rdfs:comment
| - In 1487, King Owain V settled on the political landscape that was to shape Wales until the modern era. He decided to bring back principalities, below the level of the Crown. This was done for practical reasons, Wales traditionally did not have straight father to son inheritance, though this had altered with the years of English rule that preceded the restoration of independence, but it was still not a settled arrangement and Owain had a younger son to consider. The other main reason was one of local control. Wales is a disparate country, with mountains bearing the way north to south, therefore the Kings authority can be resisted. By creating a network of lords, Owain reasoned that he could control them centrally and leave them to control Wales locally.
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abstract
| - In 1487, King Owain V settled on the political landscape that was to shape Wales until the modern era. He decided to bring back principalities, below the level of the Crown. This was done for practical reasons, Wales traditionally did not have straight father to son inheritance, though this had altered with the years of English rule that preceded the restoration of independence, but it was still not a settled arrangement and Owain had a younger son to consider. The other main reason was one of local control. Wales is a disparate country, with mountains bearing the way north to south, therefore the Kings authority can be resisted. By creating a network of lords, Owain reasoned that he could control them centrally and leave them to control Wales locally. To this end he brought back three of the ancient Principalities. Gywnedd, Powys and curiously, Morgannwg. Gywnedd the king took for himself, giving the Crown an independent measure of control away from Parliament. Powys was gifted to his youngest son, Maredudd, whilst the resurrection of Morgannwg as a principality owed more to the logic of invasion than anything else. The easiest route into Wales was along the south Wales coast as Norman invader after Norman invader had proven. Putting a strong lord in control of this region helped ensure Wales future should the English abrogate the Treaty of London and invade.
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