Wales

Wales ... is one of the four constituent nations of the United Kingdom. Wales is located in the south-west of Great Britain and is bordered by the English counties of Cheshire, Shropshire, Herefordshire, and Gloucestershire to the east, the Bristol Channel (Môr Hafren) to the south, St George's Channel (Sianel San Siôr) to the south-west, and the Irish Sea (Môr Iwerddon) to the west and north, and also by the estuary of the River Dee (Afon Dyfrdwy) in the north-east. / Welsh monastic asceticism, a highly evolved secular legal system (Cyfraith Hywel), and a distinctive literary tradition illustrate a strong sense of cultural identity, which emerged among the Welsh after the Roman withdrawal from Britain in the 5th century. Of the principal polities, Gwynedd retained independence until the late 13th century, when it too was conquered by England. However, formal annexation and abolishment of Welsh law did not take place until the 16th century. Wales (with all regions united under one government) has never been a sovereign state, although a number of rival principalities remained independent until English conquest. From the 19th Century much of Wales became heavily industrialised, supplying the British Empire and its colonies vast quantities of coal and steel. The service sector has only recently overtaken manufacturing as the primary economic industry in the Welsh economy. Despite lower GDP then other regions of Britain, the gap in real living standards across the whole of Wales, compared to other parts of Britain, is not as pronounced. From the 20th Century a revival in Welsh national consciousness (together with a reversal in the decline of the Welsh language) has taken place. Cardiff (Caerdydd) was established as the capital of Wales in 1955, with the Welsh Office centered here in 1964. The National Assembly for Wales (Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru), meeting in the Senedd, was formed in 1999, with powers to amend primary legislation from U.K. Parliament. These powers were further widened through the Government of Wales Act 2006. A Welsh Government, similar to the Scottish Executive, will be separated from the Welsh Assembly.