It is estimated that in
1500 about 250,000 people lived in Wales.
The vast majority of these people lived in those areas controlled
by the Marcher Lords. This land had originally attracted the Norman
invaders because it was
fairly good for growing wheat, barley and oats.
The land controlled by
the crown, the Principality, was very mountainous, which made arable
farming very difficult. Most farmers in this area therefore concentrated
on pastoral farming (the rearing of livestock). Wales had great difficulty
producing enough food for its needs. It has been estimated that about
50% of the population suffered
from malnutrition. This made them extremely vulnerable to disease.
As a result of this, very few people living in Wales in Tudor times
could expect to live beyond the age of thirty-five.
Infant mortality in Wales
was also very high. It is estimated that about 25% of babies died
at birth and another 25% died before they reached their first birthday.
The poor often received
help from the forty-six monasteries
in Wales. However, the monasteries in Wales were not as prosperous
as those in England. Their total income in 1535 was only £3,178
which was less than that received by just one of the larger monasteries
in England.
During the Reformation
all the monasteries in Wales were closed down by
Henry VIII. Although most of the church
leaders initially disagreed with Henry's decision to break with Rome,
only two members of the Welsh clergy refused to sign an oath accepting
Henry as the head of the church.
Between 1536 and 1543,
the English Parliament passed
a series of laws that became known as the
Acts of Union. The Principality and
the land controlled
by the Marcher Lords were now joined
together to form a united Wales.
Like England, the whole
of Wales was now divided
into shires. The administration of these shires
was based on the shires in England with each
one having its own Justice of the Peace.
Under the terms of the
Act of Union, Wales was granted permission to be represented in
Parliament. In 1542, twenty
seven people in Wales were elected to sit in the House
of Commons. Most of these elections were not contested and the
person sent to the House of Commons was usually selected by a few
wealthy families in the area.
The vast majority of the
population only spoke
Welsh. The decision by Henry VIII in
1536 that all courts of law had to use English
rather than Welsh created a great deal
of anger. Another law passed at this time stated that people could
only be appointed to official posts if they spoke English.
These new laws encouraged
many people to learn English. Although most of the gentry continued
to speak Welsh, most written communication was now in English. However,
the vast majority of priests who could read Welsh and Latin were unable
to read English. This created a problem when the church wanted to
convert the Welsh from Catholicism to Protestantism.
Eventually permission
was given for William
Salisbury to translate the Protestant
Prayer Book into Welsh. This was
followed by a Welsh edition of the Bible.
This action helped to preserve the Welsh
language from extinction.
(1)
Gerald
of Wales, Journey Through Wales
(1188)
The island of Anglesey...
produces far more grain than any other part of Wales. In the Welsh
language it has always been called "Mon Mam Cymru", which
means "Mona the Mother of Wales". When crops have failed
in all other regions, this island, from the richness of its soil and
its abundant produce, has been able to supply all Wales.
(2)
Act of Union (1536)
The people of Wales...
do daily use a speech nothing like the natural mother tongue used
in England... From henceforth no persons that use the Welsh speech
or language shall enjoy any... office or fees within this realm of
England and Wales.
(3)
George Owen, Description of Pembrokeshire
(c. 1550)
The English and Welsh do
not have many dealings with each other... nor do they usually join
together in marriage.
(4)
George
Owen, Description of Pembrokeshire
(c. 1550)
There is a round ball prepared...
so that a man may hold it in his hand... The ball is made of wood
and boiled in tallow to make it slippery and hard to hold... The ball
is called a knappan, and one of the company hurls it into the air...
He that gets the ball hurls it towards the goal... the knappan is
tossed backwards and forwards... It is a strange sight to see a thousand
or fifteen hundred men chasing after the knappan... The gamesters
return home from this play with broken heads, black faces, bruised
bodies and lame legs... Yet they laugh and joke
and tell stories about how they broke their heads... without grudge
or hatred.
(5)
George
Owen, Description of Pembrokeshire
(c. 1550)
The commodity of corn brings
in the most money to this county... The second is cattle... The third
commodity is wool... The sheep are small and the wool coarser than
the English wool... The fourth principal commodity is butter and cheese.
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