POD:
*1870s onwards: Industrial Revolution manages to happen without a decline in Welsh in South Wales in the late 19th century. This is pefectly possible; Llanelli, an industrial town remained Welsh speaking well into the 20th century while the slate mining industrial towns of North Wales are still very Welsh speaking today. You just have to reduce Anglophone migration to the South Wales coalfield from the 1880s onwards. Thus Wales remains majority Welsh Speaking.
*1890s: Cymru Fydd is a success with Lloyd George becoming its leader. By 1910, it is as popular in Wales as the Irish Parliamentary Party in Ireland.
* Welsh Home Rule put on statute book by 1914, and delayed until the end of WW1.
* LLoyd George, as in OTL, strongly supports the war effort, telling the Welsh that it is a fight for the rights of small nations. He becomes Minister of Munitions just like in OTL and helps the save Britain from defeat, but when Asquith is thrown out of office, Lloyd George of course doesn't take it in this scenario.
*WW1 is won by the allies just like in OTL but instead the government elected in 1918 is a conservative majority government
*Wales gets it's Home Rule Parliament in 1919, with Lloyd George heading the devolved administration.
*Because the Government in Westminster is a Tory majority government, it is more repressive in Ireland than Lloyd George's coalition government is in OTL. This angers people in Wales.
*This leads to the devolved legislature declaring independence; the Welsh Republic is born.
*The Westminster Government refuses to accept the legality of the vote and the Anglo-Welsh war breaks out. This ends up in Wales and Ireland signing a treaty with this Tory Government in 1922, which similar to OTL, turns them into Free State Dominions
*The Welsh Free State is born!
Questions for You:
How will Wales fare both politically and economically during the interwar years?
Will a Welsh Free State be neutral in World War 2?
What will Wales's international relations be like?
What will Wales be like today do you think?
*1870s onwards: Industrial Revolution manages to happen without a decline in Welsh in South Wales in the late 19th century. This is pefectly possible; Llanelli, an industrial town remained Welsh speaking well into the 20th century while the slate mining industrial towns of North Wales are still very Welsh speaking today. You just have to reduce Anglophone migration to the South Wales coalfield from the 1880s onwards. Thus Wales remains majority Welsh Speaking.
*1890s: Cymru Fydd is a success with Lloyd George becoming its leader. By 1910, it is as popular in Wales as the Irish Parliamentary Party in Ireland.
* Welsh Home Rule put on statute book by 1914, and delayed until the end of WW1.
* LLoyd George, as in OTL, strongly supports the war effort, telling the Welsh that it is a fight for the rights of small nations. He becomes Minister of Munitions just like in OTL and helps the save Britain from defeat, but when Asquith is thrown out of office, Lloyd George of course doesn't take it in this scenario.
*WW1 is won by the allies just like in OTL but instead the government elected in 1918 is a conservative majority government
*Wales gets it's Home Rule Parliament in 1919, with Lloyd George heading the devolved administration.
*Because the Government in Westminster is a Tory majority government, it is more repressive in Ireland than Lloyd George's coalition government is in OTL. This angers people in Wales.
*This leads to the devolved legislature declaring independence; the Welsh Republic is born.
*The Westminster Government refuses to accept the legality of the vote and the Anglo-Welsh war breaks out. This ends up in Wales and Ireland signing a treaty with this Tory Government in 1922, which similar to OTL, turns them into Free State Dominions
*The Welsh Free State is born!
Questions for You:
How will Wales fare both politically and economically during the interwar years?
Will a Welsh Free State be neutral in World War 2?
What will Wales's international relations be like?
What will Wales be like today do you think?