IV.

History

An early Roman outpost was established in about ad 75. In the 11th century, a Norman castle was erected when Robert FitzHamon built a fort on the motte (fortified hillock) which today stands within the 19th-century Cardiff Castle's walls. A small market town developed close to the castle, and the town grew in importance as a market for the surrounding region. However, it was the Industrial Revolution, and the consequent need for coal that was the impetus for Cardiff's growth. In the 19th century, the coal-export trade grew rapidly. Mines and quarries in the South Wales valleys sent their coal and iron to Cardiff along the Glamorganshire canal and later by the Taff railway. The West Bute (1839) and East Bute docks (1859) were constructed in the marshy land near the estuaries of the Taff and Ely rivers, and by the end of the century Cardiff was the world's leading coal-exporting port. Cardiff received a civic charter in 1905. It was heavily bombed during World War II, particularly in January 1941, when 167 people were killed. Cardiff became the Welsh capital in 1955.

Cardiff Bay is the site of a major urban regeneration project, the largest of its kind in Europe. The area, comprising 1,093 hectares (2,700 acres) between the Ely and Rhymney rivers, contains most of the older docks and the industrial area. The project, coordinated by the Cardiff Bay Development Corporation (1987), has attracted local and overseas investment, and a number of companies, specializing in computer technology, publishing, insurance, mechanical services, and engineering consultancy are now based in the area.

The Cardiff Bay (Taff) Barrage between Penarth Head and Queen Alexandra Head was approved in 1993 despite opposition from environmental groups. It is designed to enclose an area of 200 hectares (495 acres) of mudflats.

In 1998 the National Assembly for Wales was established; its first meeting took place in Cardiff in May 1999.