to the Welsh heritage. The Welsh language was still spoken in the area well into the 1970s. South America In 1852 Thomas Benbow Phillips of Tregaron established a settlement of about 100 Welsh people in the state of Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil. Many of these colonists later moved to the more successful colony in Argentina as part of Y Wladfa ("The Colony"). The best known of the Welsh colonies, the colony in the Chubut Valley of Patagonia known as Y Wladfa Gymreig ("The Welsh Colony"), was established in 1865 when 153 settlers landed at what is now Puerto Madryn. Shortly before this, the colonists had reached an agreement with Argentina's minister of the interior, Guillermo Rawson, that the colony would be recognized as one of the states of Argentina when its population reached 20,000. However this pledge was not ratified by the Argentinian Congress, out of fear that the British government would use the presence of the settlers as an excuse to seize Patagonia. References John Davies. A History of Wales. London: Penguin Books. External links Project-Hiraeth – Documents the stories of the Welsh colony in Patagonia, Argentina through film, text and illustration. See also Welsh American European colonization of the Americas History of Wales Welsh Canadian Welsh-American history Welsh diaspora