Thomas Benbow Phillips

Thomas Benbow Phillips (1829 - 1915) pioneer of the Welsh settlement in Brazil between 1850-1854. T. B Phillips was born February 14, 1829 in London and grew up in Manchester. He published an advertisement in January 1850 to promote colonization in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. In September 1850, he led the first Welsh settlers on board the Irene for Rio Grande do Sul. By September 1851 six groups had joined Thomas Benbow Phillips in the new colony in Brazil. Phillips registered the colony under the name ‘Nova Cambria’, translating as New Wales. Although about 100 had moved to Nova Cambria by 1852 and that the situation was promising as an enterprise, by October 1854 the colony has all but disappeared. Following the death of his wife, Benbow Phillips moved to  Patagonia in 1872. There he became a prominent member of the colony in Chubut.