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Wales: The First and Final Colony: Speeches and Writing 2001-2018
A collection of essays and speeches by Adam Price, leader of Plaid Cymru and one of the great thinkers in Welsh politics. In it, he writes on many aspects of the politics, history and culture of Wales. It includes some of his most famous speeches to the House of Commons and his rousing speech at Harvard. The title essay on the history and colonization of Wales is a great assessment of the current Welsh situation, and in this book he offers ideas for securing a brighter future for Wales. The book adds some depth and weight to the growing debate over the viability of Welsh independence.
- GenresPolitics
226 pages, Paperback
Published June 13, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 9, 2025
3 green stars.
Most of the essays collected here are over ten years old. It spans about 25 years with the most recent being from 2018. I imagine it was published to drum up support for the 2021 elections. As an American, I know virtually nothing about Welsh politics. From a purely historical point of view, the essays appear somewhat random and not in chronological order, so I really got no sense of how or if his views changed over time. Or how Welsh politics changed over time. Except for one speech arguing for a Plaid/Labour coalition, most of these bemoaned the failures of the Labour party. I got the impression that Wales is mostly pretty complacent about its politics, and that nationalism only speaks to the Welsh language speakers who make up barely 25% of the Welsh population, so it feels like an uphill battle. I was most interested in the speeches that did talk about history and laid out some of the reasons for why the idea of Welsh independence has been so beaten down. Nevertheless, he presents his arguments well, he is witty and obviously learned. He also cares deeply about his country and is a very inspirational speaker. If I lived in Wales, I would absolutely be on team Plaid.
Description: Wales - The First and Final Colony is a collection of essays and speeches by Adam Price, leader of Plaid Cymru and one of the great thinkers in Welsh politics. It includes some of his most famous speeches to the House of Commons and his rousing speech at Harvard University. The title essay on the history and colonisation of Wales is a great assessment of the current Welsh situation, and in this book he offers ideas for securing a brighter future for Wales. The book is an attempt to add some depth and weight to the growing debate over the viability of Welsh independence.
Most of the essays collected here are over ten years old. It spans about 25 years with the most recent being from 2018. I imagine it was published to drum up support for the 2021 elections. As an American, I know virtually nothing about Welsh politics. From a purely historical point of view, the essays appear somewhat random and not in chronological order, so I really got no sense of how or if his views changed over time. Or how Welsh politics changed over time. Except for one speech arguing for a Plaid/Labour coalition, most of these bemoaned the failures of the Labour party. I got the impression that Wales is mostly pretty complacent about its politics, and that nationalism only speaks to the Welsh language speakers who make up barely 25% of the Welsh population, so it feels like an uphill battle. I was most interested in the speeches that did talk about history and laid out some of the reasons for why the idea of Welsh independence has been so beaten down. Nevertheless, he presents his arguments well, he is witty and obviously learned. He also cares deeply about his country and is a very inspirational speaker. If I lived in Wales, I would absolutely be on team Plaid.
Description: Wales - The First and Final Colony is a collection of essays and speeches by Adam Price, leader of Plaid Cymru and one of the great thinkers in Welsh politics. It includes some of his most famous speeches to the House of Commons and his rousing speech at Harvard University. The title essay on the history and colonisation of Wales is a great assessment of the current Welsh situation, and in this book he offers ideas for securing a brighter future for Wales. The book is an attempt to add some depth and weight to the growing debate over the viability of Welsh independence.
June 18, 2019
An interesting set of speeches/articles made by new Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price, who comes across as a passionate and very intelligent man. The First and Final colony article is paticularly good. It might have been better if the speeches were in chronological order and were given some context, but a good read nonetheless.
January 29, 2020
Adam Price is 'Passionate, eloquent, analytical, inspirational' (Cynog Dafis).
This book is for the Welsh, the Indy Curious, the Doubters, the Lovers of Wales, the British, the European, the World.
Give it a read and see what you make of it.
Cymru am byth. Yma o hyd!
This book is for the Welsh, the Indy Curious, the Doubters, the Lovers of Wales, the British, the European, the World.
Give it a read and see what you make of it.
Cymru am byth. Yma o hyd!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews