History
Guyana was inhabited by the Arawak and Carib tribes of Native Americans. Although Christopher Columbus sighted Guyana during his third voyage (in 1498), the Dutch were the first to establish colonies: Essequibo (1616), Berbice (1627), and Demerara (1752). The British assumed control in the late 18th century, and the Dutch formally ceded the area in 1814. In 1831 the three separate colonies became a single British colony known as British Guiana.The first slaves were forcibly brought to Guyana under harsh conditions in the early 17th century in order to provide free labour for the development of the local economy and to import goods to Europe. Escaped slaves formed their own settlements known as Maroon communities. With the abolition of slavery in 1834 and after the five year apprenticeship period, many of the former slaves bought and paid for land which they then used to form other communities e.g. Buxton, Plessance, Victoria, Queenstown,etc. Indentured labourers from modern-day Portugal (1834), Germany (first in 1835), Ireland (1836), Scotland (1837), Malta (1839), China and eastern India (Madras, Bengal and Bihar primarily, beginning in 1838) were imported to work on the sugar plantations.
In 1889, Venezuela claimed the land up to the Essequibo. Ten years later, an international tribunal ruled the land belonged to British Guyana.
Guyana achieved independence from the United Kingdom on 26 May 1966 and became a republic on 23 February 1970, remaining a member of the Commonwealth. The United States State Department and the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), along with the British government, played a strong role in influencing political control in Guyana during this time.[6] The American government supported Forbes Burnham during the early years of independence because Cheddi Jagan was a self declared Marxist. They provided secret financial support and political campaign advice to Burnham's People's National Congress to the detriment of the Jagan-led People's Progressive Party, mostly supported by Guyanese of Indian descent.
In 1978, Guyana received considerable international attention when 918 almost entirely American members (more than 300 of whom were children) of the Jim Jones-led Peoples Temple died in a mass murder/suicide in Jonestown – a settlement created by the Peoples Temple. An attack by Jim Jones' body guards at a small remote airstrip close to Jonestown resulted in the murder of five people, including Leo Ryan, the only congressman ever murdered in the line of duty in US history.
Guyana was inhabited by the Arawak and Carib tribes of Native Americans. Although Christopher Columbus sighted Guyana during his third voyage (in 1498), the Dutch were the first to establish colonies: Essequibo (1616), Berbice (1627), and Demerara (1752). The British assumed control in the late 18th century, and the Dutch formally ceded the area in 1814. In 1831 the three separate colonies became a single British colony known as British Guiana.The first slaves were forcibly brought to Guyana under harsh conditions in the early 17th century in order to provide free labour for the development of the local economy and to import goods to Europe. Escaped slaves formed their own settlements known as Maroon communities. With the abolition of slavery in 1834 and after the five year apprenticeship period, many of the former slaves bought and paid for land which they then used to form other communities e.g. Buxton, Plessance, Victoria, Queenstown,etc. Indentured labourers from modern-day Portugal (1834), Germany (first in 1835), Ireland (1836), Scotland (1837), Malta (1839), China and eastern India (Madras, Bengal and Bihar primarily, beginning in 1838) were imported to work on the sugar plantations.
In 1889, Venezuela claimed the land up to the Essequibo. Ten years later, an international tribunal ruled the land belonged to British Guyana.
Guyana achieved independence from the United Kingdom on 26 May 1966 and became a republic on 23 February 1970, remaining a member of the Commonwealth. The United States State Department and the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), along with the British government, played a strong role in influencing political control in Guyana during this time.[6] The American government supported Forbes Burnham during the early years of independence because Cheddi Jagan was a self declared Marxist. They provided secret financial support and political campaign advice to Burnham's People's National Congress to the detriment of the Jagan-led People's Progressive Party, mostly supported by Guyanese of Indian descent.
In 1978, Guyana received considerable international attention when 918 almost entirely American members (more than 300 of whom were children) of the Jim Jones-led Peoples Temple died in a mass murder/suicide in Jonestown – a settlement created by the Peoples Temple. An attack by Jim Jones' body guards at a small remote airstrip close to Jonestown resulted in the murder of five people, including Leo Ryan, the only congressman ever murdered in the line of duty in US history.
