Second Act of Disunion

The late 19th and early 20th century saw a general rise in Welsh consciousness with a number of national institutions established and the formation of Plaid Cymru in 1925. In response to increasing demands for more consideration of Welsh affairs, the UK government started a process of administrative devolution, creating the Council for Wales in 1949 to be replaced by the Office of Secretary of State for Wales in 1964 and the Welsh Office in 1965.

While still controlled very closely from Westminster, this led ultimately to a major step forward – the Welsh Language Act of 1967. While this was significant in its own right because it gave the first official recognition to Cymraeg - of arguably more significance was Part 4 of the Act which repealed the Wales and Berwick Act (as relating to Wales). From this point on, the term England would no longer be deemed to include Wales, and I consider this:

......................The Second Act of Disunion

Another step forward came five years later with the Local Government Act of 1972, which clarified the boundaries of Wales, and in particular removed the confusion over Monmouthshire which was now clearly and unequivocally in Wales.

Wales had survived England’s best efforts to remove us from the map, and our borders were even growing! However, we remained firmly ruled from England.

First Act of Disunion

Although Wales had been fully annexed and incorporated within England since the 16th century, there remained a strong and distinct Welsh identity, and by the 19th century movements such as Cymru Fydd were actively campaigning for self-government for Wales.

The UK government started to recognize this and in 1881 passed the first law since the Acts of Union that applied only to Wales – the Sunday Closing (Wales) Act. Other Wales-only laws followed (the Welsh Intermediate Education Act in 1989, and the Welsh Cemeteries Act in 1908) but the next piece of Welsh legislation was more significant:

The Welsh Church Act of 1914 (although not implemented until 1920 because of the First World War), created a new Anglican Church in Wales – independent from the Church of England, and not part of the government establishment. This might seem largely irrelevant today, but was hugely significant (and at the time controversial) because it was the first time that a part of Wales was separated away from England. This was the first official recognition that the 1535 Act of Union had failed to integrate Wales into England as originally intended, and I consider this

....................... The First Act of Disunion

Acts of Union

In order to consider our route towards independence, we need to look back to find a starting point for our journey:

Unlike Scotland, which was united politically with England in a single Act of Union in 1707, Wales was not united with England but annexed, and this took place in a series of separate acts, each with different implications for Wales.

Following completion of England’s military conquest of Wales in the 12th & 13th century, the ‘Statute of Rhuddlan’ in 1284 divided Wales into the Principality and Marches. This did not unite Wales with England, but instead placed Wales firmly under England’s direct rule, and this situation continued for around 250 years.

Then in 1535 the ‘First Act of Union’ (officially called the ‘Laws in Wales Act 1535’ but originally called ‘An Act for Laws & Justice to be ministered in Wales in like form as it is in this Realm’) formally annexed Wales into England and divided Wales into its traditional 13 counties. This transferred some land from the Welsh Marches into Herefordshire and Shropshire, but also had the effect of formally establishing the border of Wales which has remained virtually unchanged to this day.

This was followed in 1542 by the ‘Second Act of Union’ (officially called the ‘Laws in Wales Act 1542’ but originally called ‘An Act for certain Ordinances in the Kings Majesties, Dominion and Principality of Wales’) which brought Wales fully into the English legal system. This divided 12 of the counties of Wales into 4 legal circuits, but placed Monmouthshire into an English circuit, with the unintended effect of confusing the status of Monmouthshire between England and Wales.

Despite these Acts, Wales remained as a distinct legal entity until 1746 when the ‘Wales & Berwick Act’ categorically stated that any reference to England would henceforth include Wales (and Berwick).

This was arguably the lowest point in our national status, and it is from here that our journey to independence must begin.
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Act of Disunion - Relaunched

This is not a new blog - I initially launched it around 1 year ago, but decided to suspend it while I assisted with another project. With that project now firmy established, the time is now right for me to resume this blog.

I want to use the blog to outline the steps that need to be taken to achieve an independent Wales, and to discuss some of the obstacles that will need to be overcome.

I welcome all constructive comments and feedback.