This dissertation explores the sense of Welsh consciousness developed in Patagonia towards the end of the twentieth century by analysing the way in which it is constructed in four memoirs published by Welsh descendants from the Argentine province of Chubut. A country of many peoples, Argentina benefited from the contributions of diverse immigrant groups in the course of its development as a modem republic. Nevertheless, the Welsh migration to the southerly province of Chubut can be regarded as exceptional due to the autonomous aspirations of the leaders of the Mimosa, the first Welsh contingent to reach Patagonia in 1865. A lot of water has passed under the bridge since then, and what some of the settlers regarded as a 'New Wales in South America' where the Welsh language and culture would be treasured is now another one of the twenty- three provinces of the Argentine Republic. The present investigation employs a varied theoretical framework with a view to assessing a range of views on what we may call 'Welsh Patagonianness' as expressed in autobiographical literature. It compares and contrasts the perceptions of individual memoirists in terms of how Welshness, Argentineness, Patagonianness and Britishness are viewed in relation to various issues such as identity, ethnicity, myth, diaspora, assimilation, hybridisation and the concept of the Argentinean crisol de razas (melting pot). Fred Green's Pethau Patagonia (1984), Valmai Jones' Atgofion am y Wladfa (1985), Carlos Luis Williams' Puerto Madrynyel triunfo de mis padres: El Amor (1988) and Juan Daniel Moreteau's Tres etapas de una vida (1997) are studied in order to trace the evolution of this Welsh Patagonian awareness, with a focus on the high degree of hybridisation that has allowed it to survive the steady decline observed in a large part of the twentieth century and to achieve a remarkable revitalisation by the turn of the new millennium.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:584473 |
| Date | January 2008 |
| Creators | Lublin, Geraldine |
| Publisher | Cardiff University |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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