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At a time of year when we celebrate our heritage, it is important to remember all those components that make us a people, community and a country. One of the components of the Bermudian tapestry is our Caribbean heritage. The majority of Bermudians of principally African descent and to a lesser degree of European descent can find a link in our history to the Caribbean.

The country of Guyana (formerly British Guyana) recently celebrated its 40th Anniversary as an independent nation, making the historic step on May 26, 1966. Guyana shares with Bermuda a cultural and historical legacy as evidenced by the contributions of well known Guyanese Sir E. T. Richards and Richard Hector to the development of Bermuda.

Guyana is situated on the northern part of South America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean, between Suriname and Venezuela, a densely forested country with spectacular waterfalls, distinctively large plants and trees and a tropical rainforest teeming with brilliantly coloured birds, insects and a wide variety of mammals.

The terrain is mostly rolling highlands, a low coastal plain in which the capital of Georgetown is located and a savanna in south. The country’s natural resources are bauxite, gold, diamonds, hardwood timber, shrimp and fish.

The population of Guyana is estimated at 767,245 people. It is ethically diverse with Indo- Guyanese at 50 per cent, Afro Guyanese at 36 per cent, Amerindian at seven per cent , with white, Chinese, and mixed at about seven per cent.

Guyana is a republic within the Commonwealth with an elected President and the legislature is a unicameral National Assembly. The 65 members of the assembly are elected by popular vote. The President as the Chief of State appoints the Cabinet who are responsible to the legislature. The President and the legislature serve five-year terms.

The Dutch settled in Guyana in the late 16th century, when the Amerindians known as the Warrou welcomed them as trading partners. The Warrou people were the indigenous inhabitants of Guyana. The Dutch, English, and French established colonies but by the early 17th century, the majority of the settlements were Dutch. Guiana changed hands about four times between 1796 and 1814. In 1831, Britain took over the Dutch colonies of Berbice, Demerara, and Essequibo, which became British Guiana.

Slavery

Slavery, existed from the 1650s when Africans became the major labour force until 1834. The need for plantation workers led to the immigration, of primarily East Indians who came as indentured servants to work on plantations. The newly emancipated slaves banded together and purchased land from their former owners on which they established free villages many of which still exist today, namely Buxton and Victoria located on the East Coast of Demerara.

Guyana developed into a complex society with white planters the dominant culture socially, politically and economically. The Indians were primarily plantation workers while Africans mainly worked in mines.

This social and political condition would exist until the 1920s, when organized labour became a powerful political force. By the late 1920s, British Guiana became a Crown Colony and this situation existed until the first election under universal adult suffrage in 1953. Unfortunately, positive political transformation in the 1950s would also see divisions emerge politically on racial lines. The political parties, one led by Cheddi Jagan of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) and the other led by Forbes Burnham of the People’s National Congress (PNC) and his successor Desmond Hoyte, dominated the political landscape. In the postcolonial era, Guyana experienced a degree of social and political instability, with some cold war manipulations, that contributed to the economic underdevelopment of this potentially prosperous nation.

The 1990s would see Guyana return to a more democratic path, moving from state socialism and one-party control to a market economy and unrestricted freedom of the press and assembly. Despite these tribulations of the past 40 years, there is no doubt that Guyanese people are proud and enthusiastic of the country they have created and the possibilities for the future.

As we celebrate our heritage, we must remember that the Bermudian tapestry is woven with strands from many different places. All of these strands when woven together, form the unique Bermudian pattern and identity that is colourful and strong and of which we can all be proud.[[In-content Ad]]

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