Welsh Contributions to Exploration in Patagonia

Abstract

IN 1965 the Welsh colony of Patagonia celebrated one hundred years of uninterrupted occupation of Patagonian territory. Various authors have paid token tribute to the importance of the colony in Latin American history (Bowen, 1966; Williams, G., n.d.; Williams, R. B., 1962). It was the first permanent settlement to be established south of the Rio Negro, and laid the foundation for subsequent colonization projects in Patagonia. However, of all the attempts to explore what Lucas Bridges labelled, 'The uttermost part of the world', (Bridges, 1948) it is doubt? ful that any have received as little credit as those undertaken by members of this pioneering Welsh colony. Invariably their explorations were either entirely unpublicized, or the credit for the exploits was given to non-Welsh members of the various expeditions. It is hoped that this paper will alter some of these misconceptions while, at the same time, placing the role of Welsh exploration of Patagonia in its true perspective. Motives of the explorations.?It is apparent that many different motivations were involved in the Welsh exploration of their adopted home. During the years when such journeys were undertaken, the emphasis on different motivations varied considerably, being controlled by such factors as the Welsh image of the potential form of the Colony, the degree of external contact, and the political aspirations of the Argentine Government. The fact that some of the journeys were promoted by the community interests and others by individual incentive makes the problem of generalization about motivation extremely difficult. It must be remembered that the Welsh had emigrated to Chubut in the hope of pursuing nationalistic ideals that were denied them in their homeland. This was the central theme of those who organized the proposed mass relocation of Welsh culture. On the other hand, the majority of the Welsh peasants and industrial workers who joined the movement did so to further the economic interests of themselves and their families. Their main interest was in the acquisition of agricultural land. It is fairly obvious that the motivations for exploration were quite different for each of these two groups. Yet, it is also clear that a certain interaction was inevitable. Only through cooperation could the aspirations of all community members be realized. From the outset, the intention of the Welsh Emigration Society in Liverpool was to populate as much as possible of Patagonian territory with Welsh colonists (Hughes, 1862, p. 8, 18-19). They were thinking in terms of the mass migration to North America during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and saw no reason why similar numbers of Welsh immigrants could not be enticed into joining the Pata? gonian colony. To them it seemed perfectly logical that such a mass relocation of population would acquire possession of the populated area and thereby gain independence. Even when it became apparent that the Argentine Government would strongly resist any such intrusion of her territory, the Society rationalized the situa? tion by adopting a compromising attitude which maintained that the immigration of 20,000 settlers would insure the achievement of provincial status which would in turn guarantee political autonomy (Jones, 1885, Pl6)The settlement of the