History of Guyana


The Spanish, in their search for Eldorado, were he first, in 1499, to discover the Guyanese coast. At the time the area was populated by warlike Caribbean Indians. During the 16th and 17th centuries, the English, Dutch and French fought for control of the country. From the 17th century the energetic Dutch West India Company created a vast area of polders on the coast in order to cultivate rice and sugar cane. The first slaves came to work on these plantations. Some of them found freedom by escaping into the jungle. In 1796 the English ousted the Dutch, leaving them with Suriname alone. The arrival of the English brought with it a work force from India to develop the sugar cane and rice cultivation.
		British Guyana became a Crown Colony in 1831 and gained its independence in 1966 whilst remaining part of the Commonwealth. In 1970 the country became the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, under a Marxist regime, until 1985. The principal political parties have a community mandate.
		Colonial house.