The Welsh in Patagonia

The History of Wales

On 28th May 1865 the clipper ship 'Mimosa' set sail from Liverpool carrying 153 Welsh emigrants bound for Patagonia.

The passengers paid £12 per adult and £6 per child for the journey. Their aim was to establish a Welsh colony in the Chubut River valley in a bid to preserve the Welsh language and culture. They landed on July 28 and were met by Edwyn Cynrig Roberts and Lewis Jones who had arrived in Patagonia in June to prepare for the main cohort of settlers. They named their landing site Porth Madryn and on September 15th 1865 the first town in the colony was named Rawson, which was followed by settlements at Gaiman and Trelew.

In 1875 the Argentine government granted the Welsh settlers ownership of the land, encouraging hundreds of others from Wales to join the colony. Today, more than 50,000 Patagonians are of Welsh descent with almost 5,000 being Welsh speakers. The Welsh-Argentine colony, which became known as Y Wladfa, remains centered around Gaiman, Trelew and Trevelin.