Guiana becomes Guyana
‘Guyana lies on the north-east coast of the South American continent, between Venezuela on the west, Surinam on the east, with the Atlantic Ocean facing it on the north. It is as large as the combined areas of England, Scotland and Wales. It has pleasant climatic conditions for the greater part of the year. It is particularly so on the coastal area where it is sub-tropical. Columbus sailed along the Guyana coast in 1498, and later wrote about the great rivers of Guyana flowing down from an earthly paradise. Sir Walter Raleigh voyaged to the country in 1595. The task of shaping Guyana's history was shared among the Dutch, French and British. Both the Dutch and British made the greatest contribution, each holding the country for well over one hundred years, compared with the short two-year period of the French. As a consequence, the impact of the former had been the stronger. Between 1841 and 1931 some 433,643 immigrants arrived in Guyana on the basis of an indentureship system. Th...