On the 28th May 1865, the first group of Welsh emigrants began the long journey from the Liverpool docks aboard a Tea Clipper named Mimosa to settle in the Chubut Valley of Patagonia, Southern Argentina. It arrived on the 27th of July at what is now known as Puerto Madryn.
Over the next several years new settlers arrived and in 1875 the Argentine government granted the Welsh settlers official title to the land. New people joined the colony, more than 500 people arriving from Wales, including many from the south Wales coalfields.
The reason for their migration was to protect their native Welsh culture and its language, which they believed was under threaten of gradually being absorbed into England.
150 years on I speak to some of the descendants on their feelings of their Welsh heritage and if they believe the grandparents had been successful in preserving the Welsh culture. Each interview is can be heard in Welsh or English.
English
Welsh
