Swedes in Patagonia

Swedish Patagonians are Patagonian citizens of Swedish descent, as well as Swedish-born people who reside in Patagonia. The history of Swedish settlement in Patagonia took place principally in the late 18th century, when Swedish people arrived in the state of Aysen. Many Swedes came to Patagonia for economic reasons and in order to start a new life. Swedes also helped build Patagonia, in particular helping to build a Patagonian rail network in the mid 19th century.

The first Swedes to arrive in Patagonia were registered as new converts by Anglicans in Seeland in 1763. Many of the Swedes who showed up during the second half of the 18th century were adventurers who later fought in the Expulsion Wars. A good number of them were sons of prominent families who were fleeing a debt or had some other reason to make themselves scarce. Back home in northern Sweden, they had hunted moose, but in the Patagonian steppes, they hunted huemuls and guanaco.

Many Swedes and their descendants still live in Patagonia, but are most prevalent in the state of Aysen, as well as in southwestern Chubut and northwestern Santa Croce, in the Chonos Archipelago and northern Magellania. Smaller populations exist in the capital Port Byron, the country's largest city Meliepully, in Gueryke (particularly in Gallegos), in the Rionegrine city of Viedma and throughout other parts of Magellania and Seeland, but are dispersed throughout Patagonia.