The Dream of Iolo Morganwg: An alternate history of Welsh Patagonia
- Thread starter RPW@Cy
- Start date
Every reward had to start somewhere. And congratulations on the well earned commendation RPW@Cy.
Will we get more Latin American perspective soon? I tend to think the influx of people and a royal governor showing up will cause the neighbors to start to take things a bit more seriously.
How it began...
...The first CMII was awarded to somebody who got me out of writer's block on a TL with a few well-chosen ideas. The subsequent ones were peer-judged and with my first nomination to start the ball rolling. As they aren't given out like confetti, people seem to value them. And it's not an award I can give to myself, nor would I accept it if nominated.
That explain it for you, PlotVitalNPC?
...The first CMII was awarded to somebody who got me out of writer's block on a TL with a few well-chosen ideas. The subsequent ones were peer-judged and with my first nomination to start the ball rolling. As they aren't given out like confetti, people seem to value them. And it's not an award I can give to myself, nor would I accept it if nominated.
That explain it for you, PlotVitalNPC?
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Frankly, I was mostly without any context on whether this was 'a thing', or whether you'd come up with the award right here and now.
Or, for that matter, what was notable about you.
Just catching up on the backlog of comments...
The estimate I'm working to is that, starting with a baseline of 10K in 1830, due to a combination of low initial population and healthy immigration, the population should double by 1840 and again by 1850, then slow down to doubling roughly every 15-20 years for the rest of the 19th century - this is similar to OTL trends in other settler colonies such as South Africa, so I hope it doesn't seem implausible but am happy to hear arguments to the contrary.
I would be very surprised if your everyday, working class Buenos Airean has given it more than a moment's thought. The establishment are starting to get concerned though.
Thanks - to be honest, I don't know that much about him and certainly haven't thought that far ahead - when I was searching out a plausible candidate I wanted someone who had experience of governing a potentially fractious non-English speaking population and who's previous experience meant that a posting to New Wales would not look like a demotion. This pretty much narrowed the search down to the smaller Canadian provinces with a significant French population (which PEI still had at this time) and then when I checked out the governors for someone who moved post at about the same time Sir Charles seemed the best fit.
The estimate I'm working to is that, starting with a baseline of 10K in 1830, due to a combination of low initial population and healthy immigration, the population should double by 1840 and again by 1850, then slow down to doubling roughly every 15-20 years for the rest of the 19th century - this is similar to OTL trends in other settler colonies such as South Africa, so I hope it doesn't seem implausible but am happy to hear arguments to the contrary.
I would be very surprised if your everyday, working class Buenos Airean has given it more than a moment's thought. The establishment are starting to get concerned though.
Thanks - to be honest, I don't know that much about him and certainly haven't thought that far ahead - when I was searching out a plausible candidate I wanted someone who had experience of governing a potentially fractious non-English speaking population and who's previous experience meant that a posting to New Wales would not look like a demotion. This pretty much narrowed the search down to the smaller Canadian provinces with a significant French population (which PEI still had at this time) and then when I checked out the governors for someone who moved post at about the same time Sir Charles seemed the best fit.
As the population grows and the political establishment takes shape it will be interesting to see what kind of political culture takes shape in this Southern Cone.
Part 14 - Nation Building
FITZROY, Sir Charles Augustus, KCH, KCB
First Governor General, 1841-46. Principal achievements - instituting the first national census, reforming the Senedd to include an appointed upper chamber, building the first Government House as a residency for the Governor (now the home of the National Library), issuing a charter for the Patagonian Railway Company and the founding of Porth Fitzroy.
Extract from Geiriadur Bywgraffiad Genedlaethol (Dictionary of National Biography) 23rd Edition, 2009
---
To Her Majesty Victoria, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Queen, Defender of the Faith.
It is with the greatest humility that I write to Your Majesty on this, the fifth anniversary of Your ascension to the throne, to communicate to you the results of the first official census to be conducted in Your Majesty’s colony of New Wales which was carried out on my command on the 1st of March this year.
The detailed breakdown of the census returns can be found in the statistical annex to this report, but for the purposes of this document they may be summarised as follows as broken down by census region.
Camwy Valley
Total population - 11,342
Of which:
Males aged over 21 - 3,712
Females aged over 21 - 3,150
All aged under 21 - 4,480
The largest single employment sector consists of agricultural labourers and related trades. Other sectors of significance are fisheries, retail and domestic service. The largest settlement, and capital of the colony, is the town of Trewatcyn, with a population of 1,374. Other settlements of significance are Hebron, Gaiman and Cae’r Afon.
Andean Mountains and Pacific Coast
Total Population - 6,350
Of which:
Males aged over 21 - 1,968
Females aged over 21 - 1,842
All aged under 21 - 2,540
The largest single employment sector consists of agricultural labourers and related trades. Other sectors of significance are timber workers and fisheries. The largest settlement, s the town of Caerfelin, with a population of 781. Other settlements of significance are Porth Niwlog and Bangor is-Mynydd.
Northern Region
Total Population - 4,070
Of which:
Males aged over 21 - 1,310
Females aged over 21 - 1,241
All aged under 21 - 1,519
The largest single employment sector consists of estate workers, herders and related trades. The largest settlement, is the town of Caer Ogledd, with a population of 319. Other settlements of significance are Tre’r Anialwch and Machinchau.
Southern Region
Total Population - 2,250
Of which:
Males aged over 21 - 698
Females aged over 21 - 675
All aged under 21 - 877
The largest single employment sector consists of estate workers, herders and related trades. The largest settlement, is the town of Llynoedd Efaill, with a population of 294. Other settlements of significance are Porth Awydd and Ynys Ganol.
The total European population of the colony therefore consists of:
All - 24,012
Males aged over 21 - 7,688
Females aged over 21 - 6,908
All aged under 21 - 9,416
Not included in the above figures are the total population of the native tribes which have pledged fealty to Your Majesty and which come to an estimated total of 2,900. A more accurate count was not possible owing to the nomadic nature of the lifestyle of the native peoples.
Also not included in the above total are the crews of Your Majesty’s Ships Owen Glendower, currently based at Trewatcyn, and Acteon, based at Porth Niwlog, the complements of these vessels being 287 and 179 men and boys, respectively.
Given under my hand the 20th of June 1842.
(Signed)
C. A. FITZROY, KCH, KCB
Governor-General, New Wales
Author’s notes:
1. If this looks like a data dump from a spreadsheet thinly disguised as an in-character post, that’s because that’s exactly what it is. Researching the wider world is taking longer than I hoped so this is to keep things ticking over.
2. OTL equivalents of towns cited in text and not previously mentioned -
Porth Fitzroy - Puerto Madryn
Gaiman - as OTL (the name is Tehuelche and I saw no reason not to retain it)
Cae’r Afon - Dolavon
Bangor is-Mynydd - Esquel
Tre’r Anialwch - Sierra Colorada (Rio Negro province)
Machinchau - Maquinchao (essentially the same name, written in latin alphabet according to Welsh conventions rather than Spanish ones, doubtless incompetently.)
Llynoedd Efaill - Sarmiento
Porth Awydd - Puerto Deseado
Ynys Ganol - Isla Pavon
3. “Your Majesty’s Ship” - one of my favorite pieces of British military trivia. The only time when it is not correct to refer to a vessel of the Royal Navy as “Her (His) Majesty’s Ship” (HMS) is when you are directly addressing the sovereign.
FITZROY, Sir Charles Augustus, KCH, KCB
First Governor General, 1841-46. Principal achievements - instituting the first national census, reforming the Senedd to include an appointed upper chamber, building the first Government House as a residency for the Governor (now the home of the National Library), issuing a charter for the Patagonian Railway Company and the founding of Porth Fitzroy.
Extract from Geiriadur Bywgraffiad Genedlaethol (Dictionary of National Biography) 23rd Edition, 2009
---
To Her Majesty Victoria, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Queen, Defender of the Faith.
It is with the greatest humility that I write to Your Majesty on this, the fifth anniversary of Your ascension to the throne, to communicate to you the results of the first official census to be conducted in Your Majesty’s colony of New Wales which was carried out on my command on the 1st of March this year.
The detailed breakdown of the census returns can be found in the statistical annex to this report, but for the purposes of this document they may be summarised as follows as broken down by census region.
Camwy Valley
Total population - 11,342
Of which:
Males aged over 21 - 3,712
Females aged over 21 - 3,150
All aged under 21 - 4,480
The largest single employment sector consists of agricultural labourers and related trades. Other sectors of significance are fisheries, retail and domestic service. The largest settlement, and capital of the colony, is the town of Trewatcyn, with a population of 1,374. Other settlements of significance are Hebron, Gaiman and Cae’r Afon.
Andean Mountains and Pacific Coast
Total Population - 6,350
Of which:
Males aged over 21 - 1,968
Females aged over 21 - 1,842
All aged under 21 - 2,540
The largest single employment sector consists of agricultural labourers and related trades. Other sectors of significance are timber workers and fisheries. The largest settlement, s the town of Caerfelin, with a population of 781. Other settlements of significance are Porth Niwlog and Bangor is-Mynydd.
Northern Region
Total Population - 4,070
Of which:
Males aged over 21 - 1,310
Females aged over 21 - 1,241
All aged under 21 - 1,519
The largest single employment sector consists of estate workers, herders and related trades. The largest settlement, is the town of Caer Ogledd, with a population of 319. Other settlements of significance are Tre’r Anialwch and Machinchau.
Southern Region
Total Population - 2,250
Of which:
Males aged over 21 - 698
Females aged over 21 - 675
All aged under 21 - 877
The largest single employment sector consists of estate workers, herders and related trades. The largest settlement, is the town of Llynoedd Efaill, with a population of 294. Other settlements of significance are Porth Awydd and Ynys Ganol.
The total European population of the colony therefore consists of:
All - 24,012
Males aged over 21 - 7,688
Females aged over 21 - 6,908
All aged under 21 - 9,416
Not included in the above figures are the total population of the native tribes which have pledged fealty to Your Majesty and which come to an estimated total of 2,900. A more accurate count was not possible owing to the nomadic nature of the lifestyle of the native peoples.
Also not included in the above total are the crews of Your Majesty’s Ships Owen Glendower, currently based at Trewatcyn, and Acteon, based at Porth Niwlog, the complements of these vessels being 287 and 179 men and boys, respectively.
Given under my hand the 20th of June 1842.
(Signed)
C. A. FITZROY, KCH, KCB
Governor-General, New Wales
Author’s notes:
1. If this looks like a data dump from a spreadsheet thinly disguised as an in-character post, that’s because that’s exactly what it is. Researching the wider world is taking longer than I hoped so this is to keep things ticking over.
2. OTL equivalents of towns cited in text and not previously mentioned -
Porth Fitzroy - Puerto Madryn
Gaiman - as OTL (the name is Tehuelche and I saw no reason not to retain it)
Cae’r Afon - Dolavon
Bangor is-Mynydd - Esquel
Tre’r Anialwch - Sierra Colorada (Rio Negro province)
Machinchau - Maquinchao (essentially the same name, written in latin alphabet according to Welsh conventions rather than Spanish ones, doubtless incompetently.)
Llynoedd Efaill - Sarmiento
Porth Awydd - Puerto Deseado
Ynys Ganol - Isla Pavon
3. “Your Majesty’s Ship” - one of my favorite pieces of British military trivia. The only time when it is not correct to refer to a vessel of the Royal Navy as “Her (His) Majesty’s Ship” (HMS) is when you are directly addressing the sovereign.
World building!
One thing that surprises me slightly is that the adult gender demographics are so evenly balanced so early on
As a point of comparison, NZ's white settler population didn't achieve normal parity till just before WW1. Long after the mass settlement phase had ended and after most whites were born locally. This was also after a long, strong effort by the government to encourage female migration. IIRC for much of the colonial era, single females of marriageable age were offered free passage. Loads were Irish too, which is one reason why so many people have some Irish ancestry.
http://www.academia.edu/5840416/A_C..._Queensland_and_New_Zealand_from_1859_to_1900
One thing that surprises me slightly is that the adult gender demographics are so evenly balanced so early on
As a point of comparison, NZ's white settler population didn't achieve normal parity till just before WW1. Long after the mass settlement phase had ended and after most whites were born locally. This was also after a long, strong effort by the government to encourage female migration. IIRC for much of the colonial era, single females of marriageable age were offered free passage. Loads were Irish too, which is one reason why so many people have some Irish ancestry.
http://www.academia.edu/5840416/A_C..._Queensland_and_New_Zealand_from_1859_to_1900
(Sorry, not been around much the last few days)
Um, probably a combination of the Company strongly encouraging migration of married couples where possible and itinerant labourers, desert adventurers and other such no-fixed-abode and overwhelmingly male types being under-counted. Certainly not critical research failure
A bit of a mixed bag - the appointed upper chamber is definitely about boosting his own power at the expense of local democratic institutions and the new Government House is arguably spending taxpayer's money on himself, but a new port is definitely needed (and it being named after himself is a fairly standard perk of the job) and if the railway is not needed yet it fairly obviously will be soon.
(PS I'll be at a conference most of this week so it's unlikely there'll be an update before next weekend at the earliest and more likely the week after, sorry.)
Um, probably a combination of the Company strongly encouraging migration of married couples where possible and itinerant labourers, desert adventurers and other such no-fixed-abode and overwhelmingly male types being under-counted. Certainly not critical research failure
A bit of a mixed bag - the appointed upper chamber is definitely about boosting his own power at the expense of local democratic institutions and the new Government House is arguably spending taxpayer's money on himself, but a new port is definitely needed (and it being named after himself is a fairly standard perk of the job) and if the railway is not needed yet it fairly obviously will be soon.
(PS I'll be at a conference most of this week so it's unlikely there'll be an update before next weekend at the earliest and more likely the week after, sorry.)
So about 310,490 by 1901? In OTL's 1901 the total population of Wales was about 2 million. Of the population of Welsh speakers in Wales was around 929,800 people - so Patagonia would have 25% of TTL's Welsh speakers potentially.
I wonder what the cultural impacts of that will be.
fasquardon
Probably not quite that high - I'm currently working on an assumption of about 300K by the start of the First World War (which I think I've previously mentioned as probably the last major event not to be swept away by butterflies). That will probably also pretty much see the end of significant immigration, forcing Patagonia to rely on natural growth for extra population.
A lot more Spanish loanwords in Welsh at the expense of English for starters, especially in the Patagonian dialect but some will filter back to the homeland (trivial examples - in this TL the Welsh for barbecue is going to be "asado" not "barbeciw" and cowboy will be "gaucho" not "cowboi"). I'm also mulling over what a Welsh gaucho-style culture will look like - horses are not a large part of traditional Welsh culture, they are going to be in Patagonia. Some of the stuff I've been writing about the Guides may give early hints in this direction. Generally, as the Welsh settle down in Patagonia more and more Latin American cultural influences are going to seep in.
In other words Welsh as a language has a divide between British and Patagonian Welsh. I also expect Welsh will have more perceived legitimacy as t is not just a 'local language' in Wales but has a significant presence s the major language in Patagonia.
Hopefully WWI will be at last a bit different with all the butterflies flapping here. Perhaps a different trigger, or starting in 1915 rather than 1914.
And Scottish won't just be a dieing local language because it's big in TDF at the least.
Do we have time for an Irish Rapa Nui, do you think?
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New Wales has more than one northern neighbour...
Part 15 - Die Deutschen Kommen
We shall be honest and laborious Chileans as the best of them, we shall defend our adopted country joining in the ranks of our new countrymen, against any foreign oppression and with the decision and firmness of the man that defends his country, his family and his interests. Never will the country that adopts us as its children, have reason to repent of such an illustrious, human and generous proceeding.
Karl Anwandter - German immigrant to Chile, 1850.
---
Bernhard Eunom Philippi was born in Charlottenburg, Prussia in September 1811. After his attempts to pursue a military career failed, he joined the Royal Prussian Maritime Trading Company in 1830. His first trading voyage took him to South America and China as part of a circumnavigation of the globe and ignited in him a lifelong interest in natural history. On his second major voyage he requested, and was granted, a discharge in Valparaiso, Chile where in March 1837 he went into business with a Dr Karl Segeth to ship interesting specimens back to the Berlin Natural History Museum. This business soon failed however, and Philippi moved to Peru where he hoped to make his fortune extracting potash from sugar cane.
He caught malaria instead and returned to Chile, basing himself in the port of Ancud on Chiloe Island, where he hoped the mild climate would help him recover. On Chiloe, he returned to his love of natural history and embarked on several expeditions to the Chonos Archipelago south of Chiloe and along the mainland coast, where he had several encounters with the Welsh colonists who greeted him with courtesy but a firm assertion of colonial sovereignty.
In 1840, Philippi returned to Germany to sell the objects he had collected to various museums and at the same time extol the potential of Chile as a destination for German colonists. The following year, he returned to Chile where he bought a ranch near the city of Valdivia in the far south of Chile and separated from the rest of the country by Araucanian territory. There he resumed his explorations, striking south of the garrison town of Osorno to become the first European in almost 300 years to see the beautiful Llanhique Lake and reach the sea at Reloncavi Sound, opposite Chiloe. During the course of this voyage he was struck with the beauty of the region and its potential as a home for German colonists and, on his return to Valdivia in 1842, he wrote to the Chilean government to recommend it sponsor a colonisation programme in the area. To encourage the government to give his proposals the weight he felt they deserved, he included several observations from his earlier explorations as well as current speculation about the growth of the Welsh colony.
Even without government permission, history was made when in September of the same year nine families encouraged by his previous trip to Germany recruited by Philippi’s brother Rudolph in Kassel arrived in Valdivia via Hamburg and Valparaiso to form the basis of the first German settlement. Encouraged by this, Philippi travelled to Santiago to personally lobby the government of President Bulnes to support his scheme.
His lobbying paid off. Early in 1843 president Bulnes commissioned him as an officer of engineers and despatched him back to Germany as an official Chilean government colonisation agent with a brief to recruit up to 200 Catholic families of good peasant stock, two priests, two teachers and a doctor, all of whom the Chilean government would pay the full cost of their passage, give them a land grant and twelve years exempt from all taxes. The government would also make welcome any immigrants who were prepared to pay their own way and grant them six years tax exemption.
Philippi, to give him his due, worked hard when back in Germany - he wrote a book (“Nachrichten über die Provinz Valdivia” - News of the province of Valdivia), and embarked on a lecture tour. It was hardly his fault his efforts achieved only limited success - 34 emigrants on the first ship, 32 on the second, 102 on the third - perhaps 600 in the first three years, with the majority being protestants, contrary to the wishes of the Chilean government. It was enough however for the Chilean government to designate the somewhat grandly named “Llanquihue Lake Colonisation Territory” as the first Germans began to carve homesteads out of the wooded country around the lake shore. Settlement of the area was eased further by the establishment in 1845 of Puerto Bulnes by colonists from Chiloe to provide the Germans with easy access to the sea.
It is perhaps inevitable therefore that with this background in mind a party of German colonists exploring up into the mountains in October of 1845 would encounter a party of colonial Guides pushing down towards the sea.
---
Author's notes:
1. The German colonisation of southern Chile is actually fundamentally OTL, the main difference here is that it the Chilean government didn't give the go-ahead to Philippi's scheme until 1848 (he had been lobbying since 1842) and it didn't really take off until 1850 or so. As implied in the post, I've postulated that concern about the spread of the Welsh colony has encouraged the Chilean government to worry more about tightening their grip on what is at the moment the far south of their country and effectively given efforts almost a decade's head start.
2. It should be stressed these are German colonists, not a German colony. The territory is indisputably Chilean.
3. Puerto Bulnes = OTL Puerto Montt.
The next post (hopefully up by the weekend) should give a view from the Welsh side...
Part 15 - Die Deutschen Kommen
We shall be honest and laborious Chileans as the best of them, we shall defend our adopted country joining in the ranks of our new countrymen, against any foreign oppression and with the decision and firmness of the man that defends his country, his family and his interests. Never will the country that adopts us as its children, have reason to repent of such an illustrious, human and generous proceeding.
Karl Anwandter - German immigrant to Chile, 1850.
---
Bernhard Eunom Philippi was born in Charlottenburg, Prussia in September 1811. After his attempts to pursue a military career failed, he joined the Royal Prussian Maritime Trading Company in 1830. His first trading voyage took him to South America and China as part of a circumnavigation of the globe and ignited in him a lifelong interest in natural history. On his second major voyage he requested, and was granted, a discharge in Valparaiso, Chile where in March 1837 he went into business with a Dr Karl Segeth to ship interesting specimens back to the Berlin Natural History Museum. This business soon failed however, and Philippi moved to Peru where he hoped to make his fortune extracting potash from sugar cane.
He caught malaria instead and returned to Chile, basing himself in the port of Ancud on Chiloe Island, where he hoped the mild climate would help him recover. On Chiloe, he returned to his love of natural history and embarked on several expeditions to the Chonos Archipelago south of Chiloe and along the mainland coast, where he had several encounters with the Welsh colonists who greeted him with courtesy but a firm assertion of colonial sovereignty.
In 1840, Philippi returned to Germany to sell the objects he had collected to various museums and at the same time extol the potential of Chile as a destination for German colonists. The following year, he returned to Chile where he bought a ranch near the city of Valdivia in the far south of Chile and separated from the rest of the country by Araucanian territory. There he resumed his explorations, striking south of the garrison town of Osorno to become the first European in almost 300 years to see the beautiful Llanhique Lake and reach the sea at Reloncavi Sound, opposite Chiloe. During the course of this voyage he was struck with the beauty of the region and its potential as a home for German colonists and, on his return to Valdivia in 1842, he wrote to the Chilean government to recommend it sponsor a colonisation programme in the area. To encourage the government to give his proposals the weight he felt they deserved, he included several observations from his earlier explorations as well as current speculation about the growth of the Welsh colony.
Even without government permission, history was made when in September of the same year nine families encouraged by his previous trip to Germany recruited by Philippi’s brother Rudolph in Kassel arrived in Valdivia via Hamburg and Valparaiso to form the basis of the first German settlement. Encouraged by this, Philippi travelled to Santiago to personally lobby the government of President Bulnes to support his scheme.
His lobbying paid off. Early in 1843 president Bulnes commissioned him as an officer of engineers and despatched him back to Germany as an official Chilean government colonisation agent with a brief to recruit up to 200 Catholic families of good peasant stock, two priests, two teachers and a doctor, all of whom the Chilean government would pay the full cost of their passage, give them a land grant and twelve years exempt from all taxes. The government would also make welcome any immigrants who were prepared to pay their own way and grant them six years tax exemption.
Philippi, to give him his due, worked hard when back in Germany - he wrote a book (“Nachrichten über die Provinz Valdivia” - News of the province of Valdivia), and embarked on a lecture tour. It was hardly his fault his efforts achieved only limited success - 34 emigrants on the first ship, 32 on the second, 102 on the third - perhaps 600 in the first three years, with the majority being protestants, contrary to the wishes of the Chilean government. It was enough however for the Chilean government to designate the somewhat grandly named “Llanquihue Lake Colonisation Territory” as the first Germans began to carve homesteads out of the wooded country around the lake shore. Settlement of the area was eased further by the establishment in 1845 of Puerto Bulnes by colonists from Chiloe to provide the Germans with easy access to the sea.
It is perhaps inevitable therefore that with this background in mind a party of German colonists exploring up into the mountains in October of 1845 would encounter a party of colonial Guides pushing down towards the sea.
---
Author's notes:
1. The German colonisation of southern Chile is actually fundamentally OTL, the main difference here is that it the Chilean government didn't give the go-ahead to Philippi's scheme until 1848 (he had been lobbying since 1842) and it didn't really take off until 1850 or so. As implied in the post, I've postulated that concern about the spread of the Welsh colony has encouraged the Chilean government to worry more about tightening their grip on what is at the moment the far south of their country and effectively given efforts almost a decade's head start.
2. It should be stressed these are German colonists, not a German colony. The territory is indisputably Chilean.
3. Puerto Bulnes = OTL Puerto Montt.
The next post (hopefully up by the weekend) should give a view from the Welsh side...
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A Chile with an earlier and more numerous German presence, could become a mirror image of Argentina: a Spanish-speaking nation where a slight majority of the population has German surnames, Protestant churches and sauerkraut abound and where the local accent resembles that of Berlin more than that of Madrid. I mean, OTL Chile's army already looks like the army of a German colony in South America.
I think, by itself, a Spanish speaking new country with loads of non Spanish migrants will almost certainly remain a Spanish speaking country unless other things change.
Potentially the change here is that we have the possibility of two distinct non Spanish language colonies/groups nearby that may undermine the extension of Spanish into the new German language settlement/region.
I do suspect that the author is trying to create a new, better English from first principles, given how he has placed Welsh, Scots/Irish and German speakers in close proximity to a large Latin community.
Potentially the change here is that we have the possibility of two distinct non Spanish language colonies/groups nearby that may undermine the extension of Spanish into the new German language settlement/region.
I do suspect that the author is trying to create a new, better English from first principles, given how he has placed Welsh, Scots/Irish and German speakers in close proximity to a large Latin community.