Iaith Y Wladfa: The Welsh in Patagonia

Most people are quite justifiably surprised to hear that the Welsh established a settlement in the desolate region of Patagonia, Argentina nearly a century and a half ago. But they're usually even more amazed to learn that now, generations later, there are people in the province of Chubut who still speak Welsh, operate Welsh tea houses, and hold Eisteddfodau. I had the same reaction when I first learned of Y Wladfa, the colony.

Recently, I was fortunate enough to attend a seminar about the Welsh in Patagonia at the Festival of Wales, held in San Jose, CA. The seminar was led by Maria Teresa Agozzino, Head Folklore Archivist at the University of California, Berkeley. The following article is based on my notes from the seminar plus some additional research, and it tells the tale of a small but intrepid group of desperate Welsh settlers who succeeded in finding a new home in the harsh Patagonian wasteland.

In the mid-1800s, the heartland of Wales was becoming increasingly English, and various groups of Welsh began to hold meetings to discuss the founding of a new homeland where they could maintain their language, culture, and religion. The scattered settlements in the huge United States were already finding it difficult to preserve their distinct heritage, so a group approached the Argentine government. Argentina granted Wales 100 square miles of land in the Chubut River valley, a thin section of green in the middle of a desolate windy prairie about 700 miles south of Buenos Aires.

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Source: Hotel Gwesty Tywi

In May 1865, 153 men, women, and children left from Liverpool on the Mimosa, a group consisting mainly of North- and Mid-Welsh with a large contingent from the Rhondda/Merthyr Tydfil area. The ship landed two months later at Puerto Madryn, an event commemorated by plaques and statues throughout the city such as the one pictured below, called La Galesa. Today, the town of Trelew (Lewistown, named after Lewis Jones, one of the settlement's orchestrators) still celebrates Independence Day on May 25. Arrival Day, or Gwyl y Glaniad, is celebrated on July 28 throughout the Welsh communities.

Source: Hotel Gwesty Tywi

Despite immense hardships caused by famine and a climate utterly different from that of Wales, the settlers gradually established a strong foothold. Small towns sprang up along the Chubut River, known in Welsh as the Afon Camwy, not only near the landing place on the Eastern coast but also in Cwm Hyfryd, the lovely valley, at the base of the Andes to the West. These place names, and others such as Gaiman, Trevelin (Mill Town), and Dolavon (River Meadow) attest to the eventual success of the Welsh colony. Some of this success was due to relations with the native Tehuelche tribe, with whom trade was established by 1873. The beginning of irrigation practices also helped to save the settlement and caused Guillermo Rawson, Minister of the Interior in Buenos Aires, to take notice and send further help.

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