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Y Wladfa

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Welsh Argentines
Ariannin Cymreig(Welsh)
Galenses(Spanish)
Flag of Y Wladfa colony
Total population
70,000[1]
Regions with significant populations
Chubut Province
Languages
Spanish,Patagonian Welsh,English
Religion
Protestantism(mostlyMethodismandPresbyterianism) andRoman Catholicism
Related ethnic groups
Welsh,Argentines,English Argentines,Irish Argentines,Scottish Argentines,Welsh Brazilians,Welsh Americans,Welsh Canadians,Welsh Australians
Y Wladfa is located in Argentina
Y Wladfa
Y Wladfa
Y Wladfa
Y Wladfa
Y Wladfa
Y Wladfa
Y Wladfa
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Welsh speaking settlements in Argentina

Y Wladfa(Welsh pronunciation:[əˈwladva],'The Colony'),[2]also occasionallyY Wladychfa Gymreig(Welsh pronunciation:[əwlaˈdəχvaɡəmˈreiɡ],'The Welsh Settlement'),[3][4]refers to the establishment of settlements byWelshcolonists and immigrants in the ArgentinePatagonia,beginning in 1865, mainly along the coast of the lowerChubut Valley.[5]In 1881,the area became part of the Chubut National Territory of Argentina which, in 1955, becameChubut Province.[6]

In the 19th and early 20th century, the Argentine government encouraged emigration from Europe to populate Argentina and south Patagonia particularly, which until theConquest of the Deserthad sparsely rural and coastal settlements. Indigenous peoples of Patagonia include theTehuelcheand theYahgan.

Between 1856 and 1875, 34 settlements of immigrants of various nationalities were established inSanta FeandEntre Ríos.In addition to the main colony in Chubut, a smaller colony was set up in Santa Fe by 44Welsh peoplewho left Chubut, and another group settled atCoronel Suárezin southernBuenos Aires Province.[7][8]

The Welsh-Argentine community is centred onGaiman,Dolavon,Trelew,andTrevelin.[9]There are 70,000 Welsh-Patagonians. However, Chubut estimates the number ofPatagonian Welshspeakers to be about 1,500, while other estimates put the number at 5,000.[10][11]

History[edit]

First settlers 1865[edit]

Percentage of people registered as British in the 1914 Argentine census. Within this group are Welsh, English, Irish and Scottish.
The Rev. Michael D. Jones (1822–1898)
Reconstruction of the flag used in the 19th century, at least in 1865. Has gained popularity in recent years.[12]

The idea of a Welsh colony inPatagoniawas put forward byMichael D. Jones,aWelsh nationalistnonconformistpreacher[13]: 23 based inBala, Gwynedd,who had called for a new "little Wales beyond Wales". He spent some years in theUnited States,where he observed that Welsh immigrants assimilated very quickly compared with other peoples and often lost much of their Welsh identity.[13]: 22 Thus, the original proposal was to establish a new Wales overseas where Welsh settlers and their culture would be generally free from foreign domination.[14]He proposed setting up aWelsh-speakingcolony away from the influence of theEnglish language.He recruited settlers and provided financing;Australia,New Zealandand evenPalestinewere considered, but Patagonia was chosen for its isolation and the Argentines' offer of 100 square miles (260 km2) of land along theChubut Riverin exchange for settling the still-unconquered land of Patagonia for Argentina. Patagonia, including the Chubut Valley, was claimed by Buenos Aires but it had little control over the area (which was also claimed by Chile).[13]: 23–30 Jones had been corresponding with the Argentine government about settling an area known asBahía Blancawhere Welsh immigrants could preserve their language and culture. The Argentine government granted the request as it put them in control of a large tract of land. A Welsh immigration committee met in Liverpool and published a handbook,Llawlyfr y Wladfa,to publicize the scheme to form a Welsh colony in Patagonia which was distributed throughout Wales.[citation needed]

Lewis Jones

Towards the end of 1862, CaptainLove Jones-ParryandLewis Jones(after whom Trelew was named) left for Patagonia to decide whether it was a suitable area for Welsh emigrants. They first visitedBuenos Aireswhere they held discussions with the Interior MinisterGuillermo Rawsonthen, having come to an agreement, headed south. They reached Patagonia in a small ship named theCandelaria,and were driven by a storm into a bay which they namedPorth Madryn,after Jones-Parry's estate in Wales. The town that grew near the spot where they landed is now namedPuerto Madryn.On their return to Wales they declared the area to be very suitable for colonization.

TheMimosa.

On 28 July 1865, 153Welshsettlers arrived aboard tea clipperMimosa.[15]TheMimosasettlers, includingtailors,cobblers,carpenters,brickmakers,andminers,comprised 56 married adults, 33 single or widowed men, 12 single women (usually sisters or servants of married immigrants), and 52 children; the majority (92) were from theSouth Wales Coalfieldand English urban centres.[13]: 35 There were fewfarmers.This was rather unfortunate, particularly when they discovered that the attractions of the area had been oversold and they had landed in an arid semi-desertwith little food; they had been told that the area was like lowland Wales. At the coast there was littledrinking water,and the group embarked on a walk across the parched plain with a single wheelbarrow to carry their belongings. Some died and a baby, Mary Humphries, was born on the march. John Williams was the only colonist with any form of rudimentarymedical skill.So disheartened were some settlers, they requested that the British Government settle them on the Falkland Islands. However, this request was ignored.

Once they reached the valley of the Chubut River, their first settlement was a small fortress on the site which later became the town ofRawson,now the capital ofChubut Province.[13]: 45 This was referred to asYr Hen Amddiffynfa('The Old Fortress').[13]: 44 The first houses, constructed from earth, were washed away by a flash flood in 1865, and new houses of superior quality were built to replace them.[13]: 45–47 The floods also washed away crops of potatoes and maize.[13]: 52 The rainfall in the area was much less than the colonists had been led to expect, leading to crop failures.

Consolidation 1866–1888[edit]

Welsh traditions in Rawson
Y Drafod

The settlers first made contact with the localTehuelche peoplealmost a year after their arrival. After some difficult early years of suspicion and some violence, the Tehuelche people established cordial relationships with the Welsh and helped the settlement survive the early food shortages. The settlers, led by Aaron Jenkins (whose wife Rachel was the first to bring up the idea of systematic use of irrigation canals), soon established Argentina's first[citation needed]irrigationsystem based on the Chubut River (in Welsh,Afon Camwy,'winding river'), irrigating an area three or four miles (five or six km) to each side of the 50-mile (80 km) long stretch of river and creating Argentina's most fertile wheatlands.[citation needed]By 1885, wheat production had reached 6,000 tons, with wheat produced by the colony winning the gold medal at international expositions atParisandChicago.

Harvest time in Patagonia, c.1880

The mouth of theChubut Riverwas difficult to navigate, being shallow and with shifting sandbanks, and it was decided that a railway was required to connect the Lower Chubut valley toPuerto Madryn(originally Porth Madryn) on theGolfo Nuevoon the southern side of theValdes Peninsula.[13]: 80–81 Lewis Jones was the driving force, and in 1884 the Argentine Congress authorized the construction of theCentral Chubut Railwayby Lewis Jones y Cía. Raising funds for the project locally proved difficult, so Lewis Jones went to the United Kingdom to seek funds, where he enlisted the assistance of Asahel P. Bell, an engineer. Work on the railway began in 1886, helped by the arrival of another 465 Welsh settlers on the steamerVesta.The town that grew at the railhead was namedTrelew(Town of Llew) in honour of Lewis Jones.[13]: 86 The town grew rapidly and in 1888 became the headquarters of theCompañía Mercantil del Chubut(Chubut Trading Company). Initially the settlers were largely self-governing, with all men and women of 18 years of age or over having the right to vote.

In January 1868, the first newspaper of the colony,Y Brut(The Chronicle), appeared;Ein Breiniad(Our Privilege) followed in 1878. Both were short-lived, only six issues of each title being circulated. Lewis Jones establishedY Dravod(The Discussion) in 1891, and this had greater longevity: a weekly issue was produced until 1961.[16]

Expansion towards the Andes 1885–1902[edit]

A Welsh school in Patagonia

By the mid-1880s most of the good agricultural land in the Lower Chubut valley had been claimed, and the colonists mounted a number of expeditions to explore other parts of Patagonia to seek more cultivable land. In 1885, the Welsh asked the governor ofChubut Province,Luis Jorge Fontana,for permission to arrange an expedition to explore theAndeanpart of Chubut. Fontana decided to accompany the expedition in person. By the end of November 1885 they had reached a fertile area which the Welsh namedCwm Hyfryd(Pleasant Valley). By 1888, this site at the foot of the Andes had become another Welsh settlement,[16]named in SpanishColonia 16 de Octubre.As the population grew here, the towns ofEsquelandTrevelinwere founded.

In 1893, a Welsh-language newspaper calledY Drafod(The Conversation) was founded by Lewis Jones to promote Welshness in Y Wladfa.[17]

This area became the subject of theCordillera of the Andes Boundary Case 1902between Argentina and Chile. Initially the border was defined by a line connecting the highest peaks in the area, but it later became clear that this line was not the same as the line separating the watersheds, with some of the rivers in the area flowing westwards. Argentina and Chile agreed that the United Kingdom should act as arbitrator, and the views of the Welsh settlers were canvassed. In 1902, despite an offer of a league of land per family from Chile, they voted to remain in Argentina.

Setbacks in the Lower Chubut Valley 1899–1915[edit]

A flooded settlement in the Welsh colony

Serious damage was caused by floods in the 1890s and 1900s, which devastated Rawson and to a lesser extentGaiman,though Trelew was not affected. There was also disagreement between the settlers and thegovernment of Argentina,which introducedconscriptionand insisted on males of military age drilling on Sundays. This ran counter to theSabbatarianprinciples of the settlers and caused much ill-feeling, though the matter was eventually resolved by the intervention of thepresident of Argentina,Julio Argentino Roca.These factors, and a lack of unclaimed farmable land, caused 234 people to leave forLiverpoolaboard theOrissaon 14 May 1902, with 208 of them subsequently travelling toCanada,arriving atSaltcoats, Saskatchewan,in late June,[18]although some of these families later returned to Chubut and later migrated to Australia. Some other settlers moved toRío Negro Provincein Argentina. Many of those who left Chubut were late arrivals who had failed to obtain land of their own, and they were replaced by more immigrants from Wales. By the end of the 19th century there were some 4,000 people of Welsh descent living in Chubut. The last substantial migration from Wales took place shortly beforeWorld War I,which put a halt to further immigration. Approximately 1,000 Welsh immigrants arrived in Patagonia between 1886 and 1911; on the basis of this and other statistics, Glyn Williams estimated that perhaps no more than 2,300 Welsh people ever migrated directly to Patagonia.[19]

Later development[edit]

A Welsh tea house in Chubut

Immigration to the area after 1914 was mainly fromItalyand other southern European countries. Welsh became a minority language. The creation[when?]of acooperative,theCwmni Masnachol Camwy(Spanish:Compañía Mercantil de Chubut), was important. The Society traded on the settlers' behalf inBuenos Airesand acted as a bank with 14 branches. The cooperative society collapsed in theGreat Depressionof the 1930s. The construction of a dam on the Rio Chubut 120 kilometres (75 mi) west of Trelew, inaugurated on 19 April 1963, removed the risk of flooding in the Lower Chubut Valley.

The Welsh have left their mark on the landscape, withwindmillsandchapelsacross the province, including the distinctive wood and corrugated zinc Capel Salem[where?]andTrelew's Salon San David. Many settlements along the valley bear Welsh names.

A Welsh chapel in Gaiman

During the British Government'srepatriationof the 11,313ArgentinePOWstaken during the 1982Falklands War,Welsh-speaking British merchant seamen and British soldiers from theWelsh Guardswere shocked to find themselves addressed inPatagonian Welshby an Argentine POW who was on the way home toPuerto Madryn.[20]Over the years since, close ties between Wales and Y Wladfa have been reestablished.

A 2001BBCarticle described in detail the recent visit toChubut ProvincebyArchdruidMeirion Evans[cy]and 30 members of theGorsedd Cymruin order to revive theGorsedd Y Wladfain a ceremony held in a specially constructedstone circlenearGaiman.

Every year, theEisteddfodfestival takes place in the town ofTrevelin.[21]BBC reporters attended the 2001Eisteddfod del ChubutatTrelewand watched as theBardic Chairwas awarded for the first time inY Wladfato a female poet: Gaiman hotel owner Monica Jones de Jones, for anAwdlon the subject ofRhyddid( "Freedom" ). The article's author continued, "The Patagonia Eisteddfod itself, while sharing those elements common to Eisteddfodau in Wales itself, nonetheless is, in other respects, quite a different affair. As well as hauntingWelsh folk tunes,and recitations in the uniqueSpanish-accented Welshof the Patagonians, there are also rousing displays of Argentinefolk dancingwhich owe everything to theculture of the gauchosand nothing to the somewhat tamer dance routines of the Welsh homeland. "[22]

Current Eisteddfod competitions arebilingual,in both Patagonian Welsh andArgentine Spanish,and include poetry, prose,literary translations(Welsh, Spanish, English, Italian, and French), musical performances, arts, folk dances, photography, and filmmaking among others. TheEisteddfod del Juventudis held every September at Gaiman. The mainEisteddfod del Chubutis held every October atTrelew.Other annual eisteddfodau are held atTrevelin,in theAndesand atPuerto Madrynalong theSouth Atlanticcoast.[23]

In 2006, the first of atwo-Test tourtoArgentinaby theWales national rugby union teamwas played in Puerto Madryn, which was a 27–25 win for Argentina.[citation needed]

As of 2019, 1,411 people undertook Welsh courses in the region, which is the highest number on record for the project.[24]There are three bilingual Welsh/Spanish primary schools in the province of Chubut, namelyYsgol yr Hendrein Trelew,Ysgol Gymraeg y Gaimanin Gaiman, andYsgol Y Cwmin Trevelin.[25]

In 2014, Professor E. Wyn James ofCardiff Universityestimated that there were perhaps as many as 5,000 people in Patagonia who could speak Welsh.[26]

On 28 July 2015, celebrations took place to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Welsh migrations. TheFirst Minister of Wales, Carwyn Jones,attended the celebration.[27]

In October 2018, theBBC National Orchestra of Walesundertook an historic visit to Y Wladfa to give two concerts in a newly refurbished concert hall, that had previously been a wool factory on the outskirts of Trelew. These performances attracted thousands of local visitors and helped celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Welsh migration. Welsh harpistCatrin Finchand conductorGrant Llewelynwere part of the concerts.[citation needed]

Welsh relationship with Indigenous people[edit]

The Welsh settlers to Patagonia settled on indigenousTehuelcheland. The Welsh were able to survive and thrive by bartering Welsh bread for meat, by learning from Tehuelche people how to hunt, and by learning from the Tehuelche how to irrigate their fields with water from the Chubut River.[28][29]

Welsh language names for Argentine places[edit]

The beach at Puerto Madryn
Spanish Welsh English translation of Welsh name
Argentina Yr Ariannin Argentina
Villa La Angostura Lle Cul narrow place
Arroyo Pescado Nant y Pysgod fish stream
Colonia 16 de Octubre Cwm Hyfryd/Bro Hydref beautiful valley/Autumn community
Fuerte Aventura Caer Antur fort adventure
Paso de Indios Rhyd yr Indiaid Indians' ford
Las Plumas Dôl y Plu meadow of the feathers
Puerto Madryn Porth Madryn (Port Madryn)
Rawson Trerawson (Rawson)
Río Chubut(from Tehuelche 'Chupat', meaning 'shining, glinting') Afon Camwy swirling river
Río Corintos Aber Gyrants turning estuary
Valle de los Mártires Dyffryn y Merthyron valley of the martyrs
Valle Frío Dyffryn Oer cold valley
Trelew Tre Lew(is) Lew's town
Dolavon Dôl Afon river meadow
Trevelin Tre Felin mill town

Map[edit]

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Welsh speaking settlements in Chubut

Anthem[edit]

A printed version ofGwlad Newydd y Cymry

Y Wladfa's anthem is a re-working of the Welsh anthem, "Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau",called"Gwlad Newydd y Cymry"('" The New Country of the Welsh "'). The new anthem was penned by Lewis Evans and is sung to the same tune as"Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau".[30]

Popular culture[edit]

Patagoniais a 2011 film about the Welsh settlement in Argentina.[31]

In the BBC's 2015Patagonia with Huw Edwards,Huw Edwardstravelled to Patagonia and met with descendants of the original settlers, to discuss what had survived of the uniquely Welsh culture their ancestors aimed to protect.[32]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^"150th anniversary of Welsh voyage to Patagonia".ITV. 30 May 2015.The community still exists in Argentina today, with a population of more than 70,000.
  2. ^National Library of Wales' bibliography for'The Welsh settlement in Patagonia'
  3. ^Gwladychfa GymreigArchived3 February 2014 at theWayback Machine,being an essay by the Rev. Michael D. Jones probably written during the early 1860s, outlining his vision of a Welsh settlement.
  4. ^Banner Cymru,Mercher, Mawrth 4, 1857, Cyf. I, Rhif 1, p. 7, col. C, article about a meeting in Caernarfon to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of Patagonia as somewhere to establish "Y Wladychfa Gymreig"; see also Williams, R. Bryn,Gwladfa Patagonia: The Welsh Colony in Patagonia 1865–1965(Gwasg Prifysgol Cymru, Caerdydd, 1965), plate facing p. 33, showing printed money notes for "Gwladychfa Gymreig Patagonia", with one also bearing the stamp "Y Wladychfa Gymreig"
  5. ^"The Chubut Colony".The Welsh of Patagonia.Retrieved12 July2021.
  6. ^"Chubut province, Argentina".Britannica.Retrieved12 July2021.
  7. ^Birt, Paul W. (2005). "Welsh (in Argentina)". In Diarmuid Ó Néill (ed.).Rebuilding the Celtic Languages.Talybont: Y Lolfa. p. 146.ISBN978-0-86243-723-7.
  8. ^"Wales and Patagonia".26 June 2015.Retrieved4 May2017.
  9. ^Berresford Ellis, Peter(1983).The Celtic revolution: a study in anti-imperialism.Talybont:Y Lolfa.pp. 175–178.ISBN978-0-86243-096-2.
  10. ^Western Mail,27 Dec 2004
  11. ^"Viewpoint: The Argentines who speak Welsh".BBC News.16 October 2014.Retrieved16 October2014.
  12. ^Gregoric, Francisco (2020)."Welsh Community (Chubut Province, Argentina)".Flags of the World.
  13. ^abcdefghijWilliams, Glyn (1975).The desert and the dream: A study of Welsh colonization in Chubut 1865 – 1915.Cardiff: University of Wales Press.ISBN978-0-7083-0579-9.
  14. ^Powell, R. Daniel (1985). "Centralization of Irrigation Systems: A Case in the Argentine Frontier".Canadian Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Studies.10(20). Taylor & Francis: 56.
  15. ^Wilkinson, Susan (September 1998)."Welsh immigrants in Patagonia: Mimosa, the old ship that sailed into history".(originally) Buenos Aires Herald.Retrieved5 January2007.
  16. ^ab"The Welsh colony in Patagonia".Collections: Printed materials.The National Library of Wales. 2015.Retrieved19 June2015.
  17. ^"Y Drafod – Welsh Newspapers Online – the National Library of Wales".
  18. ^Williams, Colin H."Multicultural Canada — Welsh".Multicultural Canada Project, Simon Fraser University.Archived fromthe originalon 26 June 2007.Retrieved1 July2007.
  19. ^Glyn Williams (1969). "The Welsh in Patagonia: A Demographic Note".Norsk Tidsskrift for Sprogvidenskap.Supplementary volume: 238.
  20. ^Johnson-Allen, J. (2011).They couldn't have done it without us.Seafarer Books. p.168.ISBN9781906266233
  21. ^"The Eisteddfod of Trevelin – Trevelin, Patagonia, Argentina".
  22. ^"Patagonia, land of song".BBC News.26 October 2001.Retrieved8 June2020.
  23. ^Brooks, Walter Ariel."Eisteddfod: La cumbre de la poesía céltica".Sitio al Margen.Archived fromthe originalon 5 November 2006.Retrieved4 October2006.
  24. ^"The Welsh Language Project in Chubut Annual Report 2019"(PDF).British Council. 2019.Retrieved18 April2021.
  25. ^"Welsh Language Project".British Council.Retrieved6 June2017.
  26. ^"The Argentines who speak Welsh".BBC News.16 October 2014.
  27. ^"The Welsh are fully integrated to Argentina and have preserved their culture".MercoPress. 28 July 2015.Retrieved28 September2019.
  28. ^"150th anniversary of Welsh emigration to Patagonia".BBC News.28 July 2015.Retrieved30 July2023.
  29. ^Prior, Neil (30 May 2015)."Patagonia 150 years on: A 'little Wales beyond Wales'".BBC.Retrieved30 July2023.
  30. ^Axtell, William.""A song for a new Welsh nation": Patagonian Welsh national anthem discovered in 19th century pamphlet | Culture24 ".Culture24.Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.Retrieved11 September2023.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  31. ^Booth, Hannah (2 March 2011)."Matthew Rhys: From Patagonia with love".The Guardian.
  32. ^"Patagonia with Huw Edwards".1 June 2015.Retrieved2 March2022– via bbc.co.uk.

Other Sources[edit]

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toWelsh diaspora in Argentina.
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