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Guyana Total area: :83,000 sq mi (214,970 sq km) , Capital Georgetown
Original Name:
The word Guyana derived from Guiana probably comes from the Arawak words wai ana which means "(land of) many waters". Some 70,000 Amerindians still live in Guyana, primarily in the country's interior.
Original People:
The first indigenous people were Amerindians broken into many linguistic goups/ tribes. Some of the more familiar tribes are the the Arawaks, Caribs and Akawois who called themselves "Lokono", "Carinya" and "Kapohn", respectively - all meaning "the people" in their respective languages. Lesser known tribes were the Wauwejans, thought to be the descendants of the Arawak-Akawois tribes, the Manoas, tribe dwelling in the region watered by the upper Essequibo and the Mazaruni; the Wai-Wais residing near the source of the Essequibo; the Patamonas (Paramonas) occupying the area of the Pakaraimas and Potaro River; and the Macushis and Wapisianas of the Rupununi area.
Brief Post-European HIstory:
1499 – 1595:
First sighted by Alonzo de Ojeda and Amerigo Vespucci in 1499, the coastline was first traced by Spanish sailors in 1499 and 1500,as well as during the 16th and early 17th centuries in search for the fabled city of El Dorado.
1581:
The first Dutch settlement was established on the Pomeroon River.
1595:
The area was explored by English explorers under Sir Walter Raleigh. Little is known of the first settlements, though they were almost certainly Spanish or Portuguese
1627:
Abraham van Pere founded a settlement in the Berbice River, sent 40 men and 20 boys to settle at Nassau, about 50 miles upriver where Fort Nassau was built. African slaves were introduced shortly after the settlement was establishedto cultivate sugar and cotton.
1763: Cuffy led the Berbice slave revolt
1806: Slave trade was abolished in Essequibo-Demerara and Berbice.
1814-15:
Essequibo, Demerara, and Berbice were officially ceded to the United Kingdom in the Anglo-Dutch Treaty and Congress of Vienna.
1831: The colonies were consolidated as British Guiana.
1838: Indian immigrants were bought to the shores in an effort relieve labor shortages.
1899: British forcefully marked the Guyana borders with respect to Venezuela.
1917:
The British stopped the practice of importing labor. Many of the Afro-Guyanese former slaves moved to the towns and became the majority urban population, whereas the Indo-Guyanese remained predominantly rural
1964: Elections resulted in a coalition government under Forbes Burnham of the People's National Congress (PNC).
1966-1970: Independence / Republic
1966: May 26th Guyana gained Independence.
1970: February 23rd Guyana became a Republic.
1978:
Guyana was the scene of the mass suicide and murder of more than 900 members of a religious cult on orders of their leader, James Warren ("Jim") Jones.
1980: A new constitution became effective and Burnham was then elected president.
DEMOGRAPHICS
Population: Population (2006 est.): 767,245 (growth rate: 0.3%)
Languages: English (official), Amerindian dialects, Creole, Hindi, Urdu
Religions: Christian 50%, Hindu 35%, Islam 10%, other 5%
Literacy rate: 99% (2003 est.)
Ethnicity/race: East Indian 50%; black 36%; Amerindian 7%; white, Chinese, and mixed 7%
RESOURCES
Bauxite, gold, diamonds, hardwood timber, shrimp, fish
GOVERNMENT
Republic.