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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.

Cymharol brin yw'r sylw a roddwyd i lenyddiaeth Gymraeg yr ugeinfed ganrif, a'r unfed ganrif ar hugain sy'n lleoli llenyddiaeth Gymraeg o fewn cyd-destun trefedigaethol ac ôl-drefedigaethol. Prin hefyd yw'r sylw hyd yma a roddwyd i lên taith yn benodol. Amcan y traethawd hwn felly yw rhoi dyledus sylw i lên taith yn y Gymraeg gan leoli'r astudiaeth honno o fewn cyd-destun ôl-drefedigaethol, a chan ganolbwyntio ar lên taith sy'n ymwneud ag America Ladin. Mae'r gwaith yn rhan o sgwrs ehangach yn y Gymraeg am y tensiwn y mae Cymru yn ei brofi, rhwng bod yn ddioddefwyr i imperialaeth Brydeinig ac yn weithredwyr trefedigaethol ar yr un pryd. Wrth ymdrin â llên taith am Batagonia yn benodol, mae'r gwaith yn tynnu ar faes theori aneddfeydd gwladfaol. Mae'r ymchwil hwn yn cyfrannu i faes astudiaethau llên taith hefyd trwy ddadlau dros gynnwys barddoniaeth o fewn astudiaethau o lên taith; a chan dynnu ar enghreifftiau o farddoniaeth daith Gymraeg dros gyfnod o ganrif, bydd yr ymchwil hwn yn dangos sut y mae beirdd yn benthyg ac yn arbrofi â chonfensiynau rhyddiaith daith o fewn barddoniaeth daith. Y testunau dan sylw yw 'O ddyddlyfr taith' (1931) gan T. H. Parry-Williams; Sajama (1960) ac Illimani (1964) gan T. Ifor Rees; Dringo'r Andes (1904) gan Eluned Morgan; Crwydro Patagonia (1960) gan R. Bryn Williams; Eldorado (1999) gan Twm Morys ac Iwan Llwyd; a Glaniad (2015) gan Mererid Hopwood a Karen Owen.