The 16th century brought religious changes to Wales. In 1517 Martin Luther, a German, started the Reformation. He demanded changes in Christian belief and practices. In 1534 Henry VIII broke with the pope and made himself head of the church in England and Wales.

In 1536 Henry dissolved the smaller monasteries in Wales. The rest were dissolved in 1539. Meanwhile Protestant ideas were spreading through Wales. However although Henry made himself head of the church he was not willing to allow too many changes. In 1542 a Protestant called Thomas Capper was burned to death in Cardiff.

In 1553 Henry's daughter Mary became queen. She tried to undo the changes in religion and restore the old Catholic religion. During her reign 3 Protestants were burned to death in Wales.

However when Mary died in 1558 her sister Elizabeth became queen. Things changed again. Elizabeth re-introduced Protestantism. In 1588 the Bible was translated into Welsh.

While all the religious changes were happening another change took place. In 1536 the English parliament passed an act of Union. As a result Wales was united with England. The Welsh were given equal citizenship and were allowed to send MPs to parliament. English law came into force throughout Wales.

Meanwhile, during the 16th century Wales was gradually growing richer. Most people made their living from farming and cattle herding was very important. However trade and industry continued to grow. Wales exported more and more wool and woollen cloth. Meanwhile coal mining flourished. The Welsh iron industry also grew.

In 1642 came civil war between king and parliament. Wales was firmly in the royalist camp (except for the town of Pembroke which supported parliament all the way through the war) and many Welsh soldiers fought in the king's army. However by 1644 the king was losing the war. In September the royalist were badly defeated at the battle of Montgomery. In 1645 the parliamentary army captured south Wales.

However north Wales was still loyal to the king but in 1646 parliamentary soldiers marched into the area. They captured the royalist strongholds one by one. The last to fall was Harlech which was captured by parliamentary soldiers on 7 March 1647.

In 1648 Parliament decided to disband its army. However many soldiers had not been paid for a long time and they realised they would not be paid the money they were owed if they disbanded. The commander of soldiers in Pembroke was called Poyer and he rebelled. Meanwhile the king did a deal with the Scots, who promised to restore him to his throne. Poyer threw in his lot with the king but soldiers loyal to parliament marched to Wales and crushed the rebellion.

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