Is Wales Legally Part of England

The country has a distinct national and cultural identity and, from the late 19th century, Wales gained its popular image as the `land of song`, partly through the eisteddfod tradition. Welsh and English are official languages. A majority of the population in most areas speaks English, while a majority of the population in parts of the north and west speaks Welsh, with a total of 560,000 Welsh speakers across the country. The Roman conquest of Wales began in 48 AD and lasted 30 years. The occupation lasted more than 300 years. The campaigns of conquest were carried out by two indigenous tribes: the Silures and the Ordovices. Roman rule in Wales was a military occupation, with the exception of the southern coastal region of Wales where there is a legacy of Romanisation. [31] The only town in Wales founded by the Romans, Caerwent, is located in south-east Wales. Caerwent and Carmarthen, also in South Wales, became Roman civitates.[32] [33] Wales had a rich mineral wealth. The Romans used their engineering technology to extract large amounts of gold, copper, and lead, as well as smaller amounts of zinc and silver. [34] There were no significant industries in Wales during this period; [34] This was largely a matter of circumstance, as Wales lacked the necessary materials in a suitable combination and the wooded and mountainous landscape did not lend itself to industrialisation.

Latin became the official language of Wales, although people continued to speak in Brythonic. While Romanization was far from complete, the upper classes considered themselves Roman, especially after the judgment of 212, which granted Roman citizenship to all free men throughout the empire. [35] Another Roman influence came from the spread of Christianity, which gained many followers when Christians were allowed to pray freely; State persecution ended in the 4th century after Constantine I issued an Edict of Toleration in 313. [35] Welsh law continued to be used in civil matters until the annexation of Wales to England by the Welsh House of Tudor in the 16th century. Some have speculated that Anglo-Saxon cultural dominance was due to apartheid-like social conditions in which the British were disadvantaged. [40] By 500 AD, the country that would become Wales had split into a series of kingdoms liberated from Anglo-Saxon rule. [35] The kingdoms of Gwynedd, Powys, Dyfed and Seisyllwg, Morgannwg and Gwent emerged as independent Welsh successor states. [35] Archaeological evidence in the Netherlands and later in England shows that early Anglo-Saxon migration to Britain was reversed between 500 and 550, which is consistent with Frankish chronicles. John Davies notes that this corresponds to a victory of the British Celts at Badon Hill against the Saxons, attributed to Arthur of Nennius.[41] [41] English law is regarded as a common law system, with no major codification of law, and precedents are binding and unconvincing. The judicial system is governed by the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, the country`s highest court of appeal for criminal and civil matters.