CORNWALL
Cornwall is at the present time not a recognised country, but a county of England within the jurisdiction of that parliament. There is a strong movement at the moment for a return to a separate Cornish assembly - Senedh Kernow. www.cornishassembly.org
Cornwall
is a beautiful rugged land of windswept moors, hidden valleys, sheltered bays
and golden beaches, dramatic cliffs and coastlines, ruined castles and mysterious
ancient burial mounds and standing stones, and steeped in myths and legends, and
tales of smugglers and pirates. Cornwall also includes the beautiful Isles of
Scilly, 21 miles offshore of Lands End. Its Cornish name is Kernow, but the area
has had several names from outsiders. Roman writers referred to it (and the Scilly
Isles) as 'Cassiterides', the Tin Isles. Cornwall has been an important spot on
the map since ancient times, due to the tin industry, and remained one of the
world's biggest tin producers for centuries, and a lot of trade went between these
lands and on to the rest of Europe. It has also been called 'Belerion', and 'Cornubia',
and its people the 'Cornovii', and later was known as 'West Wales'.
Cornwall has been inhabited for at least 4000 years, the inhabitants at the time of the Roman invasion of Britain being Celtic tribes. They spoke a Brythonic language, in the same family as Welsh and Breton. Cornish died as commonly spoken community language, but has recently been revived.
Early
inhabitants built cliff and hill top fortresses, barrows (burial mounds), and
quoits (huge stone burial chambers). Even after the invasion of 43 A.D., the Romans
occupied very little of Cornwall, which was left to its own devices until Saxon
times. The name 'Cornwall' possibly derives from the Saxon word 'Cornwalas' meaning
something like 'land of strange/dark foreigners', which indicates that the Cornish
Celts had maintained their own identity well apart from the Romans and Saxons.
Cornwall lays claim to the birthplace of, Arthur, King of the Britons, the Saxons' legendary opponent, at Tintagel on the north Cornish coast. He was probably a very powerful Celtic king who for the first time, united the local Celtic kingdoms to withstand the Saxon invasion. There is much speculation as to the origins of Arthur, and even his existence, but most evidence points to him being at large during the 5th century, ranging from Wales to Cornwall, even Brittany and as far north as Scotland. Cornwall eventually came under Saxon rule, but even as late as A.D.936 the Saxon King Athelstan set the River Tamar as the 'border' between Cornwall and England, again indicating the separate Celtic identity of the Cornish from their neighbours, and fixing the territory as it still remains today.
Celtic Christian monks arrived in Cornwall by the 5th century, spreading their new religion and building chapels and stone crosses. There is an old saying "there are more Saints in Cornwall than in Heaven", and many Cornish villages begin their name with "St.......". The Norman invasion of England in 1066 brought more changes than ever before, first making Kernow an Earldom, then in 1337 English King Edward 3rd made it the Duchy of Cornwall, giving the monarch's son the title of Duke of Cornwall, as it remains to this day. The area became the world's top tin producing country, and saw the 1201 introduction of the Stanneries, an institution protecting the rights, privileges and goverment of Cornish tin miners, which became very powerful. The Cornish backed the Welsh Henry Tudor (who claimed descent from King Arthur) in the English War of the Roses, who gained the throne in 1485. Due to new taxes and rules levied on the tinners, 1497 saw Cornish rebellion, led by Michael Joseph "An Gof" (The Smith) and Thomas Flamank, who marched an army of 15,000 to Blackheath near London, but lost to the much larger army of Henry 7th. They were hung, drawn and quartered.
Cornwall, with it's hidden coves, is a land of smugglers and pirates. The author Daphne du Maurier wrote about smuggling activities around the famous 'Jamaica Inn' on Bodmin Moor, and pirate raids on the south coast port of Penzance, no doubt inspired the Gilbert and Sullivan opera "The Pirates of Penzance". The Cornish language died as commonly spoken community tongue in the late 1700s, but has recently seen a revival.
In Cornwall in 1875 the
price of tin fell heavily, and Cornish miners emigrated all
over the world. It was said "Cousin Jack" (a Cornishman) could be found
at the bottom of a mine anywhere in the world. They later sent home for "Cousin
Jennie" , their wives, to join them. Cornish miners went to Australia, where
there is a sizeable Cornish population (one area of South Australia was known
as 'Little Cornwall'), the U.S.A., Canada, South America, South Africa, and Mexico.
The ruins of 19th century engine houses from the abandoned tin mines can still
be seen all over Cornwall, and have become a symbol of the region. Today, the
Camborne College of Mining in Cornwall is world renowned in that field, attended
by future miners from around the globe.
Cornwall has had it's share of inventors. A little known fact is that the fore-runner of the car, the steam carriage, was invented by Richard Trevithick and Andrew Vivian in Camborne, and demonstated in London in 1803 - they were pelted with eggs and vegetables by horse-driven cab drivers. In 1829 Goldsworthy Gurney of Bude drove his version from London to Bath, and was attacked by a hostile crowd. English legislature banned steam road transport. The first domestic solid fuel stove, the Cornish kitchen range, was invented in Cornwall, replacing the earthenware oven. It was in use until the 1950s when gas and electric cookers became popular. The ubiquitous Cornish pasty, a meat and vegetable filled pastry, baked on these ranges, became very popular with the miners.
In 1928 the Cornish Gorsedd of Bards was formed, dedicated to promoting Cornish culture and language. In 1951 Mebyon Kernow (Sons of Cornwall) was founded (www.mebyonkernow.org), and today is pushing hard for local government under a Cornish assembly - Senedh Kernow. www.cornishassembly.org
The Cornish flag, St.Piran's Cross, is said to have come from the patron saint of Cornwall (and also tin miners) showing Cornish tin over black rock, represented by the white cross on a black field.
