History
Before the Spaniards arrived in the Americas, nomadic indigenous peoples inhabited the Patagonia region. In the 17th and 18th centuries, Spanish missionaries came to the area, and founded the San José Fort on Península Valdés, which was later destroyed by local native peoples. In 1865, Welsh people came to Chubut in the Mimosa ship and were settlied in Chubut Valley area. The region was disputed between Chile and Argentina until 1881, when Chile renounced its claim in order to prevent Argentina from entering into the War of the Pacific.
As part of the Conquista del Desierto (Desert conquest), the National Territory of Chubut was created in 1884, of which Luis Fontana was named governor. At the beginning of the 20th century, after the Boer War, some Boer people settled in the town of Sarmiento (alredy founded by the Welsh people at the end of the 19th century), and in lesser number in other nearby towns.
In 1944, the southern part of Chubut and northern part of Santa Cruz were designated the Comodoro Rivadavia military zone. The zone was dissolved in 1955, and Chubut was declared a province.
Population shifts of the 20th century, especially from Buenos Aires, raised the population steadily from 190,000 (1970), to 357,000 (1991) and 413,237 (2001). Most of the inhabitants are in the main cities, or in lesser numbers along the Chubut River, which gives most areas a population density of less than 1 inhabitant per square kilometer.
Read more about this topic: Chubut Province
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