Preserving

A Brief History

Evidence of human occupation in Brittany date back to at least 5000 BC when megalithic stone art was built.  It was inhabited by Gallic peoples before it was conquered by Julius Caesar in 57 BC and came under Roman control. 

Roman power started to decline and in the 5th Century migration from the southwest British regions, now Cornwall and Devon, came at the request of Rome to secure the territory.  

Brittany became its own country in 851 and would mostly remain so until it became an autonomous region of France in 1532. Although the country did not survive, its language did and the Celtic language Breton has continued into modern day.  

The 17th century brought war and trouble.  Brittany lost is autonomy in 1789 and became a department of France. 

In the 20th Century, there was a movement of cultural reaffirmation and a preservation of Brittany's Celtic heritage. 

Breton spoken from 2004 census

A Brief History

Humans settled in Wales around 9000 BC.  The Celtic people had been pushed from Europe and settled in Wales, among other locations.  The Romans dominated the region by 79 AD and would remain in control of Wales until the 5th century when the Anglo-Saxon's invaded the island, pushing the Romans out.  Wales was a collection of small kingdoms without an official boundary until the 8th century when a wall was built to protect against Welsh attacks.  

Gradually Wales would come under the English crown at the end of the 13th century.  But continued revolt and uprising against English rule would continue until the early 15th Century.  Wales became a part of Great Britain in 1707 and then the United Kingdom in 1801.  

Even as a part of the United Kingdom, the Welsh retained their language and culture.  

In 1997 the Welsh people voted to have more autonomy from Great Britain and the Welsh Assembly was set up in 1999.  

Welsh language spoken from 2011 census