The Welsh colony
If there is a cultural stamp that can be noticed in most of Chubut cities, it is the Welsh one. Almost no other Province in the country experienced the formation of such large colonies.
Even before the Spanish and the Italians, the colonists of the European Wales prepared the ground for “civilization” in this part of the Argentinean map, long ago in 1865, when looking for new lands to work.
But of course they were not the first inhabitants of Chubut. Long before the arrival of the European,s the tehuelche Indians had wandered around these lands for centuries, hunting for living. They were reduced almost to extinction during the 19th Century “Desert Campaign” or “Conquest of the Desert”. But even despite the campaign, today they still constitute one of the largest Argentinean indigenous groups. They can be seen in reservations, keeping their customs and their descendants, inhabiting the entire Patagonia.
Welsh history in these southern lands
On July, 28th, 1865, 153 Welsh immigrants disembarked in the New Gulf, today Puerto Madryn. The contingent consisted of men, women, and children coming from different Welsh counties.
They arrived in the Mimosa sailboat, bringing with them only the essentials to set up a home in the new land and some elements needed to perform agricultural work.
Weather and Geography were new to most of them. In the short term, finding fresh water became essential. So they eventually got to the mouth of a river. It was the Chubut River, called the Chupat at that time. They settled in the north margin of the river and founded a town that would later become the provincial capital, and which they named Rawson, in honor of Dr. Guillermo Rawson, President B. Mitre’s Secretary of the Interior, who had been of great help in their settling in Patagonia.
These Welsh people were looking for an opportunity and a place to practice their faith, speak their language, keep their traditions and fully exercise their political rights. They found that place and opportunity here, in Patagonia. On the other hand, the colonists contributed with their presence to consolidate Argentine sovereignty over this part of the territory, which was already beginning to be desired and claimed by then.
The Welsh had important leaders like Reverend Michael D. Jones; Captain Love Jones Parry; Liverpool typographer Lewis Jones, and Reverend Abrahan Matthews.
So it can be assured that it was during B. Mitre’s presidency, that the definite settlement of the region began, more specifically in the lower valley of the Chubut River. Successively, between 1874 and 1876, new groups of Welsh colonists arrived, who also settled in the Colony.
To solve the irrigation problems, they built channels, creating one of the first networks of artificial irrigation in the country. The area began to produce wheat on a larger scale.
As a way of encouraging the sale of the valley products in the north of the country, especially in Buenos Aires, they thought of building a train that would join the lower valley with Puerto Madryn, an embarking point. So, during the second half of 1886, the laying of the tracks began. Consequently, Trelew was born as one end of the rail while Puerto Madryn was the other. From that moment on, a new period in the region begins, with the settling of people around the train stations. By that time, the Welsh colony already had a school, the first one in Rawson, a newspaper, good houses, grocery stores, granaries, and mills. Cheese and butter were manufactured to be consumed in the region. And Gaiman was the place where most of the production activities in the area were carried out.
In 1884, the National Government designates Rawson as capital of the territory and Colonel Luis Jorge Fontana as Chubut’s first Governor. The movement of small farmer groups towards the West originates the towns of Dolavon and 28 de Julio.
During the decade of 1880, the mountain range of Chubut was colonized as well, with the same convictions and strength, beginning by the area known as “Valle 16 de Octubre”, which now includes the curious Trevelin. By 1902, cereals were already cultivated there and cattle raised. And they had their own chapel and school: school number 18 of Corintos River, which was conducted by the teacher Owen Williams.
And on April 30 of that same year, the Welsh gratitude had a chance to express itself at the schoolhouse. The valley was being claimed by the Chilean government. So, a plebiscite was held to find out which nationality the settlers preferred. The Welsh said that they had lived under the sovereignty and protection of Argentina. The unanimous answer was that it was not “a matter of preference but a question of filial love and loyalty to a country that had been adopted by some of them, and was native to others” . Then, the arbitrator (an English man) took into account this plebiscite and recognized the legitimacy of our rights. Teacher Owen Williams raised the “Argentine flag” on the school flagpole and our national anthem was sung. That was the end of the territorial dispute. More information about the 1902 plebiscite.