The permanent European settlement of the Chubut Valley and surrounding areas began on July 28th, 1865 when 153 Welsh settlers arrived aboard the converted tea-clipper Mimosa

The permanent European settlement of the Chubut Valley and surrounding areas began on July 28th, 1865 when 153 Welsh settlers arrived aboard the converted tea-clipper Mimosa. The Mimosa had cost £2,500 to hire for the voyage and convert to passenger use, and the fare from Liverpool to Patagonia was £12 for adults and £6 for children, although anyone willing to travel was taken on the journey regardless of ability to pay.[9] The Mimosa settlers, including tailors, cobblers, carpenters, brick makers, and miners, comprised 56 married adults, 33 single or widowed men, 12 single women (usually sisters or servants of married emigrants), and 52 children. There were few farmers, which 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 was born on the march, called Mary Humphries. John Williams was the only colonist with any form of rudimentary medical skill.
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. The first houses here were washed away by a flash flood in 1865, and new houses were constructed. The floods also washed away crops of potatoes and maize. The rainfall in the area was much less than the colonists had been led to expect, leading to crop failures.
See more



First settlers 1865 - Y Wladfa - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
en.wikipedia.org
The idea of a Welsh colony in South America was put forward by Professor Michael D. Jones, a Welsh nationalist