[Dòmhnall] Fiadhaich, fliuch, fosgailte. ’S e Eilean nan Caorach a chanas sinn anns a’ Ghàidhlig gus an latha an-diugh ris na h-Eileanan Falkland. Stèidhich am Falkland Isles’ Company a’ chiad tuathanas chaorach an seo ann an ochd ceud deug leth-cheud ’s a naoi. Cha robh ach ceud caora an seo meadhan na linne, ach ann an ochd deug ceithir fichead ’s a còig bha còrr air naoi fichead mìle ann.
[Dòmhnall] Bha luchd-obrach a dhìth air a’ ghnìomhachas ùr. Airson cìobairean à Breatann a thàladh cho fada bhon dachaigh b’ fheudar do Chompanaidh Eilean nan Caorach am faradh a phàigheadh agus deagh thuarastal a thabhainn. B’ ann à Alba a thàinig mòran dhe na cìobairean agus b’ e Gàidheil a bh’ ann an tòrr dhiubh. Ach cha b’ fhada gus an do dh’fhàs gnìomhachas caorach nan eilean ro mhòr. Thàinig air muinntir Eilean nan Caorach a dhol a lorg feurach às ùr.
[Dòmhnall] Tha Eilean nan Caorach dà cheud mìle a-mach far tìr-mòr Phatagonia. Tha Patagonia air a roinn eadar Chile ’s Argentina, ged nach robh a’ chrìoch a’ ciallachadh mòran meadhan na naoidheaimh linne deug. B’ e glè bheag de dh’Eòrpaich a bh’ air tighinn an rathad. ’S e Punta Arenas an aon bhaile a bha anns an àite.
[Dòmhnall] Tha Punta Arenas air fear dhe na bailtean mòra as fhaide deas air an t-saoghal. A’ coimhead a-mach thar Caolas Mhagellan agus an Antartaig tha na beanntan ’s na raointean-deighe ga sgaradh bhon chòrr de Chile. Tha Punta Arenas cho fada às a’ phrìomh bhaile, Santiago, ’s a tha Inbhir Nis à cladach a tuath Afraga.
[Dòmhnall] Cha b’ e an toiseach tòiseachaidh a b’ fheàrr a bh’ aig a’ bhaile mhòr, thrang a tha seo. Thòisich e na àite anns am biodh iad a’ cumail phrìosanach ann an ochd deug dà fhichead ’s a naoi ach ’s ann ann cuideachd a thòisich gnìomhachas mòr nan caorach ann am Patagonia.
[Dòmhnall] Dìreach dusan bliadhna an dèidh dhaibh Punta Arenas a stèidheachadh thàinig na ciad threudan mhòra à Eilean nan Caorach gu taobh Chile de Phatagonia.
[Dòmhnall] Cha b’ fhada gus an robh iad ann an Argentina cuideachd. Thàlaidh an t-airgead mòr a bh’ air a dhèanamh tuilleadh thuathanaich à Breatann ’s à dùthchannan eile anns an Roinn Eòrpa. Chaidh Patagonia - dà thaobh na crìche - a roinn a-mach na thuathan no na estancia mòra uabhasach.
[Dòmhnall] Cha robh na bu mhotha am measg nan uachdaran ùra naJose Menendez. B’ ann às an Spàinn a bha e bho thùs ’s thàinig e a Phunta Arenas ann an ochd deug trì fichead ’s a ceithir deug nuair a bha e ochd bliadhna fichead. Cha b’ fhada gus am b’ e an tuathanach chaorach a bu mhotha a bh’ air an t-saoghal.
[Dòmhnall] Thog Menendez companaidh mhòr uabhasach, La sociedad importadora y exportadora de la Patagonia. ’S i a bha a’ ruith Phatagonia gu ìre mhòr, a’ togail ròidean feòla, a’ stèidheachadh bancaichean agus fiù ’s an cuid luingeis fhèin.
[Dòmhnall] Tha meudachd ’s grinneachas taigh Mhenendez, Villa San Gregorio, ag innse tòrr mu shaoibhreas ’s mu chumhachd an duine fhèin.
[Dòmhnall] Bha Menendez ro sheòlta ’s ro mhath air a’ ghnothaich airson feuchainn ri farpais an aghaidh nam Breatannach. ’S e a rinn e ach Breatannaich fhastadh nan stiùirichean air na tuathan, ’s an uair sin eilthirich à diofar dhùthchannan nan luchd-obrach aige - Spàinnich, Fraingich ’s Cròthaisanaich am measg eile. Ach b; e Albannaich a bh’ anns a’ chuid a bu mhotha dha na cìobairean ’s bha e gu h-àraidh dèidheil air na Gàidheil.
[Dòmhnall] Bha ìmpireachd Mhenendez ga riaghladh à San Gregorio ann an Chile. Bha sia tuathan deug agus dà mhillean caora aca air feadh a’ chinn a deis. Bha ionad cudromach eile aig Rio Grande air Eilean Tierra del Fuego.
[Dòmhnall] Bha Estancia Jose Menendez faisg air Rio Grande air tè de leacan oir na h-ìmpireachd.B’ e Gàidheil a bh’ ann an tòrr dhe na cìobairean an seo ’s bha cuid aca nan stiùirichean mu dheireadh.
Chaidh am prògram seo, Na h-Eilthirich, a chraoladh an toiseach ann an 1999.
[Donald] Wild, wet, open. We call the Falkland Isles the “Island of the Sheep” in Gaelic even today. The Falkland Isles’ Company established the first sheep farm here in 1859. There were just 100 sheep here in the middle of the century, but in 1885 there was more than 18,000.
[Donald] The new industry needed staff. To attract shepherds from Britain so far from home the Falkland Isles’ Company had to pay their fares and offer a good salary. Many of the shepherds came from Scotland and lots of them were Gaels. But it wasn’t long until the islands’ sheep industry grew too big. The people of the Falkland Isles had to go and find new pastures.
[Donald] The Falkland Isles is 200 miles out from the mainland of Patagonia. Patagonia is divided between Chile and Argentina, although the border didn’t mean much in the middle of the 19th century. Very few Europeans had come across it. Punta Arenas was the only town in the place.
[Donald] Punta Arenas is one of the most southerly cities in the world. Looking out over the Strait of Magellan and the Antarctic the mountains and the ice fields separate it from the rest of Chile. Punta Arenas is as far from the capital city, Santiago, as Inverness is from the north African shore.
[Donald] This busy city didn’t have the best start. It began as a place where they would keep prisoners in 1849 but it was also where the great sheep industry began in Patagonia.
[Donald] Just twelve years after they established Punta Arenas the first big herds from the Falkland Isles came to the Chilean side of Patagonia.
[Donald] It wasn’t long until they were in Argentina too. The great money that was being made attracted more farmers from Britain and other countries in Europe. Patagonia – both sides of the border – was divided into huge farms or estancia.
[Donald] There was no greater amongst the new landlords than Jose Menendez. He was originally from Spain and he came to Punta Arenas in 1874 when he was 28. It wasn’t long until he was the greatest sheep farmer in the world.
[Donald] Menendez created a huge company, La sociedad importadora y exportadora de la Patagonia of Patagonia. It largely ran Patagonia, cattle runs, establishing banks and even its own fleet of ships.
[Donald] The magnitude and beauty of Menendez’s house, Villa San Gregorio, speaks volumes of the man’s success and power.
[Donald] Menendez was too shrewd and too good at business to try to compete against the British. Instead he employed Brits as farm managers, with emigrants from other countries – Spaniards, French and Croatians amongst others - as his staff. But the majority of the shepherds were Scots and he was especially fond of the Gaels.
[Donald] Menendez’s empire was ruled from San Gregorio in Chile. They had 16 farms and two million sheep throughout the south. There was also an important centre at Rio Grande on Tierra del Fuego Island.
[Donald] Estancia Jose Menendez was close to Rio Grande on one of the golden paths of the empire. Many of the shepherds here were Gaels and some of them were latterly managers.
This programme, Na h-Eilthirich, was first broadcast in 1999.
[Dòmhnall] Fiadhaich, fliuch, fosgailte. ’S e Eilean nan Caorach a chanas sinn anns a’ Ghàidhlig gus an latha an-diugh ris na h-Eileanan Falkland. Stèidhich am Falkland Isles’ Company a’ chiad tuathanas chaorach an seo ann an ochd ceud deug leth-cheud ’s a naoi. Cha robh ach ceud caora an seo meadhan na linne, ach ann an ochd deug ceithir fichead ’s a còig bha còrr air naoi fichead mìle ann.
[Dòmhnall] Bha luchd-obrach a dhìth air a’ ghnìomhachas ùr. Airson cìobairean à Breatann a thàladh cho fada bhon dachaigh b’ fheudar do Chompanaidh Eilean nan Caorach am faradh a phàigheadh agus deagh thuarastal a thabhainn. B’ ann à Alba a thàinig mòran dhe na cìobairean agus b’ e Gàidheil a bh’ ann an tòrr dhiubh. Ach cha b’ fhada gus an do dh’fhàs gnìomhachas caorach nan eilean ro mhòr. Thàinig air muinntir Eilean nan Caorach a dhol a lorg feurach às ùr.
[Dòmhnall] Tha Eilean nan Caorach dà cheud mìle a-mach far tìr-mòr Phatagonia. Tha Patagonia air a roinn eadar Chile ’s Argentina, ged nach robh a’ chrìoch a’ ciallachadh mòran meadhan na naoidheaimh linne deug. B’ e glè bheag de dh’Eòrpaich a bh’ air tighinn an rathad. ’S e Punta Arenas an aon bhaile a bha anns an àite.
[Dòmhnall] Tha Punta Arenas air fear dhe na bailtean mòra as fhaide deas air an t-saoghal. A’ coimhead a-mach thar Caolas Mhagellan agus an Antartaig tha na beanntan ’s na raointean-deighe ga sgaradh bhon chòrr de Chile. Tha Punta Arenas cho fada às a’ phrìomh bhaile, Santiago, ’s a tha Inbhir Nis à cladach a tuath Afraga.
[Dòmhnall] Cha b’ e an toiseach tòiseachaidh a b’ fheàrr a bh’ aig a’ bhaile mhòr, thrang a tha seo. Thòisich e na àite anns am biodh iad a’ cumail phrìosanach ann an ochd deug dà fhichead ’s a naoi ach ’s ann ann cuideachd a thòisich gnìomhachas mòr nan caorach ann am Patagonia.
[Dòmhnall] Dìreach dusan bliadhna an dèidh dhaibh Punta Arenas a stèidheachadh thàinig na ciad threudan mhòra à Eilean nan Caorach gu taobh Chile de Phatagonia.
[Dòmhnall] Cha b’ fhada gus an robh iad ann an Argentina cuideachd. Thàlaidh an t-airgead mòr a bh’ air a dhèanamh tuilleadh thuathanaich à Breatann ’s à dùthchannan eile anns an Roinn Eòrpa. Chaidh Patagonia - dà thaobh na crìche - a roinn a-mach na thuathan no na estancia mòra uabhasach.
[Dòmhnall] Cha robh na bu mhotha am measg nan uachdaran ùra naJose Menendez. B’ ann às an Spàinn a bha e bho thùs ’s thàinig e a Phunta Arenas ann an ochd deug trì fichead ’s a ceithir deug nuair a bha e ochd bliadhna fichead. Cha b’ fhada gus am b’ e an tuathanach chaorach a bu mhotha a bh’ air an t-saoghal.
[Dòmhnall] Thog Menendez companaidh mhòr uabhasach, La sociedad importadora y exportadora de la Patagonia. ’S i a bha a’ ruith Phatagonia gu ìre mhòr, a’ togail ròidean feòla, a’ stèidheachadh bancaichean agus fiù ’s an cuid luingeis fhèin.
[Dòmhnall] Tha meudachd ’s grinneachas taigh Mhenendez, Villa San Gregorio, ag innse tòrr mu shaoibhreas ’s mu chumhachd an duine fhèin.
[Dòmhnall] Bha Menendez ro sheòlta ’s ro mhath air a’ ghnothaich airson feuchainn ri farpais an aghaidh nam Breatannach. ’S e a rinn e ach Breatannaich fhastadh nan stiùirichean air na tuathan, ’s an uair sin eilthirich à diofar dhùthchannan nan luchd-obrach aige - Spàinnich, Fraingich ’s Cròthaisanaich am measg eile. Ach b; e Albannaich a bh’ anns a’ chuid a bu mhotha dha na cìobairean ’s bha e gu h-àraidh dèidheil air na Gàidheil.
[Dòmhnall] Bha ìmpireachd Mhenendez ga riaghladh à San Gregorio ann an Chile. Bha sia tuathan deug agus dà mhillean caora aca air feadh a’ chinn a deis. Bha ionad cudromach eile aig Rio Grande air Eilean Tierra del Fuego.
[Dòmhnall] Bha Estancia Jose Menendez faisg air Rio Grande air tè de leacan oir na h-ìmpireachd.B’ e Gàidheil a bh’ ann an tòrr dhe na cìobairean an seo ’s bha cuid aca nan stiùirichean mu dheireadh.
Chaidh am prògram seo, Na h-Eilthirich, a chraoladh an toiseach ann an 1999.
[Donald] Wild, wet, open. We call the Falkland Isles the “Island of the Sheep” in Gaelic even today. The Falkland Isles’ Company established the first sheep farm here in 1859. There were just 100 sheep here in the middle of the century, but in 1885 there was more than 18,000.
[Donald] The new industry needed staff. To attract shepherds from Britain so far from home the Falkland Isles’ Company had to pay their fares and offer a good salary. Many of the shepherds came from Scotland and lots of them were Gaels. But it wasn’t long until the islands’ sheep industry grew too big. The people of the Falkland Isles had to go and find new pastures.
[Donald] The Falkland Isles is 200 miles out from the mainland of Patagonia. Patagonia is divided between Chile and Argentina, although the border didn’t mean much in the middle of the 19th century. Very few Europeans had come across it. Punta Arenas was the only town in the place.
[Donald] Punta Arenas is one of the most southerly cities in the world. Looking out over the Strait of Magellan and the Antarctic the mountains and the ice fields separate it from the rest of Chile. Punta Arenas is as far from the capital city, Santiago, as Inverness is from the north African shore.
[Donald] This busy city didn’t have the best start. It began as a place where they would keep prisoners in 1849 but it was also where the great sheep industry began in Patagonia.
[Donald] Just twelve years after they established Punta Arenas the first big herds from the Falkland Isles came to the Chilean side of Patagonia.
[Donald] It wasn’t long until they were in Argentina too. The great money that was being made attracted more farmers from Britain and other countries in Europe. Patagonia – both sides of the border – was divided into huge farms or estancia.
[Donald] There was no greater amongst the new landlords than Jose Menendez. He was originally from Spain and he came to Punta Arenas in 1874 when he was 28. It wasn’t long until he was the greatest sheep farmer in the world.
[Donald] Menendez created a huge company, La sociedad importadora y exportadora de la Patagonia of Patagonia. It largely ran Patagonia, cattle runs, establishing banks and even its own fleet of ships.
[Donald] The magnitude and beauty of Menendez’s house, Villa San Gregorio, speaks volumes of the man’s success and power.
[Donald] Menendez was too shrewd and too good at business to try to compete against the British. Instead he employed Brits as farm managers, with emigrants from other countries – Spaniards, French and Croatians amongst others - as his staff. But the majority of the shepherds were Scots and he was especially fond of the Gaels.
[Donald] Menendez’s empire was ruled from San Gregorio in Chile. They had 16 farms and two million sheep throughout the south. There was also an important centre at Rio Grande on Tierra del Fuego Island.
[Donald] Estancia Jose Menendez was close to Rio Grande on one of the golden paths of the empire. Many of the shepherds here were Gaels and some of them were latterly managers.
This programme, Na h-Eilthirich, was first broadcast in 1999.