The Celtic peoples - especially the Scots, Welsh and Irish - have long had a reputation as extensive travelers. As anyone who has ever been to New York knows, that city, along with many of its sister cities on the eastern seaboard, has a very strong Irish cultural aspect, lent it by generations of seafaring Irish immigrants. Many people in Canada, and in Newfoundland especially, are of Scots descent.
And the Welsh? To find their overseas enclave you have to travel a little further afield. Specifically, you have to go to Patagonia, the region of South America that covers much of the southern third of that continent, and the majority of the land area of Argentina.
The Welsh colonization of Patagonia began in 1865, when a boatland of settlers arrived from across the Atlantic. Over the years the Welsh made a significant impact on Patagonia, building nonconformist chapels and raisings livestock in the lush, damp grasslands that can be surprisingly like Wales when it rains. The centers of Welsh culture in Argentina are the towns of Trelew and Puerto (Porth) Madryn.
Welsh is still spoken in Argentina, although the days when it was the first language in some parts of the country have long gone. Those of Welsh descent still take pride in their roots and there is a long tradition of exchanges between schools and rugby teams in Wales and Argentina. To this day you can eat Welsh cuisine and hear the language spoken in certain areas.
The Scots had their own Latin American adventure, though it took place earlier and ended less happily. In 1698 - nine years before Scotland united with England to form the United Kingdom - the Scots sent an expedition to colonize Panama in the hope of raising some cash for the Edinburgh government's ailing economy. Unfortunately, Panama - or Darien as it was known at the time - was a disease-ridden swamp. 1,200 settlers were sent to the colony and few ever returned, the majority dying of starvation or disease. The failure of the Darien expedition, and the resulting loss of investment, was one of the major motivators for political union with the economically stronger government of England.