Economic history of Wales

Last updated

The development of the Welsh economy since the 18th century has largely been concentrated on the mining industry during the Industrial revolution in Wales, with the economy largely dependent on agriculture in centuries prior. The Welsh slate industry once was the world's largest, and Wales' significant coalfields led to the industry transforming many parts of Wales. Wales experienced de-industrialisation in the late 20th century, becoming more of a service economy to the present day.

Contents

18th century

Until the mid 18th century, economic development in Wales was restricted by its peripheral location, predominantly upland topography, bad communications and sparse population. [1] Commerce was most advanced in the small coastal ports that had regular commerce with Bristol or Liverpool; the other major sources of external trading contact were the drovers, who drove cattle from Mid Wales along Drovers roads for sale and slaughter in the English Midlands and London's Smithfield Market from the 14th century onwards. The drovers were instrumental in establishing the first banks in Wales, such as Banc Y Ddafad Ddu ("Black Sheep Bank") in Aberystwyth. [1]

Llwynypia during the early to mid 1910s, Rhondda, Wales. Llwynyia 1910.jpg
Llwynypia during the early to mid 1910s, Rhondda, Wales.

Industrial development from the mid 18th century was stimulated by the potential of Wales' rich mineral deposits, the arrival of English entrepreneurs and financiers and advances in technology. The development of iron smelting by coke made the South Wales Valleys a natural industrial location during the Industrial Revolution and, from the mid 18th century, increased demand for metals and coal was generated first by war and later by the advent of steamships and railways. [1]

The northern rim of the South Wales Coalfield, focused on Merthyr, became Britain's foremost iron-producing district in the second half of the 18th century, while the south-western part of the coalfield, around Swansea, emerged as an important centre of non-ferrous metal smelting and tinplate production. Metallurgical industries required ever increasing quantities of coal, which was initially largely mined for this purpose. However, coal mining for sale developed in earnest from the mid 19th century and this was to become the signature industry of the region, transforming the economic and social landscape of the South Wales Valleys. [1]

19th century

Although a much smaller industry than coal, the slate industry in Wales became the world's largest supplier in the 19th century and had an enduring impact on the landscape of North Wales. [2] At its height in the 1890s, there were dozens of quarries employing around 15,000 men, although they suffered from the boom and bust nature of the construction industry. [2] As most of the workforce were drawn from rural, Welsh-speaking communities, slate quarrying was described by one historian as "the most Welsh of Welsh industries". [2]

20th century

Quarrymen working at the Dinorwic Quarry in about 1910 Chwareli-RZ.jpg
Quarrymen working at the Dinorwic Quarry in about 1910

Despite explosive growth in the early 1900s, by the 1920s it was apparent that Wales was facing economic difficulties, largely because of its reliance on older heavy industry rather the newer, growing light industry sectors that were becoming established in the more prosperous parts of England. [3] Even during a boom period at the start of the 20th century, Wales had a narrow economic base dependent on the labour intensive exploitation of natural resources. The Welsh export economy collapsed during the inter-war recession, a victim of increasing protectionism and the rise of new competitors overseas. As global terms of trade changed, unemployment in the South Wales Valleys soared to unprecedented levels during the early 1930s (up to 59% in Merthyr and 76% in Pontypridd), despite the exodus of 400,000 people from the region between 1921 and 1939. [4]

In the post-war era, the steel and tinplate industries consolidated on a smaller number of larger sites, such as the new works at Port Talbot and Llanwern. [5] The National Coal Board, created in 1947, tried to modernise the Welsh coal industry but the number of pits in South Wales shrank from 115 in 1953, producing almost 21 million tons, to 34 in 1981, producing 7.7 million tons. [5] Pembrokeshire and Swansea Bay became centres of the petrochemical industry and new light industry was attracted to locations throughout Wales. [5] Wales attracted an above average share of the foreign direct investment (FDI) into the UK from the 1970s onwards but many of the new plants established by foreign firms were essentially "branch factory" operations offering low-wage, low-skill employment opportunities. [6] [7] In 1971 Sir Julian Hodge founded the Commercial Bank of Wales (later renamed Bank of Wales) but the company was later taken over by HBOS and the brand dropped in 2002.

In the post-war decades there was a shift towards service sector employment, which accounted for 60% of jobs by the 1980s, many of them held by women. [5] The concentration of official agencies in Cardiff increased the amount of bureaucratic public sector employment: Government regional policy brought various national bodies to Wales: the Royal Mint moved to Llantrisant, Companies House to Cardiff and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Centre to Swansea. [5] From the 1970s on, the steel industry contracted, with works at Ebbw Vale, Shotton and East Moors in Cardiff closing and layoffs elsewhere. The early 1980s recession had a bigger impact in Wales than in other parts of the UK: between 1979 and 1982, Wales lost 130,000 jobs [5] and the employment rate fell to 62%. [8] Recovery started later in Wales, and structural changes left a legacy of high unemployment amongst older men, especially in the Valleys. [8]

21st century

Video of Welsh Government COVID-19 press conference in which the Economy Minister Ken Skates, announces that HMRC refused to share their data with the Welsh Government. [9]

Wales lags well behind the financial city of London, but according to the World Bank, in 2019 Wales' GDP /capita was better than 127 other nations. [10] Over the long term, output and productivity growth in Wales has been broadly in line with the UK and the developed world as a whole. What has marked Wales out is a low activity rate compared to other parts of the UK. [11]

Indicators

Gross Value Added (GVA) [12]
Year£ million£ per headIndex of £ per head (UK=100)
198919,4456,81085
199020,9907,33584
199121,7247,56183
199222,6597,87483
199323,6978,21883
199425,0498,67583
199526,3889,13584
199627,5189,51782
199728,6729,90480
199829,78710,27379
199930,73610,59677
200031,89810,97377
200133,52511,52077
200235,25212,07477
200337,26212,71276
200439,34013,35276
200540,71113,78476
200642,69714,39675
200744,26314,85374
200845,61015,23774
201865,08920,81570

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aberdare</span> Human settlement in Wales

Aberdare is a town in the Cynon Valley area of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, at the confluence of the Rivers Dare (Dâr) and Cynon. Aberdare has a population of 39,550. Aberdare is 4 miles (6 km) south-west of Merthyr Tydfil, 20 miles (32 km) north-west of Cardiff and 22 miles (35 km) east-north-east of Swansea. During the 19th century it became a thriving industrial settlement, which was also notable for the vitality of its cultural life and as an important publishing centre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glamorgan</span> Historic county of Wales

Until 1974, Glamorgan, or sometimes Glamorganshire, was an administrative county in the south of Wales, and later classed as one of the thirteen historic counties of Wales. Originally an early medieval petty kingdom of varying boundaries known in Welsh as Morgannwg, which was then invaded and taken over by the Normans as the Lordship of Glamorgan. The area that became known as Glamorgan was both a rural, pastoral area, and a conflict point between the Norman lords and the Welsh princes. It was defined by a large concentration of castles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pontypool</span> Human settlement in Wales

Pontypool is a town and the administrative centre of the county borough of Torfaen, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire in South Wales. As of 2021, it has a population of 29,062.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glanamman</span> Village in Carmarthenshire, Wales

Glanamman is a mining village in the valley of the River Amman in Carmarthenshire, Wales. Glanamman has long been a stronghold of the Welsh language; village life is largely conducted in Welsh. Like the neighbouring village of Garnant it experienced a coal-mining boom in the 19th and early 20th centuries, but the last big colliery closed in 1947 and coal has been extracted fitfully since then.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gorseinon</span> Human settlement in Wales

Gorseinon is a town within the City and County of Swansea, Wales, near the Loughor estuary. It was a small village until the late 19th century when it grew around the coal mining and tinplate industries. It is situated in the north west of Swansea City Centre, around 6 miles (10 km) north west of the city centre. Gorseinon is a local government community with an elected town council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Wales</span> Region of Wales

South Wales is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards to include Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire. In the western extent, from Swansea westwards, local people would probably recognise that they lived in both south Wales and west Wales. The Brecon Beacons National Park covers about a third of south Wales, containing Pen y Fan, the highest British mountain south of Cadair Idris in Snowdonia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geography of Wales</span>

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and whose physical geography is characterised by a varied coastline and a largely upland interior. It is bordered by England to its east, the Irish Sea to its north and west, and the Bristol Channel to its south. It has a total area of 2,064,100 hectares and is about 170 mi (274 km) from north to south and at least 60 mi (97 km) wide. It comprises 8.35 percent of the land of the United Kingdom. It has a number of offshore islands, by far the largest of which is Anglesey. The mainland coastline, including Anglesey, is about 1,680 mi (2,704 km) in length. As of 2014, Wales had a population of about 3,092,000; Cardiff is the capital and largest city and is situated in the urbanised area of South East Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Wales Valleys</span> Group of industrialised peri-urban valleys in South Wales

The South Wales Valleys are a group of industrialised peri-urban valleys in South Wales. Most of the valleys run north–south, roughly parallel to each other. Commonly referred to as "The Valleys", they stretch from Carmarthenshire in the west to Monmouthshire in the east; to the edge of the pastoral country of the Vale of Glamorgan and the coastal plain near the cities of Swansea, Cardiff, and Newport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rhondda</span> Urban area and district in South Wales

Rhondda, or the Rhondda Valley, is a former coalmining area in South Wales, historically in the county of Glamorgan. It takes its name from the River Rhondda, and embraces two valleys – the larger Rhondda Fawr valley and the smaller Rhondda Fach valley – so that the singular "Rhondda Valley" and the plural are both commonly used. The area forms part of the South Wales Valleys. From 1897 until 1996 there was a local government district of Rhondda. The former district at its abolition comprised sixteen communities. Since 1996 these sixteen communities of the Rhondda have been part of Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough. The area of the former district is still used as the Rhondda Senedd constituency and Westminster constituency, having an estimated population in 2020 of 69,506. It is most noted for its historical coalmining industry, which peaked between 1840 and 1925. The valleys produced a strong Nonconformist movement manifest in the Baptist chapels that moulded Rhondda values in the 19th and early 20th centuries. It is also known for its male voice choirs and in sport and politics.

The history of Swansea covers a period of continuous occupation stretching back a thousand years, while there is archaeological evidence of prehistoric human occupation of the surrounding area for thousands of years before that.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Economy of Wales</span>

The economy of Wales is part of the wider economy of the United Kingdom, and encompasses the production and consumption of goods, services and the supply of money in Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Wales Coalfield</span> Region of Wales rich in coal deposits

The South Wales Coalfield extends across Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire, Swansea, Neath Port Talbot, Bridgend, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Merthyr Tydfil, Caerphilly, Blaenau Gwent and Torfaen. It is rich in coal deposits, especially in the South Wales Valleys.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cwmdare</span> Human settlement in Wales

Cwmdare is a village very close to Aberdare, in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. The village's history is intertwined with coal-mining, and since the decline of the industry in the 1980s, it has become primarily a commuter base for the larger surrounding towns of Aberdare and Merthyr Tydfil and Pontypridd, as well as the cities of Cardiff and Swansea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tourism in Wales</span>

Tourism in Wales makes up a significant portion of the Welsh economy and attracting millions of visitors each year. The tourism industry in Wales was worth around £5bn in 2017. The tourism industry also makes a significant contribution to the Welsh economy, supporting over 100,000 jobs and more than 8% of the Welsh workforce. Wales attracts visitors from overseas, particularly from the United States, Australia, Germany and the Republic of Ireland.

The Lower Swansea valley is the lower half of the valley of the River Tawe in south Wales. It runs from approximately the level of Clydach down to Swansea docks, where it opens into Swansea Bay and the Bristol Channel. This relatively small area was a focus of industrial innovation and invention during the Industrial Revolution, leading to a transformation of the landscape and a rapid rise in the population and economy of Swansea.

The City and County of Swansea is an urban centre with a largely rural hinterland in Gower; the city has been described as the regional centre for South West Wales. Swansea's travel to work area, not coterminous with the local authority, also contained the Swansea Valley in 1991; the new 2001-based version merges the Swansea, Neath & Port Talbot, and Llanelli areas into a new Swansea Bay travel to work area. Formerly an industrial centre, most employment in the city is now in the service sector.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mining in Wales</span> Overview of the mining industry in Wales

Mining in Wales provided a significant source of income to the economy of Wales throughout the nineteenth century and early to mid twentieth century. It was key to the Industrial Revolution in Wales, and to the whole of Great Britain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coal industry in Wales</span>

The coal industry in Wales played an important role in the Industrial Revolution in Wales. Coal mining in Wales expanded in the 18th century to provide fuel for the blast furnaces of the iron and copper industries that were expanding in southern Wales. The industry had reached large proportions by the end of that century, and then further expanded to supply steam-coal for the steam vessels that were beginning to trade around the world. The Cardiff Coal Exchange set the world price for steam-coal and Cardiff became a major coal-exporting port. The South Wales Coalfield was at its peak in 1913 and was one of the largest coalfields in the world. It remained the largest coalfield in Britain until 1925. The supply of coal dwindled, and pits closed in spite of a UK-wide strike against closures. Aberpergwm Colliery is the last deep mine in Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Industrial Revolution in Wales</span> Aspect of Welsh industrial history

The Industrial Revolution in Wales was the adoption and developments of new technologies in Wales in the 18th and 19th centuries as part of the Industrial Revolution, resulting in increases in the scale of industry in Wales.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Falkus, M. and Gillingham, J., eds (1987) Historical Atlas of Britain. London: Kingfisher.
  2. 1 2 3 The Welsh Academy Encyclopedia of Wales. Cardiff: University of Wales Press 2008.
  3. Elwyn Jones, G. The Role of Education in National Identity and Economic Development in Wales since 1800. Background paper.
  4. Day, G. (2002) Making Sense of Wales. A Sociological Perspective. Cardiff: University of Wales Press.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Jenkins, P. (1992) A History of Modern Wales, 1536–1990. Harlow: Longman.
  6. "The Welsh Economy". Cardiff Business School. Archived from the original on 12 March 2010. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
  7. Morgan, Kenneth O. (2002) Rebirth of a Nation: A History of Modern Wales. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  8. 1 2 Department for Work and Pensions / Welsh Assembly Government (2007) Wales: Towards Full Employment.
  9. Nuttall, Andrew (20 October 2020). "UK Government repeatedly "turning down" First Minister's solutions for job support". Gannett Company. Newsquest Media Group Ltd. The Leader. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  10. "PPP (current international $)". data.worldbank.org. World Bank. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  11. "Economic Futures for Wales" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-08-12. Retrieved 2022-05-07.
  12. "Beyond 20/20 WDS – Table view". statswales.wales.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 7 May 2022.