Editing Anglicisation (section)

====Wales====

During the [[Middle Ages]], Wales was gradually conquered by the English. The institutional anglicisation of Wales was finalised with the [[Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542]], which fully incorporated Wales into the [[Kingdom of England]]. This not only institutionally anglicised Wales, but brought about the anglicisation of the [[Welsh culture]] and language. Motives for anglicising Wales included securing [[Protestantism|Protestant]] England against incursions from Catholic powers in [[Continental Europe]] and promoting the power of the Welsh [[House of Tudor|Tudor dynasty]] in the rest of England.<ref name=":0" />

Scholars have argued that [[industrialisation]] prevented Wales from being anglicised to the extent of Ireland and Scotland, as the majority of the Welsh people did not move abroad in search of employment during the early modern era, and thus did not have to learn to speak English. Furthermore, migration patterns created a cultural division of labour, with national migrants tending to work in coalfields or remain in rural villages, while non-national migrants were attracted to coastal towns and cities. This preserved monocultural Welsh communities, ensuring the continued prominence of the Welsh language and customs within them. However, other scholars argue that industrialisation and [[Urbanization|urbanisation]] led to economic decline in rural Wales, and given that the country's large towns and cities were anglicised, this led to an overall anglicisation of the nation.<ref name=":0" />

The [[Elementary Education Act 1870]] and the [[Welsh Intermediate Education Act 1889]] introduced compulsory English-language education into the [[Education in Wales|Welsh educational system]]. English "was perceived as the language of progress, equality, prosperity, mass entertainment and pleasure". This and other administrative reforms resulted in the institutional and cultural dominance of English and marginalisation of Welsh, especially in the more urban [[South Wales|south]] and [[North East Wales|north-east]] of Wales.<ref name=":0" /> In 2022, the Commission for Welsh-speaking Communities warned that the emigration of Anglophones to Welsh-speaking villages and towns was putting the Welsh language at risk.<ref>{{cite web |last=Morris |first=Steven |date=8 November 2022 |title=Second homes and Brexit pushing Welsh language to 'tipping point' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/nov/08/second-homes-and-brexit-pushing-welsh-language-to-tipping-point |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230102201925/https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/nov/08/second-homes-and-brexit-pushing-welsh-language-to-tipping-point |archive-date=2 January 2023 |access-date=19 December 2022 |website=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref>