Y Wladfa

Welsh Argentines

Flag of the Welsh colony in Patagonia
Total population
(72,685)
Regions with significant populations
Chubut Province
Languages
Spanish, Patagonian Welsh (10%)
Religion
Protestantism (mostly Methodism and Presbyterianism) and Roman Catholicism
Related ethnic groups
Welsh, English Argentines, Irish Argentines, Scottish Argentines, Welsh Chileans, Welsh Americans, Welsh Canadians, Welsh Australians, British Latin Americans

Y Wladfa (Welsh pronunciation: [ə ˈwlɑːdva], The Colony), also occasionally Y Wladychfa Gymreig, is a Welsh settlement in Argentina, which began in 1865 and occurred mainly along the coast of Chubut Province in the far southern region of Patagonia.

In the 19th and early 20th century the Argentine government encouraged emigration from Europe to populate the country outside the Buenos Aires region; between 1856 and 1875, 34 settlements of immigrants of various nationalities were established in Santa Fe and Entre Ríos. In addition to the main colony in Chubut, a smaller colony was set up in Santa Fe by 44 Welsh people who left Chubut, and another group settled at Coronel Suárez in southern Buenos Aires Province. In the early 21st century around 50,000 Patagonians were of Welsh descent.

The Welsh-Argentine community is centred on Gaiman, Trelew and Trevelin. Chubut estimates the number of Patagonian Welsh speakers to be about 1,500, while other estimates put the number at 5,000.

The idea of a Welsh colony in South America was put forward by Professor Michael D. Jones, a Welsh nationalist non-conformist preacher based in Bala who had called for a new "little Wales beyond Wales". He spent some years in the United States, where he observed that Welsh immigrants assimilated very quickly compared with other peoples and often lost much of their Welsh identity. He proposed setting up a Welsh-speaking colony away from the influence of the English language. He recruited settlers and provided financing; Australia, New Zealand and even Palestine were considered, but Patagonia was chosen for its isolation and the Argentines' offer of 100 square miles (260 km²) of land along the Chubut River in exchange for settling the still-unconquered land of Patagonia for Argentina. Michael D Jones had been corresponding with the Argentinean government about settling an area known as Bahía Blanca where Welsh immigrants could preserve their language and culture. The Argentinean 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 publicise the scheme to form a Welsh colony in Patagonia which was distributed throughout Wales.