (c. 1500–1544), Henry Williams, alias Cromwell, (c. 1524–6 January 1604), then to Oliver's father Robert Cromwell (c. 1560–1617), who married Elizabeth Steward (c. 1564–1654) on the day of Oliver Cromwell's birth. Thomas thus was Oliver's great-great-great-uncle.

His father was a younger son of a family founded by Thomas Cromwell (c. 1485-1540), a minister of Henry VIII, which had acquired considerable wealth by taking over monastery property during the Reformation. At the time of Oliver's birth his grandfather, Sir Henry Williams, was one of the two wealthiest landowners in Huntingdonshire, Oliver's father was of modest means but still inside the gentry class. As a younger son with many siblings, Robert's inheritance was limited to a house at Huntingdon and a small amount of land. This land would have generated an income of up to £300 a year, near the bottom of the range of gentry incomes. Cromwell himself in 1654 said "I was by birth a gentleman, living neither in considerable height, nor yet in obscurity".

Records survive of Cromwell's baptism on 29 April 1599 at St. John's Church, and his attendance at Huntingdon Grammar School. He went on to study at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, which was then a recently founded college with a strong Puritan ethos. He left in June 1617 without taking a degree, immediately after the death of his father. Early biographers claim he then attended Lincoln's Inn, but there is no record of him in the Inn's archives. Fraser (1973) concludes he likely did train at one of the London Inns of Court during this time. His grandfather, his father, and two of his uncles had attended Lincoln's Inn, and Cromwell sent his son Richard there in 1647.

Cromwell probably returned home to Huntingdon after his father's death, for his mother was widowed and his seven sisters were unmarried, and he, therefore, was needed at home to help his family.

Marriage and family

On 22 August 1620 at St Giles-without-Cripplegate, London, Cromwell married Elizabeth Bourchier (1598–1665). They had nine children:

Robert (1621–1639), died while away at school.

Oliver (1622–1644), died of typhoid fever while serving as a Parliamentarian officer.

Bridget (1624–1681), married (1) Henry Ireton, (2) Charles Fleetwood.

Richard (1626–1712), his father's successor as Lord Protector.

Henry (1628–1674), later Lord Deputy of Ireland.

Elizabeth (1629–1658), married John Claypole.

James (b. & d. 1632), died in infancy.

Mary (1637–1713), married Thomas Belasyse, 1st Earl Fauconberg.

Frances (1638–1720), married (1) Robert Rich, 3rd Earl of Warwick, (2) Sir John Russell, 3rd Baronet.

Elizabeth's father, Sir James Bourchier, was a London leather merchant who owned extensive land in Essex and had strong connections with puritan gentry families there. The marriage brought Cromwell into contact with Oliver St John and with leading members of the London merchant community, and behind them the influence of the earls of Warwick and Holland. Membership in this influential network would prove crucial to Cromwell’s military and political career.

Crisis and recovery

At this stage, though, there is little evidence of Cromwell's own religion. His letter in 1626 to Henry Downhall, an Arminian minister, suggests that Cromwell had yet to be influenced by radical puritanism. However, there is evidence that Cromwell went through a period of personal crisis during the late 1620s and early 1630s. He sought treatment for ''valde melancolicus'' (depression) from London doctor Theodore de Mayerne in 1628. He was also caught up in a fight among the gentry of Huntingdon over a new charter for the town, as a result of which he was called before the Privy Council in 1630.

In 1631 Cromwell sold most of his properties in Huntingdon—probably as a result of the dispute—and moved to a farmstead in St Ives. This was a major step down in society compared with his previous position, and seems to have had a significant emotional and spiritual impact. A 1638 letter survives from Cromwell to his cousin, the wife of Oliver St John, and gives an account of his spiritual awakening. The letter outlines how, having been "the chief of sinners", Cromwell had been called to be among "the congregation of the firstborn". The language of this letter, which is saturated with biblical quotations and which represents Cromwell as having been saved from sin by God's mercy, places his faith firmly within the Independent beliefs that the Reformation had not gone far enough, that much of England was still living in sin, and that Catholic beliefs and practices needed to be fully removed from the church.

In 1636 Cromwell inherited control of various properties in Ely from his uncle on his mother's side, as well as his uncle's job as tithe collector for Ely Cathedral. As a result, his income is likely to have risen to around £300–400 per year; by the end of the 1630s Cromwell had returned to the ranks of acknowledged gentry. He had become a committed puritan and had established important family links to leading families in London and Essex.

Member of Parliament: 1628–29 and 1640–42

Cromwell became the Member of Parliament for Huntingdon in the Parliament of 1628–1629, as a client of the Montagus. He made little impression: records for the Parliament show only one speech (against the Arminian Bishop Richard Neile), which was poorly received. After dissolving this Parliament, Charles I ruled without a Parliament for the next eleven years. When Charles faced the Scottish rebellion known as the Bishops' Wars, shortage of funds forced him to call a Parliament again in 1640. Cromwell was returned to this Parliament as member for Cambridge, but it lasted for only three weeks and became known as the Short Parliament. Cromwell moved his family from Ely to London in 1640.

A second Parliament was called later the same year, and became known as the Long Parliament. Cromwell was again returned as member for Cambridge. As with the Parliament of 1628–29, it is likely that Cromwell owed his position to the patronage of others, which might explain why in the first week of the Parliament he was in charge of presenting a petition for the release of John Lilburne, who had become a puritan martyr after his arrest for importing religious tracts from Holland. For the first two years of the Long Parliament Cromwell was linked to the godly group of aristocrats in the House of Lords and Members of the House of Commons with whom he had established familial and religious links in the 1630s, such as the Earls of Essex, Warwick and Bedford, Oliver St John, and Viscount Saye and Sele. At this stage, the group had an agenda of godly reformation: the executive checked by regular parliaments, and the moderate extension of liberty of conscience. Cromwell appears to have taken a role in some of this group's political manoeuvres. In May 1641, for example, it was Cromwell who put forward the second reading of the Annual Parliaments Bill and later took a role in drafting the Root and Branch Bill for the abolition of episcopacy.

Military commander: 1642–46

English Civil War begins

Failure to resolve the issues before the Long Parliament led to armed conflict between Parliament and Charles I in the autumn of 1642, the beginning of the English Civil War. Before joining Parliament's forces Cromwell's only military experience was in the trained bands, the local county militia. He recruited a cavalry troop in Cambridgeshire after blocking a valuable shipment of silver plate from Cambridge colleges that was meant for the king. Cromwell and his troop then fought at the indecisive Battle of Edgehill on 23 October 1642. The troop was recruited to be a full regiment in the winter of 1642 and 1643, making up part of the Eastern Association under the Earl of Manchester. Cromwell gained experience in a number of successful actions in East Anglia in 1643, notably at the Battle of Gainsborough on 28 July. He was subsequently appointed governor of Ely and a colonel in the Eastern Association.

Marston Moor

By the time of the Battle of Marston Moor in July 1644, Cromwell had risen to the rank of Lieutenant General of horse in Manchester's army. The success of his cavalry in breaking the ranks of the Royalist cavalry and then attacking their infantry from the rear at Marston Moor was a major factor in the Parliamentarian victory. Cromwell fought at the head of his troops in the battle and was slightly wounded in the neck, stepping away briefly to receive treatment during the battle but returning to help force the victory. After Cromwell's nephew was killed at Marston Moor he wrote a famous letter to his brother-in-law. Marston Moor secured the north of England for the Parliamentarians, but failed to end Royalist resistance.

The indecisive outcome of the Second Battle of Newbury in October meant that by the end of 1644 the war still showed no signs of ending. Cromwell's experience at Newbury, where Manchester had let the King's army slip out of an encircling manoeuvre, led to a serious dispute with Manchester, whom he believed to be less than enthusiastic in his conduct of the war. Manchester later accused Cromwell of recruiting men of "low birth" as officers in the army, to which he replied: "If you choose godly honest men to be captains of horse, honest men will follow them ... I would rather have a plain russet-coated captain who knows what he fights for and loves what he knows than that which you call a gentleman and is nothing else". At this time, Cromwell also fell into dispute with Major-General Lawrence Crawford, a Scottish Covenanter Presbyterian attached to Manchester's army, who objected to Cromwell's encouragement of unorthodox Independents and Anabaptists. Cromwell's differences with the Scots, then allies of the Parliament, developed into outright enmity in 1648 and in 1650–51.

New Model Army

Partly in response to the failure to capitalise on their victory at Marston Moor, Parliament passed the Self-Denying Ordinance in early 1645. This forced members of the House of Commons and the Lords, such as Manchester, to choose between civil office and military command. All of them—except for Cromwell, whose commission was given continued extensions and was allowed to remain in parliament—chose to renounce their military positions. The Ordinance also decreed that the army be "remodelled" on a national basis, replacing the old county associations; Cromwell contributed significantly to these military reforms. In April 1645 the New Model Army finally took to the field, with Sir Thomas Fairfax in command and Cromwell as Lieutenant-General of cavalry, and second-in-command. By this time, the Parliamentarians' field army outnumbered the King's by roughly two to one.

Battle of Naseby

At the critical Battle of Naseby in June 1645, the New Model Army smashed the king's major army. Cromwell led his wing with great success at Naseby, again routing the Royalist cavalry. At the Battle of Langport on 10 July, Cromwell participated in the defeat of the last sizeable Royalist field army. Naseby and Langport effectively ended the King's hopes of victory, and the subsequent Parliamentarian campaigns involved taking the remaining fortified Royalist positions in the west of England. In October 1645, Cromwell besieged and took the wealthy and formidable Catholic fortress Basing House, later to be accused of killing one hundred of its three-hundred-man Royalist garrison there after its surrender. Cromwell also took part in successful sieges at Bridgwater, Sherborne, Bristol, Devizes, and Winchester, then spent the first half of 1646 mopping up resistance in Devon and Cornwall. Charles I surrendered to the Scots on 5 May 1646, effectively ending the First English Civil War. Cromwell and Fairfax took the formal surrender of the Royalists at Oxford in June.

Cromwell's military style

Cromwell had no formal training in military tactics, and followed the common practice of ranging his cavalry in three ranks and pressing forward, relying on impact rather than firepower. His strengths were an instinctive ability to lead and train his men, and his moral authority. In a war fought mostly by amateurs, these strengths were significant and are likely to have contributed to the discipline of his cavalry.

Cromwell also introduced close-order cavalry formations, with troopers riding knee to knee; this was an innovation in England at the time, and was a major factor in his success. He kept his troops close together following skirmishes where they had gained superiority, rather than allowing them to chase opponents off the battlefield. This facilitated further engagements in short order, which allowed greater intensity and quick reaction to battle developments. This style of command was decisive at both Marston Moor and Naseby.

Politics: 1647–49

In February 1647 Cromwell suffered from an illness that kept him out of political life for over a month. By the time he had recovered, the Parliamentarians were split over the issue of the king. A majority in both Houses pushed for a settlement that would pay off the Scottish army, disband much of the New Model Army, and restore Charles I in return for a Presbyterian settlement of the Church. Cromwell rejected the Scottish model of Presbyterianism, which threatened to replace one authoritarian hierarchy with another. The New Model Army, radicalised by the failure of the Parliament to pay the wages it was owed, petitioned against these changes, but the Commons declared the petition unlawful. In May 1647 Cromwell was sent to the army's headquarters in Saffron Walden to negotiate with them, but failed to agree. In June 1647, a troop of cavalry under Cornet George Joyce seized the king from Parliament's imprisonment. Although Cromwell is known to have met Joyce on 31 May, it is impossible to be sure what Cromwell's role in this event was.

Cromwell and Henry Ireton then drafted a manifesto—the "Heads of Proposals"—designed to check the powers of the executive, to set up regularly elected parliaments, and to restore a non-compulsory Episcopalian settlement. Many in the army, such as the Levellers led by John Lilburne, thought this was not enough and demanded full political equality for all men, leading to tense debates in Putney during the autumn of 1647 between Fairfax, Cromwell and Ireton on the one hand, and radical Levellers like Colonel Rainsborough on the other. The Putney Debates ultimately broke up without reaching a resolution. The debates, and the escape of Charles I from Hampton Court on 12 November, are likely to have hardened Cromwell's resolve against the king.

Second Civil War

The failure to conclude a political agreement with the king led eventually to the outbreak of the Second English Civil War in 1648, when the King tried to regain power by force of arms. Cromwell first put down a Royalist uprising in south Wales led by Rowland Laugharne, winning back Chepstow Castle on 25 May and six days later forcing the surrender of Tenby. The castle at Carmarthen was destroyed by burning. The much stronger castle at Pembroke, however, fell only after a siege of eight weeks. Cromwell dealt leniently with the ex-royalist soldiers, but less so with those who had previously been members of the parliamentary army, John Poyer eventually being executed in London after the drawing of lots.

Cromwell then marched north to deal with a pro-Royalist Scottish army (the Engagers) who had invaded England. At Preston, Cromwell, in sole command for the first time and with an army of 9,000, won a brilliant victory against an army twice as large.

During 1648, Cromwell's letters and speeches started to become heavily based on biblical imagery, many of them meditations on the meaning of particular passages. For example, after the battle of Preston, study of Psalms 17 and 105 led him to tell Parliament that "they that are implacable and will not leave troubling the land may be speedily destroyed out of the land". A letter to Oliver St John in September 1648 urged him to read Isaiah 8, in which the kingdom falls and only the godly survive. This letter suggests that it was Cromwell's faith, rather than a commitment to radical politics, coupled with Parliament's decision to engage in negotiations with the king at the Treaty of Newport, that convinced him that God had spoken against both the king and Parliament as lawful authorities. For Cromwell, the army was now God's chosen instrument. The episode shows Cromwell’s firm belief in "Providentialism"—that God was actively directing the affairs of the world, through the actions of "chosen people" (whom God had "provided" for such purposes). Cromwell believed, during the Civil Wars, that he was one of these people, and he interpreted victories as indications of God's approval of his actions, and defeats as signs that God was directing him in another direction.

King tried and executed

In December 1648, those members of parliament who wished to continue negotiations with the king were prevented from sitting for parliament by a troop of soldiers headed by Colonel Thomas Pride, an episode soon to be known as Pride's Purge. Thus weakened, the remaining body of MPs, known as the Rump, agreed that Charles should be tried on a charge of treason. Cromwell was still in the north of England, dealing with Royalist resistance, when these events took place, but after he had returned to London, on the day after Pride's Purge, he became a determined supporter of those pushing for the king's trial and execution, believing that killing Charles was the only way to end the civil wars. The death warrant for Charles was eventually signed by 59 of the trying court's members, including Cromwell (who was the third to sign it); Fairfax conspicuously refused to sign. Charles was executed on 30 January 1649.

Establishment of the Commonwealth: 1649

After the execution of the King, a republic was declared, known as the Commonwealth of England. The Rump Parliament exercised both executive and legislative powers, with a smaller Council of State also having some executive functions. Cromwell remained a member of the Rump and was appointed a member of the Council. In the early months after the execution of Charles I, Cromwell tried but failed to unite the original group of 'Royal Independents' centred around St John and Saye and Sele, which had fractured during 1648. Cromwell had been connected to this group since before the outbreak of war in 1642 and had been closely associated with them during the 1640s. However, only St John was persuaded to retain his seat in Parliament. The Royalists, meanwhile, had regrouped in Ireland, having signed a treaty with the Irish Confederate Catholics. In March, Cromwell was chosen by the Rump to command a campaign against them. Preparations for an invasion of Ireland occupied Cromwell in the subsequent months. After quelling Leveller mutinies within the English army at Andover and Burford in May, Cromwell departed for Ireland from Bristol at the end of July.

Irish campaign: 1649–50

Cromwell led a Parliamentary invasion of Ireland from 1649–50. Parliament's key opposition was the military threat posed by the alliance of the Irish Confederate Catholics and English royalists (signed in 1649). The Confederate-Royalist alliance was judged to be the biggest single threat facing the Commonwealth. However, the political situation in Ireland in 1649 was extremely fractured: there were also separate forces of Irish Catholics who were opposed to the royalist alliance, and Protestant royalist forces that were gradually moving towards Parliament. Cromwell said in a speech to the army Council on 23 March that "I had rather be overthrown by a Cavalierish interest than a Scotch interest; I had rather be overthrown by a Scotch interest than an Irish interest and I think of all this is the most dangerous".

Cromwell's hostility to the Irish was religious as well as political. He was passionately opposed to the Roman Catholic Church, which he saw as denying the primacy of the Bible in favour of papal and clerical authority, and which he blamed for suspected tyranny and persecution of Protestants in Europe. Cromwell's association of Catholicism with persecution was deepened with the Irish Rebellion of 1641. This rebellion, although intended to be bloodless, was marked by massacres of English and Scottish Protestant settlers by Irish and Old English, and Highland Scot Catholics in Ireland. These settlers had settled on land seized from former, native Catholic owners to make way for the non-native Protestants. These factors contributed to the brutality of the Cromwell military campaign in Ireland.

Parliament had planned to re-conquer Ireland since 1641 and had already sent an invasion force there in 1647. Cromwell's invasion of 1649 was much larger and, with the civil war in England over, could be regularly reinforced and re-supplied. His nine month military campaign was brief and effective, though it did not end the war in Ireland. Before his invasion, Parliamentarian forces held only outposts in Dublin and Derry. When he departed Ireland, they occupied most of the eastern and northern parts of the country. After his landing at Dublin on 15 August 1649 (itself only recently defended from an Irish and English Royalist attack at the Battle of Rathmines), Cromwell took the fortified port towns of Drogheda and Wexford to secure logistical supply from England. At the Siege of Drogheda in September 1649, Cromwell's troops massacred nearly 3,500 people after the town's capture—comprising around 2,700 Royalist soldiers and all the men in the town carrying arms, including some civilians, prisoners and Roman Catholic priests. Cromwell wrote afterwards that:

I am persuaded that this is a righteous judgment of God upon these barbarous wretches, who have imbued their hands in so much innocent blood and that it will tend to prevent the effusion of blood for the future, which are satisfactory grounds for such actions, which otherwise cannot but work remorse and regret.

At the Siege of Wexford in October, another massacre took place under confused circumstances. While Cromwell was apparently trying to negotiate surrender terms, some of his soldiers broke into the town, massacred 2,000 Irish troops and up to 1,500 civilians, and burned much of the town. No disciplinary actions were taken against his forces subsequent to this second massacre.

After the taking of Drogheda, Cromwell sent a column north to Ulster to secure the north of the country and went on to besiege Waterford, Kilkenny and Clonmel in Ireland's south-east. Kilkenny surrendered on terms, as did many other towns like New Ross and Carlow, but Cromwell failed to take Waterford, and at the siege of Clonmel in May 1650 he lost up to 2,000 men in abortive assaults before the town surrendered.

One of his major victories in Ireland was diplomatic rather than military. With the help of Roger Boyle, 1st Earl of Orrery, Cromwell persuaded the Protestant Royalist troops in Cork to change sides and fight with the Parliament. At this point, word reached Cromwell that Charles II had landed in Scotland and been proclaimed king by the Covenanter regime. Cromwell therefore returned to England from Youghal on 26 May 1650 to counter this threat.

The Parliamentarian conquest of Ireland dragged on for almost three years after Cromwell's departure. The campaigns under Cromwell's successors Henry Ireton and Edmund Ludlow mostly consisted of long sieges of fortified cities and guerrilla warfare in the countryside. The last Catholic-held town, Galway, surrendered in April 1652 and the last Irish troops capitulated in April of the following year.

In the wake of the Commonwealth's conquest, the public practice of Catholicism was banned and Catholic priests were murdered when captured. All Catholic-owned land was confiscated in the Act for the Settlement of Ireland 1652 and given to Scottish and English settlers, the Parliament's financial creditors and Parliamentary soldiers. The remaining Catholic landowners were allocated poorer land in the province of Connacht—this led to the Cromwellian attributed phrase "To hell or to Connacht". Under the Commonwealth, Catholic landownership dropped from 60% of the total to just 8%.

Debate over Cromwell's effect on Ireland

The extent of Cromwell's brutality in Ireland has been strongly debated. Some historians argue that Cromwell never accepted that he was responsible for the killing of civilians in Ireland, claiming that he had acted harshly but only against those "in arms". Other historians, however, cite Cromwell's contemporary reports to London including that of 27 September 1649 in which he lists the slaying of 3,000 military personnel, followed by the phrase "and many inhabitants". In September 1649, he justified his sacking of Drogheda as revenge for the massacres of Protestant settlers in Ulster in 1641, calling the massacre "the righteous judgement of God on these barbarous wretches, who have imbued their hands with so much innocent blood." However, Drogheda had never been held by the rebels in 1641—many of its garrison were in fact English royalists. On the other hand, the worst atrocities committed in Ireland, such as mass evictions, killings and deportation of over 50,000 men, women and children as slaves to Bermuda and Barbados, were carried out under the command of other generals after Cromwell had left for England. On entering Ireland, Cromwell demanded that no supplies were to be seized from the civilian inhabitants and that everything should be fairly purchased; "I do hereby warn....all Officers, Soldiers and others under my command not to do any wrong or violence toward Country People or any persons whatsoever, unless they be actually in arms or office with the enemy.....as they shall answer to the contrary at their utmost peril." Several English soldiers were hanged for disobeying these orders.

While the massacres at Drogheda and Wexford were in some ways typical of the day, especially in the context of the recently ended Thirty Years War which reduced the male population of Germany by up to half, there are few comparable incidents during Parliament's campaigns in England or Scotland. One possible comparison is Cromwell's Siege of Basing House in 1645—the seat of the prominent Catholic the Marquess of Winchester—which resulted in about 100 of the garrison of 400 being killed after being refused quarter. Contemporaries also reported civilian casualties, six Catholic priests and a woman. However, the scale of the deaths at Basing House was much smaller. Cromwell himself said of the slaughter at Drogheda in his first letter back to the Council of State: "I believe we put to the sword the whole number of the defendants. I do not think thirty of the whole number escaped with their lives." Cromwell's orders—"in the heat of the action, I forbade them to spare any that were in arms in the town"—followed a request for surrender at the start of the siege, which was refused. The military protocol of the day was that a town or garrison that rejected the chance to surrender was not entitled to quarter. The refusal of the garrison at Drogheda to do this, even after the walls had been breached, was to Cromwell justification for the massacre. Where Cromwell negotiated the surrender of fortified towns, as at Carlow, New Ross, and Clonmel, he respected the terms of surrender and protected the lives and property of the townspeople. At Wexford, Cromwell again began negotiations for surrender. However, the captain of Wexford castle surrendered during the middle of the negotiations, and in the confusion some of his troops began indiscriminate killing and looting. Amateur Irish historian (and Drogheda native) Tom Reilly has taken this argument further, claiming that the accepted versions of the campaigns in Drogheda and Wexford in which wholesale killings of civilians on Cromwell's orders took place "were a 19th century fiction". However, Reilly's conclusions have been rejected by other scholars.

Although Cromwell's time spent on campaign in Ireland was limited, and although he did not take on executive powers until 1653, he is often the central focus of wider debates about whether, as historians such as Mark Levene and John Morrill suggest, the Commonwealth conducted a deliberate programme of ethnic cleansing in Ireland. By the end of the Cromwellian campaign and settlement there had been extensive dispossession of landowners who were Catholic, and a huge drop in population.

The sieges of Drogheda and Wexford have been prominently mentioned in histories and literature up to the present day. James Joyce, for example, mentioned Drogheda in his novel ''Ulysses'': "What about sanctimonious Cromwell and his ironsides that put the women and children of Drogheda to the sword with the bible text God is love pasted round the mouth of his cannon?" Similarly, Winston Churchill described the impact of Cromwell on Anglo-Irish relations:

...upon all of these Cromwell's record was a lasting bane. By an uncompleted process of terror, by an iniquitous land settlement, by the virtual proscription of the Catholic religion, by the bloody deeds already described, he cut new gulfs between the nations and the creeds. 'Hell or Connaught' were the terms he thrust upon the native inhabitants, and they for their part, across three hundred years, have used as their keenest expression of hatred 'The Curse of Cromwell on you.' ... Upon all of us there still lies 'the curse of Cromwell'."

Cromwell is still a figure of hatred in Ireland, his name being associated with massacre, religious persecution, and mass dispossession of the Catholic community there. As Churchill notes, a traditional Irish curse was ''mallacht Chromail ort'' or "the curse of Cromwell upon you".

The key surviving statement of Cromwell's own views on the conquest of Ireland is his ''Declaration of the lord lieutenant of Ireland for the undeceiving of deluded and seduced people'' of January 1650. In this he was scathing about Catholicism, saying that "I shall not, where I have the power... suffer the exercise of the Mass." However, he also declared that: "as for the people, what thoughts they have in the matter of religion in their own breasts I cannot reach; but I shall think it my duty, if they walk honestly and peaceably, not to cause them in the least to suffer for the same." Private soldiers who surrendered their arms "and shall live peaceably and honestly at their several homes, they shall be permitted so to do." As with many incidents in Cromwell's career, there is debate about the extent of his sincerity in making these public statements: the Rump Parliament's later Act of Settlement of 1652 set out a much harsher policy of execution and confiscation of property of anyone who had supported the uprisings.

Scottish campaign: 1650–51

Scots proclaim Charles as King

Cromwell left Ireland in May 1650 and several months later, invaded Scotland after the Scots had proclaimed Charles I's son Charles II as king. Cromwell was much less hostile to Scottish Presbyterians, some of whom had been his allies in the First English Civil War, than he was to Irish Catholics. He described the Scots as a people "fearing His [God's] name, though deceived". He made a famous appeal to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, urging them to see the error of the royal alliance—"I beseech you, in the bowels of Christ, think it possible you may be mistaken." The Scots' reply was robust: "would you have us to be sceptics in our religion?" This decision to negotiate with Charles II led Cromwell to believe that war was necessary.

Battle of Dunbar

His appeal rejected, Cromwell's veteran troops went on to invade Scotland. At first, the campaign went badly, as Cromwell's men were short of supplies and held up at fortifications manned by Scottish troops under David Leslie. Cromwell was on the brink of evacuating his army by sea from Dunbar. However, on 3 September 1650, unexpectedly, Cromwell smashed the main army at the Battle of Dunbar, killing 4,000 Scottish soldiers, taking another 10,000 prisoner and then capturing the Scottish capital of Edinburgh. The victory was of such a magnitude that Cromwell called it, "A high act of the Lord's Providence to us [and] one of the most signal mercies God hath done for England and His people".

Battle of Worcester

The following year, Charles II and his Scottish allies made a desperate attempt to invade England and capture London while Cromwell was engaged in Scotland. Cromwell followed them south and caught them at Worcester on 3 September 1651. At the subsequent Battle of Worcester, Cromwell's forces destroyed the last major Scottish Royalist army. Charles II barely escaped capture, and subsequently fled to exile in France and the Netherlands, where he would remain until 1660. Many of the Scottish prisoners of war taken in the campaigns died of disease, and others were sent as indentured labours to the colonies. To fight the battle, Cromwell organised an envelopment followed by a multi pronged coordinated attack on Worcester which involved his forces attacking from three directions with two rivers partitioning his force. During the battle, Cromwell switched his reserves from one side of the river Severn to the other and back again. The editor of the ''Great Rebellion'' article of the Encyclopædia Britannica, eleventh edition noted that compared to the early Civil War Battle of Turnham Green, Worcester was a battle of manoeuvre, which the English parliamentary armies at the start of the war were unable to execute, and agreed with a German critic that it was a prototype for the Battle of Sedan (1870).

Conclusion

In the final stages of the Scottish campaign, Cromwell's men, under George Monck, sacked the town of Dundee, killing up to 2,000 of its population of 12,000 and destroying the 60 ships in the city's harbour. During the Commonwealth, Scotland was ruled from England, and was kept under military occupation, with a line of fortifications sealing off the Highlands, which had provided manpower for Royalist armies in Scotland, from the rest of the country. The north west Highlands was the scene of another pro-royalist uprising in 1653–55, which was only put down with deployment of 6,000 English troops there. Presbyterianism was allowed to be practised as before, but the Kirk (the Scottish church) did not have the backing of the civil courts to impose its rulings, as it had previously.

Cromwell's conquest, unwelcome as it was, left no significant lasting legacy of bitterness in Scotland. The rule of the Commonwealth and Protectorate was, the Highlands aside, largely peaceful. Moreover, there was no wholesale confiscations of land or property. Three out of every four Justices of the Peace in Commonwealth Scotland were Scots and the country was governed jointly by the English military authorities and a Scottish Council of State. Although not often favourably regarded, Cromwell's name rarely meets the hatred in Scotland that it does in Ireland.

Return to England and dissolution of the Rump Parliament: 1651–53

From the middle of 1649 until 1651, Cromwell was away on campaign. In the meantime, with the king gone (and with him their common cause), the various factions in Parliament began to engage in infighting. On his return, Cromwell tried to galvanise the Rump into setting dates for new elections, uniting the three kingdoms under one polity, and to put in place a broad-brush, tolerant national church. However, the Rump vacillated in setting election dates, and although it put in place a basic liberty of conscience, it failed to produce an alternative for tithes or dismantle other aspects of the existing religious settlement. In frustration, in April 1653 Cromwell demanded that the Rump establish a caretaker government of 40 members (drawn both from the Rump and the army) and then abdicate. However, the Rump returned to debating its own bill for a new government. Cromwell was so angered by this that on 20 April 1653, supported by about forty musketeers, he cleared the chamber and dissolved the Parliament by force. Several accounts exist of this incident: in one, Cromwell is supposed to have said "you are no Parliament, I say you are no Parliament; I will put an end to your sitting". At least two accounts agree that Cromwell snatched up the mace, symbol of Parliament's power, and demanded that the "bauble" be taken away. Cromwell's troops were commanded by Charles Worsley, later one of his Major Generals and one of his most trusted advisors, to whom he entrusted the mace.

Establishment of Barebone's Parliament: 1653

After the dissolution of the Rump, power passed temporarily to a council that debated what form the constitution should take. They took up the suggestion of Major-General Thomas Harrison for a "sanhedrin" of saints. Although Cromwell did not subscribe to Harrison's apocalyptic, Fifth Monarchist beliefs—which saw a sanhedrin as the starting point for Christ's rule on earth—he was attracted by the idea of an assembly made up of men chosen for their religious credentials. In his speech at the opening of the assembly on 4 July 1653, Cromwell thanked God’s providence that he believed had brought England to this point and set out their divine mission: "truly God hath called you to this work by, I think, as wonderful providences as ever passed upon the sons of men in so short a time." Sometimes known as the Parliament of Saints or more commonly the Nominated Assembly, it was also called the Barebone's Parliament after one of its members, Praise-God Barbon. The assembly was tasked with finding a permanent constitutional and religious settlement (Cromwell was invited to be a member but declined). However, the revelation that a considerably larger segment of the membership than had been believed were the radical Fifth Monarchists led to its members voting to dissolve it on 12 December 1653, out of fear of what the radicals might do if they took control of the Assembly.

The Protectorate: 1653–58

name	Oliver Cromwell Lord Protector of the Commonwealth
dipstyle	His Highness
offstyle	Your Highness
altstyle	Sir }}

After the dissolution of the Barebones Parliament, John Lambert put forward a new constitution known as the Instrument of Government, closely modelled on the Heads of Proposals. It made Cromwell Lord Protector for life to undertake “the chief magistracy and the administration of government”. Cromwell was sworn in as Lord Protector on 16 December 1653, with a ceremony in which he wore plain black clothing, rather than any monarchical regalia. However, from this point on Cromwell signed his name 'Oliver P', standing for Oliver Protector—in a similar style to that used by English monarchs—and it soon became the norm for others to address him as "Your highness". As Protector, he had the power to call and dissolve parliaments but was obliged under the Instrument to seek the majority vote of a Council of State. Nevertheless, Cromwell's power was buttressed by his continuing popularity among the army. As the Lord Protector he was paid £100,000 a year. Cromwell had two key objectives as Lord Protector. The first was "healing and settling" the nation after the chaos of the civil wars and the regicide, which meant establishing a stable form for the new government to take. Although Cromwell declared to the first Protectorate Parliament that, "Government by one man and a parliament is fundamental," in practice social priorities took precedence over forms of government. Such forms were, he said, "but ... dross and dung in comparison of Christ". The social priorities did not, despite the revolutionary nature of the government, include any meaningful attempt to reform the social order. Cromwell declared, "A nobleman, a gentleman, a yeoman; the distinction of these: that is a good interest of the nation, and a great one!", Small-scale reform such as that carried out on the judicial system were outweighed by attempts to restore order to English politics. Direct taxation was reduced slightly and peace was made with the Dutch, ending the First Anglo-Dutch War.

England's American colonies in this period consisted of the New England Confederation, the Providence Plantation, the Virginia Colony and the Maryland Colony. Cromwell soon secured the submission of these and largely left them to their own affairs, intervening only to curb his fellow Puritans who were usurping control over the Maryland Colony at the Battle of the Severn, by his confirming the former Catholic proprietorship and edict of tolerance there. Of all the English dominions, Virginia was the most resentful of Cromwell's rule, and Cavalier emigration there mushroomed during the Protectorate.

Cromwell famously stressed the quest to restore order in his speech to the first Protectorate parliament at its inaugural meeting on 3 September 1654. He declared that "healing and settling" were the "great end of your meeting". However, the Parliament was quickly dominated by those pushing for more radical, properly republican reforms. After some initial gestures approving appointments previously made by Cromwell, the Parliament began to work on a radical programme of constitutional reform. Rather than opposing Parliament’s bill, Cromwell dissolved them on 22 January 1655.

Cromwell's second objective was spiritual and moral reform. He aimed to restore liberty of conscience and promote both outward and inward godliness throughout England. During the early months of the Protectorate, a set of "triers" was established to assess the suitability of future parish ministers, and a related set of "ejectors" was set up to dismiss ministers and schoolmasters who were deemed unsuitable for office. The triers and the ejectors were intended to be at the vanguard of Cromwell's reform of parish worship. This second objective is also the context in which to see the constitutional experiment of the Major Generals that followed the dissolution of the first Protectorate Parliament. After a royalist uprising in March 1655, led by Sir John Penruddock, Cromwell (influenced by Lambert) divided England into military districts ruled by Army Major Generals who answered only to him. The 15 major generals and deputy major generals—called "godly governors"—were central not only to national security, but Cromwell's crusade to reform the nation's morals. The generals not only supervised militia forces and security commissions, but collected taxes and ensured support for the government in the English and Welsh provinces. Commissioners for securing the peace of the commonwealth were appointed to work with them in every county. While a few of these commissioners were career politicians, most were zealous puritans who welcomed the major-generals with open arms and embraced their work with enthusiasm. However, the major-generals lasted less than a year. Many feared they threatened their reform efforts and authority. Their position was further harmed by a tax proposal by Major General John Desborough to provide financial backing for their work, which the second Protectorate parliament—instated in September 1656—voted down for fear of a permanent military state. Ultimately, however, Cromwell's failure to support his men, sacrificing them to his opponents, caused their demise. Their activities between November 1655 and September 1656 had, however, reopened the wounds of the 1640s and deepened antipathies to the regime.

thumb|[[British Half Crown coin|Half-Crown coin of Oliver Cromwell, 1658. The Latin inscription reads: OLIVAR.D.G.RP.ANG. – SCO.ET.HIB&cPRO; (OLIVARIUS DEI GRATIA REIPUBLICAE ANGLIAE SCOTIAE ET HIBERNIAE ET CETERARUM PROTECTOR), meaning "Oliver, by the Grace of God Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland and other (territories)". ]]

As Lord Protector, Cromwell was aware of the contribution the Jewish community made to the economic success of Holland, now England's leading commercial rival. It was this—allied to Cromwell's tolerance of the right to private worship of those who fell outside evangelical Puritanism—that led to his encouraging Jews to return to England in 1657, over 350 years after their banishment by Edward I, in the hope that they would help speed up the recovery of the country after the disruption of the Civil Wars.

In 1657, Cromwell was offered the crown by Parliament as part of a revised constitutional settlement, presenting him with a dilemma, since he had been "instrumental" in abolishing the monarchy. Cromwell agonised for six weeks over the offer. He was attracted by the prospect of stability it held out, but in a speech on 13 April 1657 he made clear that God's providence had spoken against the office of king: “I would not seek to set up that which Providence hath destroyed and laid in the dust, and I would not build Jericho again”. The reference to Jericho harks back to a previous occasion on which Cromwell had wrestled with his conscience when the news reached England of the defeat of an expedition against the Spanish-held island of Hispaniola in the West Indies in 1655—comparing himself to Achan, who had brought the Israelites defeat after bringing plunder back to camp after the capture of Jericho. Instead, Cromwell was ceremonially re-installed as Lord Protector on 26 June 1657 at Westminster Hall, sitting upon King Edward's Chair which was specially moved from Westminster Abbey for the occasion. The event in part echoed a coronation, utilising many of its symbols and regalia, such as a purple ermine-lined robe, a sword of justice and a sceptre (but not a crown or an orb). But, most notably, the office of Lord Protector was still not to become hereditary, though Cromwell was now able to nominate his own successor. Cromwell's new rights and powers were laid out in the Humble Petition and Advice, a legislative instrument which replaced the Instrument of Government. Despite failing to restore the Crown, this new constitution did set up many of the vestiges of the ancient constitution including a house of life peers (in place of the House of Lords). In the Humble Petition it was called the Other House as the Commons could not agree on a suitable name. Furthermore, Oliver Cromwell increasingly took on more of the trappings of monarchy. In particular, he created two baronages after the acceptance of the Humble Petition and Advice—Charles Howard was made Viscount Morpeth and Baron Gisland in July 1657 and Edmund Dunch was created Baron Burnell of East Wittenham in April 1658. Cromwell himself, however, was at pains to minimise his role, describing himself as a constable or watchman.

Death and posthumous execution

Cromwell is thought to have suffered from malaria and from "stone", a common term for urinary/kidney infections. In 1658 he was struck by a sudden bout of malarial fever, followed directly by illness symptomatic of a urinary or kidney complaint. A Venetian physician tracked Cromwell's final illness, saying Cromwell's personal physicians were mismanaging his health, leading to a rapid decline and death. The decline may also have been hastened by the death of his favourite daughter, Elizabeth Claypole, in August. He died aged 59 at Whitehall on Friday 3 September 1658, the anniversary of his great victories at Dunbar and Worcester. The most likely cause of Cromwell's death was septicaemia following his urinary infection. He was buried with great ceremony, with an elaborate funeral based on that of James I, at Westminster Abbey, his daughter Elizabeth also being buried there.

He was succeeded as Lord Protector by his son Richard. Although Richard was not entirely without ability, he had no power base in either Parliament or the Army, and was forced to resign in May 1659, ending the Protectorate. There was no clear leadership from the various factions that jostled for power during the short lived reinstated Commonwealth, so George Monck, the English governor of Scotland, at the head of New Model Army regiments was able to march on London, and restore the Long Parliament. Under Monck's watchful eye the necessary constitutional adjustments were made so that in 1660 Charles II could be invited back from exile to be king under a restored monarchy.

On 30 January 1661, (symbolically the 12th anniversary of the execution of Charles I), Oliver Cromwell's body was exhumed from Westminster Abbey, and was subjected to the ritual of a posthumous execution, as were the remains of John Bradshaw and Henry Ireton. (The body of Cromwell's daughter was allowed to remain buried in the Abbey.) His body was hanged in chains at Tyburn. Finally, his disinterred body was thrown into a pit, while his severed head was displayed on a pole outside Westminster Hall until 1685.

Ironically the Cromwell vault was then used as a burial place for Charles II’s illegitimate descendants. Afterwards the head changed hands several times, including the sale in 1814 to a man named Josiah Henry Wilkinson, before eventually being buried in the grounds of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, in 1960.

Political reputation

During his lifetime, some tracts painted him as a hypocrite motivated by power—for example, ''The Machiavilian Cromwell'' and ''The Juglers Discovered'', both part of an attack on Cromwell by the Levellers after 1647, present him as a Machiavellian figure. More positive contemporary assessments—for instance, John Spittlehouse in ''A Warning Piece Discharged''—typically compared him to Moses, rescuing the English by taking them safely through the Red Sea of the civil wars. Several biographies were published soon after his death. An example is ''The Perfect Politician'', which described how Cromwell "loved men more than books" and gave a nuanced assessment of him as an energetic campaigner for liberty of conscience brought down by pride and ambition. An equally nuanced but less positive assessment was published in 1667 by Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon, in his ''History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England''. Clarendon famously declared that Cromwell "will be looked upon by posterity as a brave bad man". He argued that Cromwell's rise to power had been helped not only by his great spirit and energy, but also by his ruthlessness. Clarendon was not one of Cromwell's confidantes, and his account was written after the Restoration of the monarchy.

During the early eighteenth century, Cromwell's image began to be adopted and reshaped by the Whigs, as part of a wider project to give their political objectives historical legitimacy. A version of Edmund Ludlow’s ''Memoirs'', re-written by John Toland to excise the radical Puritanical elements and replace them with a Whiggish brand of republicanism, presented the Cromwellian Protectorate as a military tyranny. Through Ludlow, Toland portrayed Cromwell as a despot who crushed the beginnings of democratic rule in the 1640s.

During the early nineteenth century, Cromwell began to be adopted by Romantic artists and poets. Thomas Carlyle continued this reassessment of Cromwell in the 1840s by presenting him as a hero in the battle between good and evil and a model for restoring morality to an age that Carlyle believed to have been dominated by timidity, meaningless rhetoric, and moral compromise. Cromwell's actions, including his campaigns in Ireland and his dissolution of the Long Parliament, according to Carlyle, had to be appreciated and praised as a whole.

By the late 19th century, Carlyle's portrayal of Cromwell, stressing the centrality of puritan morality and earnestness, had become assimilated into Whig and Liberal historiography. The Oxford civil war historian Samuel Rawson Gardiner concluded that "the man—it is ever so with the noblest—was greater than his work". Gardiner stressed Cromwell’s dynamic and mercurial character, and his role in dismantling absolute monarchy, while underestimating Cromwell’s religious conviction. Cromwell’s foreign policy also provided an attractive forerunner of Victorian imperial expansion, with Gardiner stressing his “constancy of effort to make England great by land and sea”.

During the first half of the twentieth century, Cromwell's reputation was often influenced by the rise of fascism in Nazi Germany and in Italy. Wilbur Cortez Abbott, for example—a Harvard historian—devoted much of his career to compiling and editing a multi-volume collection of Cromwell's letters and speeches. In this work, which was published between 1937 and 1947, Abbott began to argue that Cromwell was a proto-fascist. However, subsequent historians such as John Morrill have criticised both Abbott's interpretation of Cromwell and his editorial approach. Ernest Barker similarly compared the Independents to the Nazis. Nevertheless, not all historical comparisons made at this time drew on contemporary military dictators.

Late twentieth century historians re-examined the nature of Cromwell's faith and of his authoritarian regime. Austin Woolrych explored the issue of "dictatorship" in depth, arguing that Cromwell was subject to two conflicting forces: his obligation to the army and his desire to achieve a lasting settlement by winning back the confidence of the political nation as a whole. Woolrych argued that the dictatorial elements of Cromwell's rule stemmed not so much from its military origins or the participation of army officers in civil government, as from his constant commitment to the interest of the people of God and his conviction that suppressing vice and encouraging virtue constituted the chief end of government.

Historians such as John Morrill, Blair Worden and J. C. Davis have developed this theme, revealing the extent to which Cromwell’s writing and speeches are suffused with biblical references, and arguing that his radical actions were driven by his zeal for godly reformation.

Monuments and posthumous honours

The noted 19th century engineer Sir Richard Tangye was a noted Cromwell enthusiast, and noted collector of Cromwell manuscripts and memorabilia. His collection included many rare manuscripts and printed books, medals, paintings, objets d'art and a bizarre assemblage of "relics." This includes Cromwell's bible, button, coffin plate, death mask and funeral escutcheon. On Tangye's death, the entire collection was donated to the Museum of London, where it can still be seen today.

In 1776, one of the first ships commissioned to serve in the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War was christened the ''Oliver Cromwell''. In Westminster Abbey the site of Cromwell’s burial was marked, during the 19^{th century, by a floor stone, laid in what is now the Air Force Chapel, reading ''THE BURIAL PLACE OF OLIVER CROMWELL 1658–1661''. In 1851, the newly-incorporated town of Cromwell, Connecticut in the United States was named after him. In 1875, a statue of Cromwell by Matthew Noble was erected in Manchester outside the cathedral, a gift to the city by Mrs Abel Heywood in memory of her first husband. It was the first such large-scale statue to be erected in the open anywhere in England and was a realistic likeness, based on the painting by Peter Lely and showing Cromwell in battledress with drawn sword and leather body armour. The statue was unpopular with the local Conservatives and with the large Irish immigrant population alike. When Queen Victoria was invited to open the new Manchester Town Hall, she is alleged to have consented on condition that the statue of Cromwell be removed. The statue remained, Victoria declined, and the Town Hall was opened by the Lord Mayor. During the 1980s the statue was relocated outside Wythenshawe Hall, which had been occupied by Cromwell and his troops - image. During the 1890s plans to erect a statue of Cromwell outside Parliament caused considerable controversy. Pressure from the Irish Nationalist Party forced the withdrawal of a motion to seek public funding for the project and eventually it was funded privately by Lord Rosebery. In 2008 the statue was restored to mark the 350th anniversary of Cromwell’s death.}

There is an above life-sized statue of Cromwell in the centre of St Ives, Cambridgeshire where he blew up the bridge to prevent the royalist troops approaching London - image.

A statue of Cromwell also stands outside The Academy in Bridge Street, Warrington, an historic building which is now home to the ''Warrington Guardian'' newspaper. Cromwell fought the battle of Warrington Bridge against Scottish Royalists in the town in 1648. As First Lord of the Admiralty before the First World War, Winston Churchill suggested naming a British battleship HMS ''Oliver Cromwell''. The suggestion did not meet with royal approval.

In 1940 “Cromwell” was the codeword warning that German invasion of Britain was imminent.

The Cromwell Tank, a British WWII cruiser tank, first used in 1944, was named after him.

A steam locomotive built by British Railways in 1951, 70013 Oliver Cromwell was named after Cromwell.

A statue of Cromwell is included amongst 35 English monarchs depicted on the facade of Bradford City Hall, which are arranged in chronological order. Cromwell's statue appears between Charles I and Charles II.

Popular culture

In one of the earliest novels to feature Cromwell as a character, Abbe Prevost's ''Le philosophe anglais'' (1731–39), he is portrayed as a hypocritical womaniser, a deceitful tyrant, and a coward. The protagonist of this novel, Mr Cleveland, is the illegitimate son of Cromwell via one of Charles I's cast-off mistresses. For a synopsis, go to: this link

Cromwell’s adoption by the French Romantic movement was typified by Victor Hugo's 1827 play ''Cromwell'', often considered to be symbolic of the French romantic movement, which represents Cromwell as a ruthless yet dynamic Romantic hero. A similar impression of a world-changing individual with a strong will and personality was provided in 1831 in the picture by French artist Hippolyte Delaroche, depicting the legendary visit by Cromwell to the body of Charles I after the King’s execution.

Rutland Boughton's Symphony No. 1 (1904–05) was subtitled "Oliver Cromwell".

1970 saw the release of the Ken Hughes film ''Cromwell'' starring Richard Harris in the leading role. ''To Kill a King'', a film of 2003 focussed on the relationship between Dougray Scott as Fairfax and Tim Roth as Cromwell, with Rupert Everett as King Charles I. Jack Shepherd’s 2004 play ''Through a Cloud'', set in 1656, imagines a meeting between Cromwell and John Milton.

Oliver Cromwell was played by Bernard Hepton in the twelve-part radio series ''God's Revolution'', which was written by Don Taylor, broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1998 and rebroadcast on BBC Radio 7 in 2010.

''Blackadder: The Cavalier Years'' features a parody of Cromwell played by Warren Clarke.

Cromwell has also been mentioned in popular songs, such as:

A more light-hearted take on Cromwell’s life and deeds, “Oliver Cromwell,” was released by Monty Python in 1989, in which a factually accurate capsule biography is sung to the music of Chopin's Polonaise in A-flat, Op. 53, for piano.

* Elvis Costello’s 1979 hit pop single “Oliver’s Army”

The Pogues mention him in their 1989 song “Young Ned of the Hill”: A song about Cromwell's assault on Drogheda, it references him directly by saying: “A curse upon you Oliver Cromwell / You who raped our Motherland.”

* “Irish Blood, English Heart,” the 2004 single by Morrissey includes the lyrics: “I’ve been dreaming of a time when the English are sick to death of Labour and Tories / And spit upon the name Oliver Cromwell / And denounce this royal line that still salute him / And will salute him forever”

* The song “Tobacco Island” by Irish-American celtic punk band Flogging Molly, describing the deportation of Irish citizens to Barbados.

Oliver Cromwell, played by Dominic West, is one of the main characters in the 2008 Channel 4 TV miniseries ''The Devil's Whore''.

Popular Australian fantasy author Kate Forsyth made Oliver Cromwell in her series ''The Chain of Charms''.

Protagonist “Alucard” of the Japanese manga, ''Hellsing'', refers to his power restriction system as the Cromwell Invocation.

In the ''The Adventures of Luther Arkwright'', a comic book fantasy adventure spanning countless alternative universes, modern day England is a fascist theocracy ruled by a descendant of Cromwell.

Orson Scott Card’s alternate historical fantasy novel series ''The Tales of Alvin Maker'' diverges from reality in that folk magic actually ''works'', and because (unknown to him—he would’ve executed them for witchcraft had he known) at least one of his physicians had a healing “knack,” Cromwell did not die so young, so the English Restoration never happened, causing drastic alterations in the 19^th Century North American setting of the series (''e.g.'' there were four separate nations in the area occupied by the real United States of the time, only one of which had that name). Cromwell himself does not appear in the series.

In a 2002 BBC telephone and internet poll in Britain, Cromwell was voted to be one of the Top 10 Britons of all time. Cromwell appeared third after Brunel and Churchill.

“Cromwell Road” remains a popular street name in many British towns and cities, and towns in New Zealand and the United States have been named “Cromwell.”

Neal Stephenson’s alternate historical novel series ''The Baroque Cycle'' contains many references to Cromwell, as well as extensive descriptions of his grass-roots supporters and their behavior after The Restoration. This creates a detailed picture of the beliefs and attitudes of his supporters and the civil warriors after they have witnessed the destruction of all their dreams and accomplishments. The novel series begins in 1655, but Cromwell himself does not appear in the series.

The Morganville Vampires Novels features Cromwell as a character. In the series, Cromwell is a vampire known as "Oliver"

See also

Robert Walker Article includes information about the various portraits of Cromwell by the artists Robert Walker, Peter Lely and Samuel Cooper.

Footnotes

References

Adamson, John (1990). "Oliver Cromwell and the Long Parliament", in Morrill, John (ed.), ''Oliver Cromwell and the English Revolution'' Longman, ISBN 0582016754

Adamson, John (1987). "The English Nobility and the Projected Settlement of 1647", in ''Historical Journal'', 30, 3.

BBC Radio 4—This Sceptred Isle—The Execution of Charles I. "The Execution of Charles I", ''BBC Radio 4''. Accessed 4 November 2007.

Carlyle, Thomas (ed.) (1904 edition). ''Oliver Cromwell's letters and speeches, with elucidations'' ;

Coward, Barry (2003). ''The Stuart Age: England, 1603–1714,'' Longman, ISBN 0582772516

Durston, Christopher (1998). ''The Fall of Cromwell's Major-Generals'', in ''English Historical Review'' 1998 113(450): pp. 18–37, ISSN 0013-8266

Gardiner, Samuel Rawson (1886). ''History of the Great Civil War, 1642–1649'', Longmans, Green, and co.

Gardiner, Samuel Rawson (1901). ''Oliver Cromwell'', ISBN 1417949619

Gaunt, Peter (1996). ''Oliver Cromwell'' Blackwell, ISBN 0631183566

Hirst, Derek (1990). ''The Lord Protector, 1653-8'', in Morrill, John (ed.), ''Oliver Cromwell and the English Revolution'' Longman, ISBN 0582016754

Kenyon, John & Ohlmeyer, Jane (eds.) (2000). ''The Civil Wars: A Military History of England, Scotland, and Ireland 1638–1660'' Oxford University Press, ISBN 019280278X

Kishlansky, Mark (1990), "Saye What?" in ''Historical Journal'' 33, 4.

Lenihan, Padraig (2000). ''Confederate Catholics at War'' Cork University Press, ISBN 1859182445

Morrill, John (1990). '"Cromwell and his contemporaries", in Morrill, John (ed.), ''Oliver Cromwell and the English Revolution'' Longman, ISBN 0582016754

Morrill, John (1990). "The Making of Oliver Cromwell", in Morrill, John (ed.), ''Oliver Cromwell and the English Revolution'' Longman, ISBN 0582016754

O'Siochru, Micheal (2008). ''God's Executioner, Oliver Cromwell and the Conquest of Ireland'', Faber and Faber, ISBN 9780571-241217

Roots, Ivan (1989). ''Speeches of Oliver Cromwell'' Everyman classics, ISBN 0460012541

Woolrych, Austin (1982). ''Commonwealth to Protectorate'' Clarendon Press, ISBN 0198226594

Woolrych, Austin (1990). "Cromwell as a soldier" in Morrill, John (ed.), ''Oliver Cromwell and the English Revolution'' Longman, ISBN 0582016754

Woolrych, Austin (1987). ''Soldiers and Statesmen: the General Council of the Army and its Debates'' (Clarendon Press), ISBN 0198227523

Worden, Blair (1985). "Oliver Cromwell and the sin of Achan", in Beales, D. and Best, G. (eds.) ''History, Society and the Churches'', ISBN 0521021898

Worden, Blair (1977). ''The Rump Parliament'' Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0521292131

Worden, Blair (2000). "Thomas Carlyle and Oliver Cromwell", in ''Proceedings Of The British Academy'' 105: pp. 131–170. ISSN 0068-1202

Young, Peter and Holmes, Richard (2000). ''The English Civil War'' Wordsworth, ISBN 1840222220

Biographies

Adamson, John (1990). "Oliver Cromwell and the Long Parliament", in Morrill, John (ed.), ''Oliver Cromwell and the English Revolution'' Longman, ISBN 0582016754

Ashley, Maurice (1958). ''The Greatness of Oliver Cromwell'' Macmillan

Bennett, Martyn. ''Oliver Cromwell'' (2006), ISBN 0415319226

Clifford, Alan (1999). ''Oliver Cromwell: the lessons and legacy of the Protectorate'' Charenton Reformed Publishing, ISBN 095267162X. Religious study.

Davis, J. C. (2001). ''Oliver Cromwell'' Hodder Arnold, ISBN 0340731184

Fraser, Antonia (1973). ''Cromwell, Our Chief of Men,'' and ''Cromwell: the Lord Protector'' Phoenix Press, ISBN 0753813319. Popular narrative.

Firth, C.H. (1900). ''Oliver Cromwell and the Rule of the Puritans'' ISBN 1402144741

Gardiner, Samuel Rawson (1901). ''Oliver Cromwell'', ISBN 1417949619. Classic biography.

Gaunt, Peter (1996). ''Oliver Cromwell'' Blackwell, ISBN 0631183566. Short biography.

Hill, Christopher (1970). ''God's Englishman: Oliver Cromwell And The English Revolution'' Penguin, ISBN 0297000438.

Hirst, Derek (1990). "The Lord Protector, 1653-8", in Morrill, John (ed.), ''Oliver Cromwell and the English Revolution'' Longman, ISBN 0582016754

Mason, James and Angela Leonard (1998). ''Oliver Cromwell'' Longman, ISBN 0582297346

McKeiver, Philip (2007). "A New History of Cromwell's Irish Campaign", Advance Press, Manchester, ISBN 9780955466304

Morrill, John (2004). "Cromwell, Oliver (1599–1658)", in ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography,'' Oxford University Press

Morrill, John (1990). "The Making of Oliver Cromwell", in Morrill, John (ed.), ''Oliver Cromwell and the English Revolution'' Longman, ISBN 0582016754.

Paul, Robert (1958). ''The Lord Protector: Religion And Politics In The Life Of Oliver Cromwell''

Smith, David (ed.) (2003). ''Oliver Cromwell and the Interregnum'' Blackwell, ISBN 0631227253

Wedgwood, C.V. (1939). ''Oliver Cromwell'' Duckworth, ISBN 0715606565

Worden, Blair (1985). "Oliver Cromwell and the sin of Achan", in Beales, D. and Best, G. (eds.) ''History, Society and the Churches'', ISBN 0521021898

Military studies

Durston, Christopher (2000). "'Settling the Hearts and Quieting the Minds of All Good People': the Major-generals and the Puritan Minorities of Interregnum England", in ''History'' 2000 85(278): pp. 247–267, ISSN 0018-2648 . Full text online at Ebsco.

Durston, Christopher (1998). "The Fall of Cromwell's Major-Generals", in ''English Historical Review'' 1998 113(450): pp. 18–37, ISSN 0013-8266

Firth, C.H. (1921). ''Cromwell's Army'' Greenhill Books, ISBN 1853671207

Gillingham, J. (1976). ''Portrait Of A Soldier: Cromwell'' Weidenfeld & Nicholson, ISBN 0297771485

Kenyon, John & Ohlmeyer, Jane (eds.) (2000). ''The Civil Wars: A Military History of England, Scotland, and Ireland 1638–1660'' Oxford University Press, ISBN 019280278X

Kitson, Frank (2004). ''Old Ironsides: The Military Biography of Oliver Cromwell'' Weidenfeld Military, ISBN 0297846884

Marshall, Alan (2004). ''Oliver Cromwell: Soldier: The Military Life of a Revolutionary at War'' Brassey's, ISBN 1857533437

McKeiver, Philip (2007). "A New History of Cromwell's Irish Campaign", Advance Press, Manchester, ISBN 9780955466304

Woolrych, Austin (1990). "The Cromwellian Protectorate: a Military Dictatorship?" in ''History'' 1990 75(244): 207–231, ISSN 0018-2648 . Full text online at Ebsco.

Woolrych, Austin (1990). "Cromwell as a soldier", in Morrill, John (ed.), ''Oliver Cromwell and the English Revolution'' Longman, ISBN 0582016754

Young, Peter and Holmes, Richard (2000). ''The English Civil War,'' Wordsworth, ISBN 1840222220

Surveys of era

Coward, Barry (2002). ''The Cromwellian Protectorate'' Manchester University Press, ISBN 0719043174

Coward, Barry (2003). ''The Stuart Age: England, 1603–1714,'' Longman, ISBN 0-582-77251-6. Survey of political history of the era.

Davies, Godfrey (1959). ''The Early Stuarts, 1603–1660'' Oxford University Press, ISBN 0198217048. Political, religious, and diplomatic overview of the era.

Korr, Charles P. (1975). ''Cromwell and the New Model Foreign Policy: England's Policy toward France, 1649–1658'' University of California Press, ISBN 0520022815

Macinnes, Allan (2005). ''The British Revolution, 1629–1660'' Palgrave Macmillan, ISBN 0333597508

Morrill, John (1990). "Cromwell and his contemporaries". In Morrill, John (ed.), ''Oliver Cromwell and the English Revolution'' Longman, ISBN 0582016754

Trevor-Roper, Hugh (1967). ''Oliver Cromwell and his Parliaments'', in his ''Religion, the Reformation and Social Change'' Macmillan.

Venning, Timothy (1995). ''Cromwellian Foreign Policy'' Palgrave Macmillan, ISBN 0333633881

Woolrych, Austin (1982). ''Commonwealth to Protectorate'' Clarendon Press, ISBN 0198226594

Woolrych, Austin (2002). ''Britain in Revolution 1625–1660'' Oxford University Press, ISBN 9780199272686

Primary sources

Abbott, W.C. (ed.) (1937–47). ''Writings and Speeches of Oliver Cromwell,'' 4 vols. The standard academic reference for Cromwell's own words. Questia.com.

Carlyle, Thomas (ed.) (1904 edition), ''Oliver Cromwell's letters and speeches, with elucidations''. ;

Haykin, Michael A. G. (ed.) (1999). ''To Honour God: The Spirituality of Oliver Cromwell'' Joshua Press, ISBN 1894400038. Excerpts from Cromwell's religious writings.

Roots, Ivan (1989). ''Speeches of Oliver Cromwell'' Everyman classics, ISBN 0460012541

Historiography

Davis, J. C. ''Oliver Cromwell'' (2001). 243 pp; a biographical study that covers sources and historiography

Gaunt, Peter. "The Reputation of Oliver Cromwell in the 19th Century," ''Parliamentary History,'' Oct 2009, Vol. 28 Issue 3, pp 425–428

Lunger Knoppers, Laura. ''Constructing Cromwell. Ceremony, Portrait and Print, 1645-1661'' (2000), shows how people compared Cromwell to King Ahab, King David, Elijah, Gideon and Moses, as well as Brutus and Julius Caesar.

Morrill, John. "Rewriting Cromwell: a Case of Deafening Silences." ''Canadian Journal of History'' 2003 38(3): 553-578. Issn: 0008-4107 Fulltext: Ebsco

Morrill, John (1990). "Textualizing and Contextualizing Cromwell", in ''Historical Journal'' 1990 33(3): pp. 629–639. ISSN 0018-246X . Full text online at Jstor. Examines the Carlyle and Abbott editions.

Worden, Blair (2001). ''Roundhead Reputations: the English Civil Wars and the passions of posterity'' Penguin, ISBN 0141006943

Worden, Blair. "Thomas Carlyle and Oliver Cromwell", in ''Proceedings Of The British Academy''(2000) 105: pp. 131–170. ISSN 0068-1202 .

Worden, Blair. ''Roundhead Reputations: the English Civil Wars and the passions of posterity'' (2001), 387pp; ISBN 0-14-100694-3.

External links

Oliver Cromwell World History Database

Oliver Cromwell and the English Revolution—In Honor of Christopher Hill 1912–2003

The Cromwell Association

The Cromwell Museum in Huntingdon

Chronology of Oliver Cromwell World History Database

Biography at the British Civil Wars & Commonwealth website

Works by or about Oliver Cromwell at Internet Archive (scanned books original editions color illustrated)

Vallely, Paul. The Big Question: Was Cromwell a revolutionary hero or a genocidal war criminal?, The Independent 4 September 2008.

The Cromwellian Catastrophe in Ireland:an Historiographical Analysis (an overview of writings/writers on the subject by Jameel Hampton pub. Gateway An Academic Journal on the Web: Spring 2003 PDF

Books

''The History of England During the Reigns of the Royal House of Stuart'' by John Oldmixon (1730)

''A Few Anecdotes and Observations Relating to Oliver Cromwell and His Family, Serving to Rectify Several Errors Concerning Him'' by Sir James Burrow (1763)

''The History of Remarkable Events in the Kingdom of Ireland'' by Thomas Leland (1781): Vol. I, Vol. II

''Prestwich's Respublica: A Display of the Honors, Ceremonies & Ensigns of the Commonwealth Under the Protectorship of Oliver Cromwell'' by John Prestwich (1787)

''An Historical and Critical Account of the Lives and Writings of James I and Charles I, and the Lives of Oliver Cromwell and Charles II'' by William Harris (1814): Volume I, Volume II, Volume III, Volume IV, Volume V

''Memoirs of the Protector, Oliver Cromwell, and of His Sons Richard and Henry'' by Oliver Cromwell, Esq., A Descendant of the Family (1821): Vol. I, Vol. II

''Diary of Thomas Burton, Esq., Member in the Parliaments of Oliver and Richard Cromwell'', ed. John Towill Rutt (1828): Vol. I, Vol. IV

''Life of Oliver Cromwell'' by Michael Russell (1833): Vol. I, Vol. II

''The Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell, and the State of Europe During the Early Part of the Reign of Louis XIV'' by Robert Vaughan (1838): Vol. I, Vol. II

''Oliver Cromwell: An Historical Romance'' by Henry William Herbert (1840): Vol. I, Vol. II, Vol. III

''Cromwell: A Prize Poem, Recited in the Theatre, Oxford, 28 June 1843'' by Matthew Arnold (1843)

''Life of Oliver Cromwell'' by Robert Southey (1845)

''The Protector: A Vindication'' by Jean-Henri Merle d'Aubigné (1847)

''Oliver Cromwell's Letters and Speeches: With Elucidations'' by Thomas Carlyle (1850): Vol. I, Vol. II, Vol. III,Vol. IV

''A Lecture on the Life and Character of Oliver Cromwell'' by Sherman B. Canfield (1850)

''The Life of Oliver Cromwell'' by Joel T. Headley (1851)

''Oliver Cromwell; Or, England in the Past Viewed in Relation to England in the Present'' by Joseph Denham Smith (1851)

''History of Oliver Cromwell and the English Commonwealth: From the Execution of Charles the First to the Death of Cromwell'' by François Guizot (1854): Vol. I, Vol. II

''Oliver Cromwell, Daniel Defoe, Sir Richard Steele, Charles Churchill, Samuel Foote: Biographical Essays'' by John Forster (1860)

''Ecclesiastical History of England: From the Opening of the Long Parliament to the Death of Oliver Cromwell'' by John Stoughton (1867): Vol. I, Vol. II

''Oliver Cromwell: An Historical Tragedy'' by Alfred Bate Richards (1873)

''The Quarrel Between the Earl of Manchester and Oliver Cromwell: An Episode of the English Civil War'' by David Masson (1875)

''Life of Oliver Cromwell'' by Francis Warre Warre-Cornish (1882)

''Oliver Cromwell: The Man and His Mission'' by James Allanson Picton (1883)

''Oliver Cromwell: His Life, Times, Battlefields, and Contemporaries'' by Edwin Paxton Hood (1883)

''Cromwell in Ireland: A History of Cromwell's Irish Campaign'' by Denis Murphy (1885)

''Life of Oliver Cromwell'' by Alphonse de Lamartine (1886)

''Oliver Cromwell und die puritanische Revolution'' by Moritz Brosch (1886)

''Oliver Cromwell'' by Frederic Harrison (c. 1888, published 1919)

''Oliver Cromwell, The Protector: An Appreciation Based on Contemporary Evidence'' by Sir Reginald Palgrave (1890)

''Oliver Cromwell and His Times: Social, Religious, and Political Life in the Seventeenth Century'' by G. Holden Pike (1890)

''The House of Cromwell and the Story of Dunkirk: A Genealogical History of the Descendants of the Protector'' by James Waylen (1890)

''Oliver Cromwell'' by George Henry Clark (1895)

''Cromwell's Place in History'' by Samuel Rawson Gardiner (1897)

''Cromwell's Scotch Campaigns, 1650–51'' by W. S. Douglas (1898)

''The Two Protectors: Oliver and Richard Cromwell'' by Sir Richard Tangye (1899)

''Oliver Cromwell: A History'' by Samuel Harden Church (1900)

''Oliver Cromwell'' by John Morley, 1st Viscount Morley of Blackburn (1900)

''The Protestant Interest in Cromwell's Foreign Relations'' by Jakob N. Bowman (1900)

''Oliver Cromwell'' by Samuel Rawson Gardiner (1901)

''King Cromwell'' by William Alfred Quayle (1902)

''Oliver Cromwell: The Story of His Life and Work'' by Theodore Roosevelt (1902)

''Through Great Britain and Ireland with Cromwell'' by Henrietta Elizabeth Marshall (1912)

''Oliver Cromwell: A Play'' by John Drinkwater (1921)

{{ahnentafel-compact5 | style = font-size: 90%; line-height: 110%; | border = 1 | boxstyle = padding-top: 0; padding-bottom: 0; | boxstyle_1 = background-color: #fcc; | boxstyle_2 = background-color: #fb9; | boxstyle_3 = background-color: #ffc; | boxstyle_4 = background-color: #bfc; | boxstyle_5 = background-color: #9fe; | 1 = 1. Oliver Cromwell | 2 = 2. Robert Cromwell | 3 = 3. Elizabeth Steward | 4 = 4. Sir Henry Williams | 5 = 5. Joan Warren | 6 = | 7 = | 8 = 8. Sir Richard Williams | 9 = | 10 = 10. Sir Ralph Warren | 11 = 11. Joan Lake | 12 = | 13 = | 14 = | 15 = | 16 = 16. Morgan ap William | 17 = 17. Katherine Cromwell | 18 = | 19 = | 20 = 20. Sir Thomas Warren | 21 = | 22 = 22. John Lake | 23 = | 24 = | 25 = | 26 = | 27 = | 28 = | 29 = | 30 = | 31 = }} Category:Alumni of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge Category:Anti-Catholicism in Ireland Category:Anti-Catholicism in the United Kingdom Category:Chancellors of the University of Oxford Category:Deaths from malaria Category:English Congregationalists Category:English farmers Category:English generals Category:English heads of state Category:English people of Welsh descent Category:Lay Puritans Category:Leaders who took power by coup Category:Members of the pre-1707 Parliament of England Category:People from Huntingdon Category:Regicides of Charles I Category:Religious persecution Category:Roundheads Category:1599 births Category:1658 deaths Category:17th-century English people

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