How comes a lot of Welsh people dislike the English?

Question

I've been noticing it a lot over the past few weeks on a few forums I go on, and I just want to know what have we done to upset the Welsh so much? It's not like they actually know every person in England to judge the whole country.

Why do they have to go on about history? It's in the past, and half of them probably weren't around when any of this stuff happened.

Also, we aren't all snobs, and I think everyone has a hypocrite in them.

Answer 1

It's because the Welsh are very jealous of the English. I mean everyone around the world speaks English (not Welsh). In fact, the only two worthwhile things to come out of Wales are corgis and Tom Jones!

Answer 2

It's not a question of "every person in England" it's England and what it stands for, even today the 'English' really think they rule the world, whatever or who ever they have ruled they have done so by subjugation !
They wont accept that they are almost a third world!
'Made in England' What does that mean now? nothing!
It's not just the Welsh that think the English are snobby arrogant ******* the Scottish, Irish also think the same!
You have only noticed this over the past few weeks? where have you been hiding?
I have been to many places in the world, and possibly the most 'cosmopolitan' place is Cardiff, South Wales, they are very fond of Rugby, Cardiff Arms Park and the surrounding areas are packed on any international match day, Wales V any team is a really great 'crack' except Wales V England! Wales can lose to any one and they all have a great night on the town, but England, forget the 'crack' altogether, the English are not really welcomed even in Cardiff!! and rightly so!
It would be nice to put it all down to 'history' but while the English still maintain their 'superior' attitude this will not be possible! any where in the world, except maybe in America where the main idea is that Britian is a 'cute' little town on the map! and that England and Britian is the same thing!
But if you are really interested read your history books, not just the English side of the story!

Answer 3

I am a welsh man that seems English. I think this subject is rather Dull. For all the people that have answered with Anti English Comments, Racists. For the ones that are Anti Welsh, Racists. Maybe go out of your front door, meet some people from both countries and find that there is good in bad in all. Let's stop the race thing and get on with each other and learn a bit. Will we be on the who's better a man or a woman next? Very twentieth Century folks

Answer 4

As a Welshman, I'd like to put in a personal note before answering this question properly. I don't hate the English. I personally hate the Welsh, but that's just based on personal experience.

Now, as to why there's a long history of antipathy between the Welsh and the English...
First of all, let's not forget that practically ANYONE who lives in a country close to England has a history of disliking the English - Scotland, Ireland, Wales, France...
In the case of Wales, there's a triple-whammy. Not only did we get conquered hundreds of years ago, and thought of as "part of England" ever since, but during the nineteenth century, we had a second dose - the Ironmasters that drove the Industrial Revolution were largely English upper and middle-class men who came into Wales - where we had the iron, the coal, and the infrastructure to make an absolute FORTUNE - and essentially cornered the market, making the population essentially quite poor, while they became phenomenally wealthy. So there was a good deal of resistance and revolution in Wales, which naturally focussed on overthrowing the incoming English. When the industrial economy stopped booming, the perception was that the English Ironmasters had taken the money and run, leaving the Welsh economy - not to mention its people - depressed.

We struggled on through social depravation and eeking out a living from the coal industry through the 20th century, and then came strike three. Mrs Margaret Hilda Thatcher, whose economic policies were not actually racially motivated, but were still based on the principle of "Us and Them" - Us very clearly being the South of England, Them being everyone else - Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Northern England, Europe, everyone. Her battle with the miners crucified many Welsh communities - just as they did to many communities in the North of England. Wales is just about redefining itself in her aftermath, and thinking about itself, finally, in terms of Wales, rather than in terms of Wales - part of England.

Worth remembering this point about the Thatcher time. Most Welsh people who claim to "hate England", actually don't. They hate the stereotype of a particular type of English person - the posh, rich, clueless type associated with certain boroughs in the South - people to whom "coming out" is a party, not a harrowing family experience. People who chase tiny creatures while riding on other big creatures, and dip their faces in the blood - the Welsh have a nagging racial memory that given half a chance, they'd be put in the place of foxes. So it's by no means a fair thing that the Welsh "hate the English". But there's a lot of familial memory of being screwed by English people of a certain type, which tends to feed the antipathy.

Answer 5

Its about history - you need to read about what the English did to the Welsh - for example not so long ago in schools when a child spoke welsh he would have to wear a piece of wood with the words "Welsh Not" written on it as the English tried to kill the Welsh language. The English had an Empire and they treated a lot of people in a very unhumane way.
Now we are in the present and the English need to behave themselves and treat other Countries better - the parliament in Westminster has bombed and killed a load of children around the World in Tony Blair's recent history - the troubles in the Middle East is due to what the English did after the second world war - it was a time bomb waiting to go off. Tony Blair wants to spread democracy - first of all he needs to give total Independance to Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales before sorting Countries like Iraq out. The English Parliament in Westminster is biased to England not to Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland. There are so many things however on an individual basis I am Welsh and I like Scousers, Geordies, Yorkshire people and Cornish and people in England with an Identity that is seperate from the so called posh ruling classes that look down on us all and most of them are English. Who do they think they are the ruling classes that give the top jobs to their class - they call them the upper class but they are a disease that plagues all of us - it is the upper class English that people really do not like and even the Scousers and Mancs and Geordies and Yorkies and Cornish do not like them.

Answer 6

The Welsh have spent many years being invaded, raided, put down, forgotten and insulted by the English. Only 50 years ago school children would be caned for speaking Welsh. We are left out of the Union Flag, always insulted by English people in the media and have to put with the annual influx of English tourists very Summer. Also its natural to complain about your neighbour.

Answer 7

It's a throwback to the defeat of their last king by the English, but also because they believe the English despise them - and up to a point that is unfortunately true. But the simple fact is that the Welsh are just like any other nation - some good, some bad, some highly talented, some dim.

Answer 8

the saxons took the land now called england which was khymry lands and it was the saxons who called them welsh
and since that time the (english) have occupied wales
put them down and killed their kings and at one time even tried to do away with the welsh language by making people speak english
in schools the welsh children were punished if the use the own language in the class and thats not so long ago
so what have the english done to the welsh
well you did ask

Answer 9

Well, England has occupied Wales for hundreds of hundreds of years, we invaded in the 12th Century ( I think)

No country likes being occupied, so the Welsh obviously dont like the British cos we occupied them for 8 hundred years,

A

Answer 10

Can I get serious? The Union Jack is made up of the flags of England, Scotland and Ireland. No hint of the Welsh.
Forgotten people, whose language all-but died out. For decades the Welsh didn^t exist. Sure we're p""""d off.
But Wales has a world-class football stadium, and that's more than you can say for the English.