In order to answer the above question, look at the two chronologies
by clicking on ‘Typical Chronology’ and ‘Another Chronology’. The
first is adapted from a combination of school textbooks and the second
from the opening pages of Our Mothers’ Land, by Angela John.
You are not expected to recognise all of the events described. Instead,
try to identify the kinds of entries used in each case.
| Year |
Events and Developments |
| 1880 |
General Election. Liberals win 29 of 33 Welsh seats Formation of Welsh Rugby Union
Creation of National Eisteddfod Association |
1885
|
General Election. Liberals win 30 of 34 Welsh seats First Siemens open-hearth furnace at Brymbo |
1886
|
General Election. Liberals win 25 of 36 Welsh seats
Creation of Liberal Federations of North and South Wales. |
| 1887 |
Formation of Ocean Coal Company
|
1890
|
Lloyd George becomes MP for Caernarfon Boroughs |
1891
|
O.M.Edwards founds Cymru (magazine) |
1892
|
General Election. Liberals win 31 of 34 Welsh seats
Launch of Cymru Fydd. |
1893
|
Charter for University of Wales
Cilfynydd colliery disaster – 250 killed. |
1895
|
General Election. Liberals win 25 of 34 Welsh seats. |
| 1898 |
Six months stoppage in coal industry Formation of South Wales Miners’ Federation
|
| 1899 |
Death of Tom Ellis |
| 1900 |
General Election. Liberals win 28 of 34 Welsh seats.
Keir Hardie elected ILP MP for MerthyrStart of Penrhyn Quarry dispute
|
| 1904 |
Start of religious revival under Evan Roberts |
| 1905 |
Wales defeat All Blacks in Cardiff
Cardiff achieves city status. |
| 1906 |
General Election. Liberals win 33 of 34 Welsh seats. |
| 1910 |
Cambrian colliery dispute – Tonypandy Riots |
| 1913 |
Senghennydd colliery diaster – 439 killed |
| 1914 |
Freddie Welsh becomes lightweight champion of the world
Outbreak of First World War. |
| 1921 |
Miners defeated in mass lock-out – wages reduced |
| 1925 |
Formation of Plaid Cymru |
| 1926 |
General Strike and Miners’ Lock-out ends in defeat, lower wages and longer hours for miners.
|
1927
|
First Hunger March against unemployment leaves South Wales. |
1930
|
Height of mass unemployment in South Wales. |
| 1934 |
Height of conflict between South Wales Miners’ Federation (SWMF) and company unionism.
|
1935
|
Stay-down strikes at South Wales collieries. |
1936
|
Welsh volunteers join International Brigade to fight in Spanish Civil War |
| 1939 |
Outbreak of Second World War. |
| Year |
Events and Developments |
| 1852 |
Lady Charlotte Guest runs world’s largest ironworks at Dowlais |
| 1866 |
First women’s suffrage petition |
| 1871 |
Rose Crawshay is first woman in Wales to sit on one of new
School Boards |
| 1876 |
British Women’s Temperance Association formed |
| 1880s |
Expansion of opportunities for women in Welsh higher education |
| 1885 |
Frances Hoggan registers as Wales’ first qualified
woman doctor |
| 1886 |
Formation of Association for Promoting the Education of Girls
in Wales |
| 1892 |
Formation of Noth Wales Women’s Temperance Union. |
| 1896 |
Reappearance of Y Gymraes (The Welshwoman)edited by Ceridwen
Peris. |
| 1897 |
Formation of National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies. |
| 1901 |
Formation of South Wales Women’s Temperance Union. |
| 1903 |
Formation of Women’s Social and Political Union. |
| 1907 |
Organization of women’s suffrage campaign in North Wales |
| 1912 |
Suffrage protest at Llanystumdwy involving Lloyd George |
| 1914 |
First World War begins. Vast increase in numbers of women
in waged work. |
| 1918 |
Limited vote for women over 30. |
| 1919 |
Sex Discrimination Removal Act. |
| |
Elizabeth Andrews becomes Labour Party’s women’s organiser in Wales |
| 1923 |
Price v.Rhondda. Court case confirms marriage bar for women
teachers. |
| 1926 |
General Strike. Pilgrimage of Peace. |
| 1928 |
Votes for all women. |
| 1930s |
Women take part in hunger marches |
| 1939 |
Outbreak of Second World War – more employment opportunities
for women. |
The above are timelines, not lines of development. They tell us what
happened, not what changed - or the reasons why changes occurred.
Nevertheless, they are useful indicators of at least two ways in which
the ‘story’ of the history of Wales over the last 150 years has been
represented.
Section 1 Questions - How has the ‘story’ of women
been presented?:
1. What kinds of events have been selected by the historians who produced
the first timeline?
2. What kinds of events have been selected by the historian who produced
the second timeline?
3. Why do you think these timelines differ?
4. How is the second timeline limited as an account of changes in
the role and status of women in Wales between 1850 and 1940?
5. Using both the introductory information and the two timelines,
can you explain why relatively little is known about the story of
Welsh women over the 100 years before 1940?
