What is a nation? There are several, varying definitions, but ultimately it comes down to the same answer: a large group of people bound together through shared culture, history and language. For us in Cymru, the idea of a Welsh nation is something about which we are pretty sensitive and protective. Our most provocative historian, Gwyn Alf Williams, said that Wales has “from birth … lived with the threat of extinction” and that the survival of Welsh nationhood is “one of the minor miracles of history”.

To those of you who mainly know Wales through the occasional holiday, the Six Nations and Gareth Bale, this might sound an odd thing to say. After all, whenever you see Wales or Welsh people represented anywhere they are loudly and unequivocally, well, Welsh.

But this is not merely an expression of pride; it is a necessity. Wales is a nation of just over 3 million people bordering a country of 57 million, so there is an ever present risk that we could be swallowed up and amalgamated. Our nation didn’t even have a capital city until Cardiff was named in 1955. This insecurity about our own existence is summed up in the chorus of the song Yma o Hyd, which is sung before Welsh international football matches: “Ry’n ni yma o hyd / Er gwaetha pawb a phopeth.” This translates as: “We are still here, in spite of everyone and everything.”

Back in 1997, Wales voted for devolution, and the Welsh assembly was created in 1999. This officially became........

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