Wales
Wales names 4 different subjects across the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf. Each is set out below.
Wales an administrative division occupying
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
an administrative division occupying, with England and Scotland, the island of Great Britain . Geographically, Wales comprises a peninsula lying between the Bristol Channel and the Irish Sea. It is about one hundred thirty-five miles long and from thirty-five to ninety-five miles wide. Area, 7,446 square miles, smaller than Massachusetts. The surface is mountainous. Mount Snowdon, the highest peak, attains a height of 3,571 feet. The scenery of Wales, both vale and mountain, is celebrated for beauty. Travelers even assert that Welsh scenery is the most beautiful in the world. The region is rich in mines of coal, iron, and copper. The copper works at Swansea are second only to those of Butte, Montana, in importance. The climate is moist. About thirty-five inches of rainfall may be expected yearly. Rainy harvests are the rule. For this reason, the broad valleys are suited to pasturage rather than to the raising of grain. The most characteristic manufacture is that of woolen cloth. Cardiff is the leading seaport. The Welsh are called a Celtic people. When hordes of Saxons invaded Great Britain, the ancient Britons were absorbed or were forced back, fighting as they went, into the Highlands of Scotland, into Cornwall, and into the mountains of Wales for refuge. The Welsh are modern representatives of these Celts. It is believed, however, that the original people of Wales were Iberians, and that the Celts were absorbed by them. The early history of Wales is a long record of fights between petty chieftains. The country was more or less united from the ninth century onward, and preserved its independence until it was subjugated finally by England in the reign of Edward I. He gave his son the title of Prince of Wales , a title since borne by the eldest son of the British sovereign. Since the Welsh conquest in 1284 Wales has been regarded as a part of England. The Welsh cling tenaciously, however, to their national dress, customs, and speech. Of a total population of 1,455,930 in 1901, there were 280,905 persons above three years of age who spoke the Welsh language only. It is difficult for English-speaking people to spell or to pronounce the Welsh language. It is related to the Gaelic of Scotland and the Erse of Ireland, but more closely resembles the speech of the Cornishmen and the inhabitants of Brittany, France. A considerable literature exists in the Welsh language. It is noted for brilliant coloring and imagination. A number of Welsh newspapers and periodicals are published in the United States . The Methodist and Presbyterian denominations are strong among the Welsh. The people are noted for hospitality. See England ; United Kingdom
Wales a principality in the S
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
a principality in the S. W. of the island of Great Britain, which since Edward I. gives the title of Prince of Wales to the heir-apparent of the British crown; area, 7,466 square miles; pop. about 2,100,000. It is divided into 12 counties. As a whole it is very mountainous, particularly in the N., where Snowdon, the culminating point of south Britain, rises to the height of 3,571 feet; and it is intersected by beautiful valleys, traversed by numerous streams, including among others the large river Severn. It is rich in minerals, particularly coal, iron, copper, and even gold, and to these Wales owes its chief wealth. The coal trade is most extensive, and Cardiff is the largest coal port in the world. In 1915 almost 40,000,000 tons of coal were produced in Wales. Iron, steel, and copper works are also on a large scale. Besides the mineral industries, there are considerable woolen manufactures, especially of flannel, coarse
Wales PRINCE OF cloth
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
PRINCE OF cloth, and hosiery. The Welsh have many strange customs and peculiar superstitions. They are remarkably fond of poetry and music, and their language is said to be peculiarly adapted to poetical effusions. Their ancient language is, however, falling fast into disuse throughout the principality, more especially the S. part. Family distinction is held in great estimation. The aboriginal Celtic race still inhabits some parts of the country. Llewellyn ap Gryffydd was the last prince who exerted himself for the independence of Wales. In 1282 he was subdued by Edward I., and fell on the field of battle. From that time, Wales has been annexed to the English crown; but the union was not complete till the reign of Henry VIII., when the government and laws were assimilated with those of England. See ENGLAND: GREAT BRITAIN.
Wales PRINCE OF, the title applied to the eldest son
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
PRINCE OF, the title applied to the eldest son of the English sovereign since the time of Edward I. The holder of the title in 1921 was Prince Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David, oldest son of George V. He became Prince of Wales upon reaching his majority in 1910.
What Has Changed in the Last Century
Collier's called Cardiff "the largest coal port in the world" and recorded almost 40,000,000 tons mined in 1915; Welsh coal collapsed through the twentieth century, the 1984-85 miners' strike broke the industry's back, and the last deep pit, Tower Colliery in the Cynon Valley, closed in 2008. Politically the picture Aiton's gives in 1910 — Wales "regarded as a part of England" since 1284 — has been undone: Cardiff was named the capital in 1955, and a referendum in 1997 created a devolved assembly, now the Senedd, which sat from 1999 and makes law in areas such as health and education. The Welsh language, which Collier's said was "falling fast into disuse," was given official status in Wales in 2011; the 2021 census counted about 538,000 speakers out of a population of roughly 3.1 million, though monoglot Welsh speakers, 280,905 of them in 1901, have effectively vanished. The Prince of Wales named in 1921 became Edward VIII and abdicated in 1936; the mountain the entries call Snowdon is now officially known by its Welsh name, Yr Wyddfa, within Eryri National Park.
Written for this edition, 2026.