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How The Coal Mining Industry Affected The Region Of Merthyr Tydfil

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South Wales. A region known for its beautiful countryside, rich medieval history, and Celtic culture. Offering a wide range of attractions, visitors can stroll along the rolling coastline and then head into Cardiff for castles and cathedrals. However, head twenty-three miles outside of Cardiff to the county of Merthyr Tydfil, and they will uncover a darker aspect of Welsh history: coal. Visitors will also find that Merthyr Tydfil still has a strong coal presence, and this understanding may lead them to ask a bigger question: How has the coal mining industry impacted the region of Merthyr Tydfil and how has it shaped the social and political climate in the area today? Since its inception, Merthyr Tydfil’s history has been deeply intertwined …show more content…

A region formed because of the iron working industry’s demand for coal, Merthyr Tydfil has been reliant on and monopolized by the coal industry for centuries. This has created a vicious cycle of dominance and dependence that has kept the local community unable to break free from the coal industry, forcing them to continue suffering from the indifferent attitudes of coal corporations to their health and safety. After enduring the consequences of this cycle for centuries, however, the people of Merthyr Tydfil have decided that it is time to change the narrative. By collaborating with the United Valley Action Group, the local community now has the platform it needs to shift the social and political climate from one of powerlessness to one of determination and resistance against the coal industry. The region still has a long road ahead of them — coal mining is nowhere near gone in the area, and Miller Argent currently has no intentions of leaving anytime soon. However, the people of Merthyr Tydfil now have the resources that will enable them to eventually eliminate coal mining from the area, and to take it one step further, change the entire reputation of their environment. For centuries, they have been defined by coal mining and its consequent struggles. It is finally time for Merthyr Tydfil to break free from that narrative and reinvent it, perhaps into one of renewable energy abundance, leading the battle against climate

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