Conquest of Wales by Edward I
Although the territories would not be effectively incorporated into the Kingdom of England until the Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542, Edward's conquest marked the end of Welsh independence.
Following a series of invasions beginning shortly after their conquest of England in 1066, the Normans seized much of Wales and established quasi-independent Marcher lordships, owing allegiance to the English crown.
[4] But war with England in 1241 and 1245, followed by a dynastic dispute in the succession to the throne, weakened Gwynedd and allowed Henry III to seize Perfeddwlad (also known as the "Four Cantrefs",[5] the eastern part of the principality).
[7] By the Treaty of Montgomery of 1267, peace was restored and, in return for doing homage to the English king, Llywelyn was recognised as Prince of Wales and his re-conquest of Perfeddwlad was accepted by Henry.
Whereas Henry's ineffectiveness had led to the collapse of royal authority in England during his reign,[11] Edward was a vigorous and forceful ruler and an able military leader.
[18] From Chester the army marched into Gwynedd, camping first at Flint and then Rhuddlan and Deganwy, most likely causing significant damage to the areas it advanced through.
[18] By the Treaty of Aberconwy in November 1277, Llywelyn was left only with the western part of Gwynedd, though he was allowed to retain the title of Prince of Wales.
[19] As a result of both territorial expropriation and the submission of the ruling families, Deheubarth, Powys and mid-Wales became a mixture of directly controlled royal land and pliant English protectorates.
[27] Edward replaced him with William de Valence, Earl of Pembroke who raided in the south as far as Aberystwyth but failed to engage with a Welsh army.
[26] On 6 November, while John Peckham, Archbishop of Canterbury, was conducting peace negotiations, Luke de Tany, Edward's commander in Anglesey, decided to carry out a surprise attack.
Shortly after Tany and his men had crossed over a pontoon bridge they had built to the mainland, they were ambushed by the Welsh and suffered heavy losses at the Battle of Moel-y-don.
[30] Taking advantage of this fortuitous event, Edward raised a new army and boldly marched into Snowdonia in January 1283 and captured Dolwyddelan Castle in the heartland of the Welsh resistance.
[31] Edward divided the territory of the Welsh principalities between himself (that is, retained under direct royal control) and his supporters through feudal grants, which in practice became new Marcher lordships.
[32] Lands retained under direct royal control were organised under the Statute of Rhuddlan of 1284, which declared that they were "annexed and united" to the English crown,[33] although they did not become part of the Kingdom of England.
[40] Edward's main concern following his victory was to ensure the military security of his new territories and the stone castle was to be the primary means for achieving this.
[21] Under the supervision of James of Saint George, Edward's master-builder, a series of imposing castles was built, using a distinctive design and the most advanced defensive features of the day, to form a "ring of stone" around north Wales.
[45] In the 1370s, Owain Lawgoch the last representative in the male line of the ruling house of Gwynedd planned two invasions of Wales with French support.
