The importance of firm foundations

I don't at all dissent from the general thrust of this opinion piece, but I hesitate at the writer's assertion that '... our country’s borders are well defined'. Why? Because I live just about a mile west of one mute but still very well-defined demarcation of where, long ago, a ruler who back then had the power to do so reckoned the boundary between the Welsh and the English should be drawn: and that's Clawdd Offa. However, as a consequence of the changes and chances which happened in subsequent centuries, the contemporary border between England and Wales now in a number of places lies quite a long way eastward of the Dyke, incorporating into Wales considerable areas which king Offa and his thanes evidently once considered part of his kingdom of Mercia. That Wales exists as a discrete cultural and administrative entity is beyond doubt, and the seas sharply define Wales's limit to north, west and south. But to the east, exactly where Wales stops and England begins has always been a matter of debate, and will surely continue to be so. Especially, I suspect, if moves to develop Welsh autonomy even more distinctly were to progress.

Was the conquest in 1283 legal military action, or was it an illegal invasion?

Some really good points Evan. I raised the Cardiff-Bristol Air Passenger Duty disparity a few years back, and the response from Tories was that we are not separate jurisdictions but, in this instance at least, merely EnglandandWales (and we all know who benefits from that arrangement). I have long thought that rather than our schoolchildren being drilled in the ways of the Nazis or told another yarn about some moribund Plantagenet King, they should be asked to construct a Welsh Constitution, for their and our mutual benefit. I recently reread this and thought that it could be a good starter for people to build upon: 022021-Wales-constitution.pdf (iwa.wales)

Why is it that the writer of this article doubts Wales right to call itself a country where in the same breath doesn't apply the same argument to England, Scotland & Northern Ireland who also don't conduct their own foreign policy too , or even have their own official government in England, well not in name anyway, although we all know they do. It's called Westminster. Yes, Wales was officially invaded in 1283 by the Anglo Norman invasion under Edward 1st, but in reality the rot started when the Saxons entered our island the 380s. Our border is an artificial construct defined by the Germanic Saxons who later became the English in 927AD when the Angles, Saxons, Jutes & Frisians unified under one king. And less we forget. Welsh territory was much larger once , the size of England & Southern Central Scotland in fact. And yes those territories & kingdoms were separate entities , often waring among themselves , but those kingdoms spoke the same language, worshiped the same deities and regarded themselves as the same people and why those referred to themselves as Cymry, as seen with Cymru, Cumbria, Cumberland, Cumknock... All names mentioned above are of Welsh origin, in some cases have been corrupted, as seen in Gloucester where the English added the word Cester (Latin for fort) replacing the original Welsh "Caer" as in Caer Gloui, Caer (Fortress) Gloui (Shining/Bright) likely denoting a Fort where a forge was located. History is often recorded by the invader not the victim. England was our land once hence the term Lloegr denoting Lost Lands. And Hen Ogledd meaning old North that encompassed Northern England & Southern/Central Scotland were inhabited by tribes who were Brythonic speaking such as Rhedeg, Elmet, Allt Clut, Y Gododdin recorded by Welsh scribes as if left to the English would have been erased from time. As highlighted. Those lost Welsh kingdoms in England were erased from the history books but the linguistic & physical evidence evidence of those Cymry people still remain in their place names & standing stones throughout England such as Avon , Kent, Torquay, London, Wigan, Gloucester, Devon etc... Today we see Ukraine annexed by Russia and those nations like England & America who themselves have invaded and destroyed native peoples land should know all too well what process that entails. I don't like to be called Welsh or my country Wales because unlike most who don't have clue or care that they are slighted with the name foreigner when we are the true native Britons and those who slighted us are the real foreigners. Our true name is Cymry and our country called Cymru. I am not a stranger or foreigner in my own land. The name Cymru was recorded by the Romans and latinised as Cambria. It is also part of the geological periodical chart along with other native Cymry tribal names such as the Silures, Ordovices & Devonian. Never forget your history as others will write it for you, or in our case, write us out of it.

It's good to see an article laying out some of the potential benefits of independence. No one says independence would be easy but control of our destiny would be completely in our own hands. The Senedd has achieved many progressive aims - free school meals for primary school children is just one area. Imagine how we could move our country forward with full, unrestricted power. I am looking forward to the day when independence is a reality and we can finally address major issues, such as our chronic child poverty levels and the injustice of the Crown Estates.

The fact that Wales is a Country in its own right was officially recognized by the influential United Nations “International Organisation for Standardisation” in December 2011. That fact should be good enough for any doubters.

1.There is a thin line between defining a country as 'a distinct people' and racism. Perhaps the author can comment on how he distinguishes the two. 2.It is interesting how much of this article is spent discussing child benefit. Independence would indeed give us the ability to increase welfare spending, but it would also remove the ability to expect the English tax-payer to contribute to our welfare spending. 3.Can the author please explain his assertion that APD is higher in Cardiff than Bristol? My understanding is that they are the same and the Welsh Government has argued for this to be devolved in order to give Cardiff an unfair advantage. Cardiff airport's biggest problem is not APD but the fact that it is owned by an organisation that is ideologically opposed to fossil fuels, i.e. the Welsh Government.

Wales was conquered in 1282? Did someone tell the Tudors?! Cause surely they wouldn't have needed to annex it had Wales been conquered!!! They would have already inherited it on their ascendancy to the English throne.

Massive plot hole in the - England conquered Wales Narrative. Had they done so, wouldn't Wales have already belonged to England on the ascendancy of the Tudors?!, if it had, annexation would be pointless. So what happened between 1282 and 1536 that would force the Tudors to have to annex it? Any takers? If you were to say Owain Glyndwr, we'll done!!!!

As a fellow LLB. (Hons.) graduate, I'm sure M'Learned Friend is awarte that the so-called 'Acts of Union' 1535-1542 have been repealed. See, Schedule 2 of the Welsh Language Act 1993. This means then that we are no longer in 'union' with England. The provision for any legislation referencing England to automatically include Wales was repealed much earlier - in 1967 in fact, under the first Welsh Language Act.

Harri 8fed decided annexation was necessary because he wanted to unify his kingdom under the same laws. Prior to that there had been a mismash of Welsh Law and English Law being applied in different cases. It was about him consolidating power. Not sure what Glyndwr has to do with the acts of union which came a great deal later. There are some getting hot under the collar about our history (and getting details wrong). There's this narrative that the nasty English did this to us all. Well, genetics show us that the English are for the most part descended from Britons. Linguists tell us that just as Brythonic came to these shores and became the lingua franca, so did English - not by out and out conquest but by natives assimilating the newcomers. The old Britons in Lloegr became first bilingual and then English. Throw the Scandinavians and the Normans into that mix and you have the makings of that cultural artefact we call the English Nation. We out west retained our language and traditions and took on our own path to being Y Cymry. Now, while all this was emerging, our leaders and English leaders were interacting in all sorts of ways, from hostilities to pacts. But there was never really a threat of invasion untill the Normans showed up. They carved up our southern lands and our border with England. Their successors, the French Plantagenets were the ones who finally did for us under the brutal reign of Edouard. That world was a feudal world, centered around the military and political domination of France. This is why later, Glyndwr looked to France for support. He was let down by the politics of his age. Of course, this is important for us to understand how we got to be where we are but it's no cause to go pointing our fingers at "the nasty English". I'm sure someone will point out the bigotry that has come our way from some English folk. Yes, some of them are bigoted anglo-supremacists and others are lesser cultural chavinists. But they are the minority and there are plenty of bigoted and superior feeling Cymry about too so lets treat those people with the dignified patience they require to be educated out of their ignorance. The fact is that our nationhood, which is an incontavertable fact, is a cultural construct of people who are members of the community of Cymry. It is up to us whether or not that lives or dies. It only lives by our active participation in its culture and traditions. I will say plainly that those who wish to pursue blood and soil nationalism and narratives about our history spun to support that world view, do our nationhood more harm than good. There is one specific modern relevance wrt the Plantagenet conquest of Wales and the Tudor annexation. It is that there has never been an explicit specific popular mandate for Wales to be part of the Kingdom of England and Wales and therefore the UK. There is presumed consent insofar as we have always returned majorities for Unionist parties since the franchise was given to working men in the nineteenth century. However, since there was no treaty between our leaders and England's, the acts of union do not have our explicit consent. Which means that Wales does not need a referendum to establish our own State. We would need a clear democratic mandate which could come at a Senedd or GE. As soon as there is a clear majority for a Welsh State, we legally only need to establish a constitutional convention and our MS's & MP's can vote to leave the UK. All we need to establish is that it is the democratic will of the majority. Which is why a referendum is a bit more clear cut and leaves less room for it to be contested so it remains the easier route ... but if they refuse we have an alternative. Bear in mind, we would need international support to do this. Best way to get that is to win our electorate over and demonstrate the support in a way that is recognised as a democratic mandate. So there we are. A bit of history and its contemporary political relevance. Shall we crack on with the task in hand? Personally, I'd like to continue on friendly terms with England once we achieve our Statehood - half my family are English. That is the pluralistic nature of modern Britain.

Storm in a teacup. Does anyone believe that increased devolution or a referendum on independence will ever happen in the forseeable future? I don't. The Westminster Government which thought of going that way would be destroyed in a UK election - and the amount of Welsh seats are so few it would not matter. The SNP has shown the problem...

Yes we need foundations. We don't have them. So ET is right: we need to build them. How? Work towards a Constitutional Convention. Got a draft Nia James? Lets go!