The city of Cardiff began to grow rapidly from 1830 due to the Industrial Revolution, as a series of new docks were built to handle the growing South Wales trade in iron and coal, bringing international seafarers into the city.

[4][5] In its early years it was supportive of the Liberal Party and liberal causes, declaring its mission to "deliver the borough from the degrading position of being a mere appanage of the Bute Estate",[4] a reference to Bute family, who controlled much of the city at that time.

[6] In 1868, following the defeat of their local candidate in the general election and taking advantage of a significant reduction in the cost of newspaper production, the Conservative Party decided to launch their own rival paper, the Western Mail, controlled by the Bute trustees and circulating daily.

Faced with growing competition from the Western Mail, Duncan launched a sister paper to the Times, called the South Wales Daily News in 1872.

[4] In 1886, the Times expanded its coverage such that in addition to liberal political issues, it also featured serialised fiction and contributions from poets and bards,[1] including William Abraham, better known by his bardic name "Mabon".