Cardiff, also known as Caerdydd, is the capital and largest city of Wales and the eleventh-largest city in the United Kingdom. Its name means "Fort of the Taff", referencing a fort established there by the Romans in 75 AD. During the 2nd century AD, the fort was abandoned and a civilian settlement grew, inhabited by traders, veterans, and their families. During the 3rd and 4th centuries, a stone fortress was built at Cardiff to defend Britannia from raiders. The settlement became a part of Gliwissig following the end of Roman rule in Britain, and, in 1081, King William the Conqueror of England built a castle keep within the walls of the Roman fort and established Cardiff Castle at the heart of the city. During the Middle Ages, Cardiff came to have up to 2,000 residents, and it was limited to the area within its walls for much of the era. In 1404, Owain Glyndwr captured Cardiff Castle and burned the city, but it was rebuilt on the same street plan and returned to being a busy port. In 1536, Cardiff became the county town of Glamorgan, and it became a free borough in 1542. During the 1830s, Cardiff grew rapidly due to the expansion of its docks and the linking of the docks to the Taff Vale Railway. Cardiff became a center of coal exports, and, by 1841, 25% of its population were English immigrants, while 10% were Irish. By 1881, Cardiff had become the largest town in Wales, and King Edward VII granted Cardiff city status on 28 October 1905. The slump in demand for Welsh coal led to the decline of Cardiff during the Interwar period, and it was bombed by the German Luftwaffe in "The Blitz" of World War II. On 20 December 1955, Cardiff was recognized as the capital of Wales, and it underwent significant development since the 1980s. In 2017, Cardiff had a population of 364,248 people, while its urban area had 479,000 residents and its metro area had 1,097,000 residents.
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