In their wild and mountainous country the Welsh long
resisted all attempts to subjugate them. Harold exerted some authority over
Wales, William the Conqueror entered part of it, and Henry II induced the local
rulers to acknowledge him as overlord, but it was Edward I who first brought
all Wales under English sway. Edward fostered the building of towns in his new
possession, divided it into counties or shires, after the system that prevailed
in England, and introduced the Common law. He called his son, Edward II, who
was born in the country, the "Prince of Wales," and this title has
ever since been borne by the heir apparent to the English throne. The work of
uniting Wales to England went on slowly, and two centuries elapsed before Wales
was granted representation in the House of Commons.
SCOTLAND
Scotland derives its name from the Scots, who came over
from Ireland early in the fifth century. The northern Highlands, a nest of
rugged mountains washed by cold and stormy seas, have always been occupied in
historic times by a Celtic-speaking people, whose language, called Gaelic, is
not yet extinct there. This part of Scotland, like Wales, was a home of
freedom. The Romans did not attempt to annex the Highlands, and the Anglo-
Saxons and Danes never penetrated their fastnesses. On the other hand the
southern Lowlands, which include only about one-third of Scotland, were subdued
by the Teutonic invaders, and so this district became thoroughly English in
language and culture.
