History of Swansea

This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (March 2009) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

The history of Swansea covers a period of continuous occupation stretching back a thousand years, while there is archaeological evidence of prehistoric human occupation of the surrounding area for thousands of years before that.^[1]

Swansea (Welsh: Abertawe) occupies a position at the mouth of the River Tawe adjacent to an extensive bay at the western end of the Bristol Channel. It was founded as a town in the early 12th century, centred around its Norman castle. Part of the Lordship of Gower, established after the Norman invasion of Wales, it suffered episodes of destructive attack by forces of the displaced Welsh princes before developing into a prosperous market town and as a port with trading links across the Bristol Channel, as well as to France and Ireland. By the 18th century it was well established as a civic and cultural entity and as a fashionable tourist resort.^[2]

With the expansion of the coal mining and copper smelting industries in the Swansea Valley in the 18th and early 19th century, Swansea became the centre of a new industrial and commercial area. The combination of a distinctively diverse, cosmopolitan, rapidly expanding population, a flourishing provincial science movement and a strong commercial and industrial base secured its pre-eminent and unique status in the urban history of early 19th century Wales.^[3]

Industry grew throughout the 19th century, changing the geography of the town as its surrounding areas became incorporated into its municipal boundaries. In 1889 Swansea attained county borough status. Throughout the 20th century industry declined but the town continued to grow in population. Swansea officially gained city status in 1969.^[4]