Welsh Journals

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A HISTORY OF WALES, 1815-1906. By D. Gareth Evans. University of Wales Press Cardiff, 1989. Pp. vii, 331. £ 15.95 boards; £ 7.95 paperback. This is the third volume in a series of excellent text books on Welsh history published by the University of Wales Press. The early volumes by Hugh Thomas and E. D. Evans cover the periods 1485-1660 and 1660-1850 respectively. Gareth Evans maintains the standards set by his predecessors and provides a comprehensive framework for sixth form and college students studying this crucial century in Welsh history. The book is broadly divided into two chronological periods, 1815-1850 and 1850-1906, with six chapters in each section on Industry and Communications, Agriculture, Religion and Society, Education, and Politics. The work ends with an examination of the state of the Welsh nation between 1880 and 1906. The material in each section is presented clearly and concisely and the main developments are effectively outlined. Gareth Evans has noted the problems of capturing the spirit of the period 1815-1906 through subdividing it into two distinct periods, each with its idiosyncrasies and characteristics. The period to 1815 is suffused with passionate popular political movements such as Rebecca and Chartism and momentous social and economic changes. This gives this period fluidity and an heroic quality which is in marked contrast to the solid achievements and astonishing creativity that was so characteristic of the social and political developments of the period after 1850. Historians have by and large concentrated their attention to either side of the divide, and Gareth Evans is to be commended for attempting to span the entire period in this book. Each chapter has a useful list of further secondary reading relevant to the subject under study. Though the primary function of the book is to provide an introduction to the history of Wales in the nineteenth century, the work could have benefited from the greater use of original documents, some of which are more accessible than the articles cited in the book. In particular excerpts from the 1847 Education Report, the 1896 Land Reports and the 1906-10 Commission on the Church of England would have served to illuminate the relevant sections of the book. For it is through questioning and explaining the evidence itself that students learn most about a historical period. However, this does not detract from the excellent work of synthesis which Gareth Evans has achieved. Although the book reflects the concentration of Welsh historiography with the experience of industrial south Wales, Gareth Evans is conscious of the experiences of mid and north Wales. Consequently, attention is given to the social, economic, political and religious history of west and north Wales. The book should therefore enjoy a wide appeal for schools throughout Wales. This is the first major text book which covers Welsh history in the nineteenth century. Students and teachers hard pressed with the substantial re-organisation of the National Curriculum owe Gareth Evans a debt for this volume. It makes an