The English Civil War casts a long shadow over the course of the seventeenth century. This module will be a comparative and contextual study of Wales during the period dominated by this genuinely revolutionary event. It will examine the development of Welsh society and identity following the final unification of Wales under the Tudors; discuss the reasons for the loyal support that the Welsh gave to the monarchy during the Civil Wars; look at the development of Welsh Puritanism, and examine the first efforts to Protestantize the Welsh in a systematic manner. In the post Civil War period it will analyse the reasons why the Welsh welcomed the Restoration so enthusiastically and trace the persistence of Welsh loyalism through to the emergence of Jacobitism. As well as focusing on high politics, the course will also examine Welsh Puritan spirituality in depth; look at the social and economic structure of the country, and examine some of the cultural changes that Wales experienced in the generation after the Glorious Revolution

This module will be a detailed consideration of Wales during the age of the Stuarts. Analysing the Welsh experience of Stuart rule, it will set developments in Wales within the wider context of the gradual evolution of the `British' state. It will thus fill a current gap in the Welsh History teaching in the department and extend further the options for students wishing to study both the history of Wales and early modern Britain.