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History and legend have it that MADOC, a son of King Owain of Gwynedd, is claimed not only to have visited America in 1170, but also that he and his followers assimilated into a tribe on the upper Missouri. This tribe fuelled tales of fair-haired Indians, living in round huts and using round coracle-like boats, both of which were common in Wales, but unheard of in America at the time. They were also said to speak a language similar to Welsh.
Madoc was probably born in the stone tower which originally occupied this hillock, called Castell Tomen - Castle Mound.
Owain Gwynedd, ruler of North Wales in the
twelfth century, had twenty-four children, ten of whom were legitimate. MADOC, one of the bastard sons, was born in a castle at Dolwyddelan, a village at the head of the Lledr valley between Betws-y-Coed and Blaenau Ffestiniog.
On the death of Owain Gwynedd in December 1169, the brothers fought amongst themselves for the right to rule Gwynedd. MADOC, although being brave and adventurous, was a man of peace. He and his brother, Riryd (Regyd), left the quay on the Afon (River) Ganol at Aber-Kerrik-Gwynan, on the North Wales Coast (now Rhos-on-Sea) in two ships, the Gorn Gwynant and the Pedr Sant. They sailed west, leaving the coast of Ireland 'farre north' and landed in Mobile Bay, in what we now know as Alabama in the United States of America.

They liked the country so much that one of the ships returned to Wales to collect more adventurers, and in 1170AD, ten small ships assembled off Lundy Island in the Bristol Channel, which flows between South Wales and Southern England.

On arrival in America, they sailed from Mobile Bay up the great river systems, settling initially in the Georgia/Tennessee/Kentucky area where they built stone forts. They warred with the local Indian tribe, the Cherokee. When they decided to return down river in some time after 1186, they built big boats but they were ambushed trying to negotiate the falls on the Ohio River (where Louisville, Kentucky now stands). A fierce battle took place lasting several days. A truce was eventually called and, after an exchange of prisoners, it was agreed that MADOC and his followers would depart the area never to return.

View from Dolwyddelan Castle of MADOC's probable birth place (center of picture)
They sailed down river to the Mississippi, which they sailed up until the junction with the Missouri, which they then followed upstream. They settled and integrated with a powerful tribe living on the banks of the Missouri called Mandans.

In 1781-82, the white man's gift, smallpox, reduced the Mandans, a tribe of 40,000 people, down to 2,000 survivors. They partially recovered, increasing their numbers to some 12,000 by 1837, when a similar epidemic almost wiped the tribe out completely. It is recorded that there were only 39 survivors but the Mandan-Hidatsa claim it was about 200. These bewildered survivors of a once mighty tribe were taken in by the Hidatsa who had also been affected by the disease but to a much lesser extent. It is this background which over the centuries has fuelled tales of a tribe of fair-haired Indians, living in round huts and using round, coracle-like boats - both of which were common in Wales but unheard of in America at the time. The tribe were also said to speak in a language similar to Welsh.

This story, with all its implications, has fascinated me for years. Much of the background evidence is available in Wales and is well documented. The romantic ruin of Dolwyddelan Castle, which was built by MADOC's nephew, Llywelyn ab Iorwerth (Llywelyn the Great) early in the 13th century, still perches on the hillside above the village. MADOC himself was probably born in an earlier castle, of which little trace now remains, which occupied a rocky knoll near the Valley bottom. The quay from which MADOC is claimed to have departed on his first journey to America is now in a private garden at Rhos-on-Sea. And the debate still rages as to where King Owain Gwynedd is buried, is it inside or outside Bangor Cathedral in North Wales? There is still much debate and controversy concerning MADOC's adventures in America. Did MADOC sail up the Alabama, Coosa and Hiawassee Rivers or did he ascend the Missouri and Ohio Rivers? Where was the great and final battle with the Cherokee? Was it at the falls on the Ohio at present day Louisville, Kentucky or was it at the Muscle Shoals on the Tennessee River or were there two battles? Nevertheless, there is much evidence of a non-Indian occupation in Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky and Indiana.
The issue has also been raised as to why I have used a Viking longship on the logo. I have chosen it for the following reasons:

  • The Vikings had been the dominant seafaring nation along the western seaboard of Europe for several hundred years.

  • Their boats were very seaworthy and would have been much copied.

  • MADOC and his kin had very strong family links with the Vikings. When asked "If MADOC had gone to America, what type of ship would have been used?". Professor Gwyn Alf Williams replied "A Viking ship with a shed on it".

Contact Me: howard@madoc1170.com
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