Multimedia Mania/abacus-multimedia-mania.iso/dp/0049/00492.txt

Text File | 1993-07-27 | 10KB | 177 lines

$Unique_ID{bob00492}
$Pretitle{}
$Title{United Kingdom
Wales}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Embassy of the United Kingdom, Washington DC}
$Affiliation{Embassy of the United Kingdom, Washington DC}
$Subject{wales
welsh
areas
england
national
cent
country
per
services
valleys
see
pictures
see
figures
}
$Date{1990}
$Log{See Map of Wales*0049201.scf
}
Title:       United Kingdom
Book:        Britain and its People: An Outline
Author:      Embassy of the United Kingdom, Washington DC
Affiliation: Embassy of the United Kingdom, Washington DC
Date:        1990

Wales

[See Map of Wales: Major conversvation and recreational areas. Courtesy
Embassy of the United Kingdom, New York.]

     Wales is a country of hills and mountains with extensive tracts of high
plateau and shorter stretches of mountain ranges deeply dissected by river
valleys. The highest mountains are in Snowdonia in the north west; the
highest peak is Snowdon (1,085 m, 3,560 ft). The lower-lying ground is
largely confined to the relatively narrow coastal belt and the lower parts of
the river valleys. The main areas of settlement are in the southern valleys
and coastal areas, where two-thirds of the population live. The chief urban
centres are Cardiff, Swansea, Newport and Wrexham. Wales is a principality;
Prince Charles, the heir to the throne, was invested by the Queen with the
title of Prince of Wales at Caernarfon Castle in 1969, when he was 20.

     The country has its own Welsh language, spoken (according to the 1981
census) by 19 per cent of the population, chiefly in the rural north and
west. The Welsh name of the country is Cymru. Measures adopted since the 1960s
have helped to revive the use of the language, which is of Celtic origin and
closely resembles Breton, spoken in Brittany in France. They include
recognising the equal validity of Welsh with English in law courts, the
encouragement of bilingual education in schools, and the extended use of Welsh
for official purposes and in broadcasting. Welsh-language television
programmes are transmitted in Wales by Sianel 4 Cymru (Channel 4 Wales). A
Welsh Language Board was established in 1988 to advise on matters relating
to the Welsh language.

     There is no established church in Wales, the Anglican church having been
disestablished in 1920 following decades of pressure from adherents of the
more evangelical Methodist and Baptist persuasions. Methodism in particular
spread rapidly in Wales in the eighteenth century, assuming the nature of a
popular movement among Welsh speakers and finding strong support later in
industrial communities.

Government

     The country returns 38 Members of Parliament and there are special
arrangements for the discussion of Welsh affairs. For the last 60 years the
industrial communities of Wales have tended to support the Labour Party in
elections, ensuring a Labour majority in Wales. Wales has 25 Labour Members of
Parliament, 7 Conservative, 3 Plaid Cymru (Welsh Nationalist) and 3 Social
and Liberal Democrat. Substantial administrative autonomy is centred on the
Secretary of State for Wales, who is a member of the Cabinet and has
wide-ranging responsibilities relating to the economy, welfare services and
the provision of amenities. The headquarters of the administration is the
Welsh Office in Cardiff, which also has an office in London. In 1979 proposals
for the establishment of an elected Welsh assembly in Cardiff to take over
policymaking and executive powers from central government were rejected in a
referendum held in Wales. Local government is exercised through a system of
elected authorities similar to that in England, and the legal system is
identical with the English one.

The Economy

     The south Wales coalfield was developed during the latter part of the
industrial revolution in the middle of the nineteenth century, creating
populous urban centres which drew labour from the rural areas and from
England and Ireland. However, the economy was narrowly based, mainly on coal,
iron, steel and tinplate, and contracted sharply during the 1920s and 1930s,
resulting in severe employment problems and substantial emigration.

     Notable features of the past three decades have been the continuing
contraction of coalmining and iron and steel production (although Wales still
accounts for about one-third of Britain's steel production), the advent of a
more diverse range of manufacturing industries and the growth of service
industries. Wales is developing as an important centre for electronics in
Britain and several new high-technology businesses in electronics and related
industries have been established. Inward investment by overseas companies
(especially Japanese and United States high-technology concerns) has been
considerable, and there are over 260 overseas-owned or associated firms in
Wales, employing about 51,000 people and accounting for around one in five
jobs in the manufacturing sector. In 1988, for example, Ford Motor of the
United States announced investment of over 600 million Pounds to expand its
engine plant at Bridgend, Mid Glamorgan, which is expected to create up to
4,000 jobs. The financial and business services sector is expanding rapidly,
as companies such as Rothschild's, the Trustee Savings Bank and the National
Provident Institution have relocated major parts of their operation in Wales,
providing support for industrial development.

     South Wales remains the principal industrial area, but new industries and
firms have been introduced in north-east Wales, around Wrexham and Deeside,
and light industry has also been attracted to the towns in the rural areas in
mid-and north Wales. An important refinery complex has developed around
Milford Haven, one of Britain's major oil ports. A development corporation was
set up in 1987 to stimulate the regeneration of the Cardiff Bay area, and in
1988 the Government announced a programme designed to improve economic,
environmental and social conditions in the south Wales valleys. Regional aid
in the valleys since the programme began has covered projects involving 7,500
new jobs and private investment of about 180 million Pounds. The Welsh
Development Agency is investing about 66 million Pounds in factory building,
and it is expected that a total of 1,100 hectares (2,800 acres) of derelict
land in the valleys will be cleared. More than 1,000 companies based in
Wales have made use of business reviews and consultants' advisory services
under the Government's Enterprise Wales initiative, launched in 1988.

     Agriculture occupies about 80 per cent of the land area, the main
activities being sheep and cattle rearing in the hill regions and dairy
farming in the lowlands. Wales accounts for about 11 per cent of forest
area in Britain and over 20 per cent of Forestry Commission timber production.

     Wales produces about 6 per cent of Britain's deep-mined coal and 10 per
cent of opencast production, including all of its anthracite. The biggest
pumped-storage power station in Europe is at Dinorwig, while there are
nuclear power stations at Wylfa and Trawsfynydd. Wales exports about half of
its water supply to England.

     Good communications exist in the south, with motorway links across the
Severn Bridge to southern England and the Midlands, and high-speed rail
services to a number of destinations in England. The main road along the
north Wales coast is being upgraded and a second crossing of the Severn is
planned. Transatlantic flights to New York from Cardiff-Wales airport were
introduced in 1989.

     There has been expansion in the tourist and catering trades and in
some areas of public administration. With its coastal resorts, and three
national parks (Snowdonia, the Brecon Beacons and the Pembrokeshire Coast),
as well as other areas of picturesque hill, lake and mountain country, Wales
attracts many tourists, especially for outdoor holidays.

Cultural and Social Life

     There is much literary, musical and dramatic activity in Wales and there
is a National Library and National Museum. Welsh literature is one of the
oldest in Europe. The country is well known for its choral singing and the
Welsh National Opera has an international reputation. The special festivals of
Wales, known as eisteddfodau, encourage Welsh literature and music. The
largest is the Royal National Eisteddfod of Wales, held annually, entirely in
Welsh, and consisting of competitions in music, singing, prose and poetry. The
town of Llangollen has extended its eisteddfod to include artists from all
over the world in the annual International Musical Eisteddfod. Famous modern
Welsh artists have included the opera singers Sir Geraint Evans and Dame
Gwyneth Jones and the poet Dylan Thomas. An active local press includes a
number of Welsh language publications. Great interest is aroused by the annual
rugby football competition in which sides from Wales, England, Scotland,
Ireland and France take part.

     Health services are provided mainly under the National Health Service,
administered by the Welsh Office, while personal social services and education
(except at university level) are provided mainly through the local
authorities. Educational provision is similar to that in England, except for
the use of Welsh in some schools, particularly in the Welsh-speaking, largely
rural, areas. The collegiate University of Wales, founded in 1893, comprises
six member institutions.