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the most widely known feature of Wales during the Roman era, because of
the spirited, but ultimately unsuccessful, defence of their homelands by two
native tribes: the Silures [sılj ri:z] сілури (найстародавніше населення
Уельса) and the Ordovices.

Post-Roman era. After the Roman departure from Britain in AD 410,
much of the lowlands of Britain to the east and south-east were overrun by
various Germanic peoples. However, by AD 500, the land that would

become Wales had divided into a number of kingdoms free from Anglo-
Saxon rule: Mercia and Northumbria, later Wessex, Powys, Gwent and
Gwynedd.
Government and politics. Wales is a country that is part of the United

Kingdom. Constitutionally, the UK is a de jure, unitary state, its parliament
and government in Westminster. In the House of Commons – the lower
house of the UK government – Wales is represented by 40 MPs (of 650)

from Welsh constituencies. Labour MPs hold 26 of the 40 seats, the Liberal
Democrats hold three seats, Plaid Cymru three and the Conservatives eight.
A Secretary of State for Wales sits in the UK cabinet and is responsible for

representing matters pertaining to Wales. The Wales Office is a department
of the United Kingdom government, responsible for Wales.
Note: Wales has six cities. In addition to Cardiff, Newport and Swansea, the

communities of Bangor, St Asaph and St Davids also have city status in the
United Kingdom.
Education. The University College of Wales opened in Aberystwyth in
1872. Cardiff and Bangor followed, and the three colleges came together in

1893 to form the University of Wales. The Welsh Intermediate Education
Act of 1889 created 95 secondary schools. The Welsh Department for the
Board of Education followed in 1907, which gave Wales its first significant

educational devolution. In schools where English is the first language, Welsh
is a compulsory subject until the age of 16. However, there has never been a
Welsh-language college.
Largest cities of Wales: Cardiff, Newport, Wrexham, Swansea

The largest religion in Wales is Christianity, with 57.6% of the
population describing themselves as Christian in the 2011 census. The
second largest attending faith in Wales is Roman Catholic.

Culture of Wales. Wales has a distinctive culture including its own
language, customs, holidays and music. The remnants of the native Celtic
mythology of the pre-Christian Britons was passed down orally, in much

altered form, by the cynfeirdd (the early poets). Some of their work survives
in much later medieval Welsh manuscripts, known as: the Black Book of

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