Editing English Civil War (section)

===Wales===
For several reasons most of [[Wales]] was not as engaged in the English Civil Wars to the same degree as other parts of the British Isles. Wales was isolated from England, both physically and linguistically, so the Welsh were not as much engaged as England in the issues between the king and Parliament.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Williams |first=Glanmor |title=Recovery, Reorientation, And Reformation: Wales, C. 1415 – 1642 |date=1987 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780198217336 |location=New York |page=487 |oclc=15488908}}</ref> The English considered Wales a remote land, with Welsh, not English, as the primary language. Since England had formally assimilated Wales into the kingdom, starting in 1536 formal agreements had been put in place under Henry VIII and continued under Charles I that allowed for Welsh local administrative authority and economic control, which allowed the Welsh to function to some degree independently.{{Sfn|Williams|1987|page=488}}<ref name="Stoyle">{{Cite journal |last=Stoyle |first=Mark |date=December 2000 |title=English 'Nationalism', Celtic Particularism, And the English Civil War |journal=The Historical Journal |publisher=Cambridge University Press |volume=43 |pages=1113–1128 |jstor=3020883 |s2cid=159953456 |number=4}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Davies |first=John |title=A History of Wales |date=1993 |publisher=The Penguin Press |isbn=0-713-99098-8 |edition=First English |location=London |page=278}}</ref> Another factor was the Puritan religion, which played a major role in the English Civil Wars but was not widely practised throughout Wales. Welsh Puritan religious dominance was found in northeast Wales near [[Wrexham]], [[Denbighshire]], and an indirect Puritan influence found along the southwestern coast near [[Haverfordwest]], Pembroke, and [[Tenby]] due to a combination of a strong influence by the third earl of Essex and their strong trade relations with Bristol, England, a fervent Puritan stronghold.{{Sfn|Jenkins|1987|p=6}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Davies |first=John |title=A History of Wales |date=1993 |publisher=Penguin Books |isbn=0713990988 |page=276}}</ref> In addition, Wales comparatively more rural in character than England at this time, and thereby lacking the large number of urban settlements home to mercantile, trade, and manufacturing interests who were a bulwark of support for both Puritanism and eventually the Parliamentarian cause.

Many of the key Welsh Civil Wars leaders were from the gentry class holding Royalist sympathies,{{Sfn|Williams|1987|page=488}} or from the Church. Those Welsh who did participate in the Civil Wars battles were underequipped, underfed, and not properly trained for warfare.{{Sfn|Jenkins|1987|p=25}} The majority of Welsh followed the Protestant faith with a religious perspective that differed from the English puritan zeal.<ref name=Stoyle/> They were also leery of the Irish Catholics invading Wales. The Welsh also did not want to lose what they had, for the gentry were aware of the destruction the Thirty Years' War caused in Europe.<ref>{{Harvnb|Williams|1987|page=489}}</ref>

Most of those English Civil War battles where Wales was impacted occurred near the border with England and in south Wales.{{Sfn|Jenkins|1987|pp=28–29}} Some of the more significant engagements were:

* In Gloucester, England (not far from Wales) Lord Herbert of Raglan (Wales) had Welsh troops assisting the royalists trying to take Gloucester in March, August, and September 1643, but without success;{{Sfn|Jenkins|1987|p=10}}
* In November 1643 [[Sir Thomas Myddelton, 1st Baronet|Thomas Myddelton]] had secured the north Wales Royalist stronghold of Flintshire and the area east of Denbighshire, depriving Royalists based in Chester, England of their supplies. In response to this attack Archbishop John Williams, on behalf of the Royalists, responded to this attack by taking Wrexham from the Parliamentarians;{{Sfn|Jenkins|1987|pp=10–12}}
*  Initially in the summer of 1643, Royalist forces under [[Richard Vaughan, 2nd Earl of Carbery|Richard Vaughan of Golden Grove, 2nd Earl of Carbery]], who had been appointed lieutenant-general by the King, was successful in securing three of the southwestern Welsh counties; but in early 1644 Parliamentarians conducted a successful sea and land assault campaign on Pembroke, Haverfordwest, Milford Pil; and continuing on to Swansea and Cardiff. As a result of these Royalist failures the King replaced Carbery with Colonel [[Charles Gerard, 1st Earl of Macclesfield]] who was able to regain many of these lost territories in Cardiganshire and Carmarthenshire;{{Sfn|Jenkins|1987|pp=12–13}}
* On 18 September 1644 the first pitched battle on Welsh soil at Montgomery was a successful win for Myddelton;{{Sfn|Jenkins|1987|pp=14–15}}
* On 1 August 1645 the Royalist forces were once again defeated at Colby Moor;{{Sfn|Jenkins|1987|pp=15–16}}
* During the Second Civil War the Royalists were decisively defeated at the battle of St. [[Battle of St Fagans|Fagans]] near Cardiff, which was one of the last more significant battles.{{Sfn|Jenkins|1987|p=21}}

In addition to the Civil Wars' impact on the monarchy and the changes in national leadership, unexpected outcomes of the English Civil Wars to Wales included a significant degradation of the country's road system, a deterioration of government administrative functions to the general population, destruction of castles with only the remnants of them remaining, and the desecration of churches.{{Sfn|Jenkins|1987|pp=28–29}}