Welsh people

The Welsh ( Cymry Welsh, English or Welsh Welsh people) are a nation of about 6 million people, most of whom live in Wales, one of the countries of the United Kingdom, in the British Isles.

History and Identity

The Welsh were known already during the Roman era as Britons ( British ). The Welsh are in addition to the Manx, Cornish and Breton the counted among the Celtic nations.

Language

At least since the 4th century is their original language, Welsh, a Britannic, island Celtic language was spoken in what is now proven Wales. In Wales, but today, as throughout the UK, especially English common. The Welsh still dominate today approximately 750,000 people in Wales, ie about 25 % of the Welsh population, and another 30 % reported in the 2001 census, to understand the language, at least, that passively to dominate, according to these criteria that is more than 1.5 million in contrast to Irish Gaelic in Ireland and the Scottish Gaelic in Scotland is the Welsh in Wales, also by nationalist movements in the second half of the 20th century ( Plaid Cymru ), has been heavily promoted and therefore especially among the young is more widespread than the corresponding Celtic languages ​​in the other nations of the British Isles. Therefore, in the small country areas, V.A. on the West Coast, where Welsh first and active spoken language of about half the population, unlike in Ireland (only a few Gaeltacht regions and about 60 000 native speakers (about 600,000 total ) ) and certainly in Scotland (only 60,000 speakers (total), especially in the Outer Hebrides, and no other form of assistance, such as in Wales and Ireland).

Religion

Like the entire Kingdom has been influenced and Christianized in the early Middle Ages, primarily from the church also iroschottischen Wales.

During the Reformation in England was also Wales, recently united with England law ( Act of Union 1536), converted to Protestantism. The Anglican Church in Wales ( state church until 1920 ), a daughter church of the Church of England, Catholic, or Calvinist Presbyterian Church of Wales today belong to the most Welsh. Historically, Wales was also a strong Methodist tradition.

Demographics and Diaspora

In 1801, there were about 580 000 people in Wales. This doubled during industrialization until 1851 to over 1.1 million, and again to 1911 to 2.4 million today live in Wales about 3 million people. In addition, in England gave 0.6 million, the U.S., approximately 2 million in Canada approximately 0.45 million and 0.073 million people in Argentina to be of Welsh descent.

In addition to the Welsh are now living but also - as in the other parts of the UK - many immigrants, especially from the Commonwealth countries of Africa, the Caribbean and South Asians, but more recently from the new EU member countries of Central and Eastern Europe, especially from Poland, in Wales.