Y Wladfa,

The Rev. Michael D. Jones (1822–98)

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. Patagonia, including the Chubut Valley was claimed by Buenos Aires but it has little control over the area which was also claimed by Chile.[10]:23–30 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 publicize the scheme to form a Welsh colony in Patagonia which was distributed throughout Wales. "The Colony"), also occasionally Y Wladychfa Gymreig (Welsh pronunciation: [ə wlaˈdəχva ɡəmˈreiɡ], "The Welsh Settlement"),successful Welsh settlement in Argentina, which began in 1865. Along the coast of Chubut Province in Patagonia. On 28 July 1865 153 Welsh settlers arrived aboard tea clipper Mimosa.[12] The Mimosa settlers, including tailors, cobblers, carpenters, brickmakers, and miners, 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 the South Wales Coalfield and English urban centres.[10]:35 There were few farmers. 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-desert with little food; they had been told that the area was like lowland Wales. At the coast there was little drinking 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 rudimentary medical 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 of Rawson, now the capital of Chubut Province.[10]:45 This was referred to as Yr Hen Amddiffynfa ('The Old Fortress').: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.[10]:45–47 The floods also washed away crops of potatoes and maize.[10]:52 The rainfall in the area was much less than the colonists had been led to expect, leading to crop failures. 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] irrigation system 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 at Paris and Chicago. Every year, the Eisteddfod festival takes place in the town of Trevelin. In 2014, Professor Wyn James of Cardiff University estimated there were about 5,000 people in Patagonia who speak Welsh. On 28 July 2015, celebrations took place to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Welsh migrations. First Minister of Wales, Carwyn Jones attended the celebration. In October 2018, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales undertook an historic visit to Y Wladfa to give 2 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 harpist Catrin Finch and conductor Grant Llewelyn were part of the concerts. Plagerised knowlege , compiled from wikipedia by M R Gash Trinidad colorado.