Ceredigion has been inhabited since prehistoric times. A total of 170 hill forts and enclosures have been identified across the county and there are many standing stones dating back to the
Bronze Age. Around the time of the
Roman invasion of Britain, the area was between the realms of the
Demetae and
Ordovices. The
Sarn Helen road ran through the territory, with
forts at
Bremia and
Loventium protecting gold mines near present-day
Llanddewi Brefi. Following the
Roman withdrawal,
Irish raids and invasions were repulsed, supposedly by the forces under a
northerner named
Cunedda. The 9th-century
History of the Britons attributed to
Nennius records that Cunedda's son
Ceredig settled the area around the Teifi in the 5th century. The territory supposedly remained
a minor kingdom under his dynasty until its extinction upon the drowning of
Gwgon ap Meurig , after which it was administered by
Rhodri Mawr of
Gwynedd before passing to his son
Cadell, whose son
Hywel Dda inherited its neighbouring kingdom
Dyfed and established the realm of
Deheubarth. Records are highly obscure; some historians believe that
Hyfaidd ap Bledrig, the Dyfed ruler, may have annexed Ceredigion before his heirs lost it to Hywel through war. Many pilgrims passed through Cardiganshire on their way to
St Davids. Some came by sea and made use of the churches at
Mwnt and
Penbryn, while others came by land seeking hospitality at such places as
Strata Florida Abbey. Both the abbey and
Llanbadarn Fawr were important monastic sites of scholarship and education. Place names including
ysbyty denote their association with pilgrims. In 1282,
Edward I of England conquered the principality of Wales and divided the area into counties. One of thirteen
traditional counties in Wales. Cardiganshire was split into the five
hundreds of Genau'r-Glyn, Ilar, Moyddyn, Penarth and Troedyraur. Much later, Cardiganshire was designated as a
vice-county.
Pen-y-wenallt was home to 17th century theologian and author,
Theophilus Evans. In the 18th century there was an evangelical revival of Christianity, and
nonconformism became established in the county as charismatic preachers like
Daniel Rowland of
Llangeitho attracted large congregations. Every community built its own chapel or meeting house, and Cardiganshire became one of the centres of
Methodism in Wales; the
Aeron Valley was at the centre of the revival.
Cardigan was one of the major ports of southern Wales until its harbour silted in the mid-19th century. The
Industrial Revolution passed by, not much affecting the area. In the uplands, wheeled vehicles were rare in the 18th century, and horses and
sleds were still being used for transport. On the coast, herrings and corn were traded across the Irish Sea. In the 19th century, many of the rural poor emigrated to the
New World from Cardigan, between five and six thousand leaving the town between 1790 and 1860. Aberystwyth became the main centre for the export of
lead and Aberaeron and Newquay did brisk coastal trade. The building of the railway from
Shrewsbury in the 1860s encouraged visitors, and hotels sprang up in the town to accommodate them. This area of the county of
Dyfed became a
district of Wales under the name Ceredigion in 1974 under the
Local Government Act 1972, According to the
2021 census 45.3% of the population can speak
Welsh, the third highest proportion after
Gwynedd and the
Isle of Anglesey. Nevertheless, this was a decline from 47.3% in 2011 and 52% in 2001. ==Geography==