Welsh patriot
Michael D. Jones was born in Llanuwchllyn and worked as a Congregationalist minister in Cincinnati in the United States of America. He set up the Brython Association to support Welsh people who emigrated to the USA but became disheartened that the Welsh adapted to American culture so quickly.
He wanted the Welsh to establish self-sufficient Welsh societies, but that proved impossible with the USA developing so rapidly. Therefore, in 1865, a Welsh colony was established in Patagonia, Argentina.
Michael D. Jones was not one of the hundreds of Welsh emigrants to Patagonia, but he did visit the colony in 1882. Jones was also the Principal of Coleg y Bala, and his strong opposition to the campaign to alter the College’s constitution ignited the ‘Battle of the Two Constitutions’. This eventually led to Jones’s dismissal as Principal and the adoption of the new constitution.
Michael D. Jones was an ardent Liberal and patriot – indeed, he is regarded as one of the founders of Welsh nationalism.