Welsh Journals

THE Welsh in Canada are rather like the Cheshire cat in Alice in Wonderland, continually disappearing except for the smile left behind. Other ethnic groups, such as the Poles or even the Icelanders, have their own journals and archival compilations. The Welsh do not, although their importance as one of Canada's 'founding people' is acknowledged by the inclusion of a daffodil, along with the maple leaf for the 'First Nations' (the American 'Indians'), the fleur-de-lys for the French and the usual symbols for the English, Scots and Irish, in the decoration of the Canadian Parliament Building in Ottawa. The reasons why they disappeared from view are not difficult to determine. Unless a Welsh-speaking group emigrated together and maintained their language for at least a generation, they quickly disappeared into the general mass of 'English' emigrants. They usually sailed from English ports, Liverpool or Bristol. Canadian censuses frequently did not provide a separate category for 'Welsh' as they did for Scots or Irish. This neglect began to be remedied in the mid-1980s. Several books appeared, including Carol Bennett's In Search of the Red Dragon and Peter Thomas's Strangers from a Secret Land. A conference at the University of Wales, Swansea, revealed that a number of people were working on the subject.2 The Canadian Studies in Wales Group 1 This is a revised version of a paper given to the British Association of Canadian Studies meeting in Swansea in 1997. The author is grateful for the support of the Canadian High Commission, the Canadian Studies in Wales Group and the Government of Alberta. 2 C. Bennett, In Search of the Red Dragon: The Welsh in Canada (Renfrew, Ontario, 1985); P.Thomas, Strangers from a Secret Land:Thelbyages of the Brig 'Albion' and the Founding of the First Welsh Settlements in Canada (Toronto, 1986). Conference papers published as M. E. Chamberlain (ed.), The Vftlsh in Canada (CSWG, 1986).