KEY TO INDEPENDENCE

The ties between Wales and the USA are easy to overlook, for 2 reasons. Many Welsh left Wales in earlier centuries for reasons we don't like to admit. Wales was conquered and not congenial to a talented person who felt hemmed in by the poor economy and repressive politics. Also, when they got to the USA and got involved in mining coal and producing iron and steel and much else, the Welsh often experienced rapid success and prospered, particularly if they signed up for the American Dream. They usually did, becoming American and not Welsh at all. Having thus exported and lost talent to the the USA, Wales now needs to recover and import our lost assets, political and moral. 

Many Welsh emigrated to the Dominion or Colony of North Carolina, often via Pennsylvania. The political system in the 1770s was similar to the Wales system now in one important respect. It was laid down by England. There was a lower House of Burgesses, which England arranged would have 43 members elected by counties and towns. The English Crown appointed the Executive Council (upper House) and the Governor of the Colony. 

So, no matter how much the people of North Carolina  might want independence from England, they could not legally get it by their own governing system, which was decreed and imposed on them. They would have to devise their own system. If they could do this, and seek to replace their England-imposed system, their new system would need to be credible enough for England to accept it anyway, legal or not. 

They did. This is how. 

They appointed a convenor - John Harvey.  He arranged for the Counties and Towns to elect members of a Congress. Each member had a mandate to seek independence from England. The clever feature of this election was that each member (or most of them) was already a member of the House of Burgesses. So each member could wear his Burgess hat (with no legal power to get Indy) or his Congress hat, with a mandate for Indy. 

The Governor Martin of North Carolina called a meeting of the Burgesses for 4th April 1775 at Tryon Palace (New Bern NC) the official venue. John Harvey called a meeting of his Congress to take place on the day before, 3rd April 1775, also at  Tryon Palace in New Bern NC. Because of the elections, the members of John Harvey's Congress were more or less exactly the member of Governor Martin's Burgesses - but not subject to the Governor's control. The result was a political head-on collision. 

For the record, the outcome of the collision was a loss of nerve by the England appointed Governor, who sought sanctuary with the Royal Navy. English control of the Dominion or Colony of North Carolina was effectively over. 

The key to Welsh Independence lies in 2 things. The first is the confidence to act and think in terms of statesmanship and Indy. The second is ask the people to elect you by direct  and democratic methods. Authority and a mandate will be yours.

 With acknowledgments to 'History of North Carolina Vol.1' RDW Connor