The History of Guyana - Essay Example

Guyana: More than a "Land of Waters" Guyana: More than a "Land of Waters" Nestled at the northern tip of South America, Guyana is the country between Suriname and Venezuela. Covering 83,000 square miles (214,970 square kilometers), Guyana lies just north of the equator and has a tropical climate (CIA World Factbook, 2006). With its capital and chief port Georgetown, Guyana at present reverberates its British colonial past and its reactions to that past. In fact, it is the only English-speaking country of South America. Since independence in 1966, Guyana's chief economic assets-its sugarcane plantations and bauxite industry-have come under government control, as has most of the country's commerce. Guyana's populace is mainly of colonial origin, although a small number of aboriginal Indians are scattered throughout the forested interior. The more numerous coastal peoples are chiefly descendants of slaves from Africa and indentured workers from India, who were originally imported to work the coastal sugarcane plantations. Racial problems between the latter two groups have played a disruptive role in Guyanese society. Politically, Guyana has moved on a steady course toward socialism from the time of independence, although after the death of the first prime minister, Forbes Burnham, in 1985, ties with Western powers were strengthened (Encyclopdia Britannica, 2006) Moreover, Guyana is a democratic republic within the British Commonwealth. The nation is divided into 10 regions. The president, currently Bharrat Jagdeo, who serves as chief of state. The prime minister (Samuel Hinds) is appointed by the president and is head of government. All but 3 of the 68-seat National Assembly members are directly elected. The population of Guyana is estimated to be about 767,245.1 Emigration has kept the annual population growth rate well below 1 percent. About 37 percent of the population lives in urban areas, the largest of which are Georgetown, Linden, and New Amsterdam. The villages and fertile acres of the coastal lowlands are home to another 58 percent. The remaining 5 percent, mostly indigenous people, is scattered throughout the interior. As the country prides its ethnically diverse heritage, Guyana's largest group is made up of descendants of the East Indian immigrants and comprises nearly 50 percent of the country's population. Next are the Afro-Guyanese (36 percent) and American Indian indigenous peoples (7 percent).2 The remainder includes people of mixed race as well as small groups of ethnic Chinese, English, and Portuguese. Guyana is the third-smallest country in South America after Suriname and Uruguay, and substantial portions of its western and eastern territories are claimed by Venezuela and Suriname respectively. Warrau and Arawak Catholics fled to British Guiana from Venezuela in the 19th century to escape religious persecution. Their settlements, such as Santa Rosa, are protected reservations. Today's indigenous peoples are seeking title to the lands they occupy, as they feel increasingly threatened by local and international companies looking for mineral and timber wealth. At the same time, many indigenous people are taking jobs with these companies in hopes of overcoming poverty on the reservations (Daly 1975, p. 6). Little is known about the Guyana's early inhabitants, but historians speculate they gradually migrated from central South America as early as A.D. 1000. These people were divided into at least nine tribes, including the Warrau, Wapisiana, Machushi, Patamona, Arawak, and Carib. Before the arrival of Europeans, Carib and Arawak tribes called their region as "Guiana", which means "land of waters" (CultureGrams, 2006). The Dutch established the first European trading post in Guyana in 1580 and were soon joined by the English, French, and Spanish. In 1621, the Netherlands established the Dutch West India Company and gave it control of their colony, known as Essequibo. Dutch colonies were later established on the Berbice River (1627) and Demerara River (1741), despite Spanish claims to the entire region. The colonies changed hands between the British, French, and Dutch with confusing frequency until the British purchased and united them and, in 1831, renamed the area British Guiana (Daly, 1975). African slaves were brought to the area in the mid-1700s to meet labor needs, because the indigenous population had been nearly decimated through European colonization. By 1807, when the slave trade was abolished, about 100,000 Africans lived on plantations. On the side, slave revolts became rampant, such as the one in 1763 led by Guyana's national hero, Cuffy, demonstrated the desire for basic rights but also willingness to compromise. After full emancipation in 1838, many freed slaves formed their own villages. Eventually, planters brought indentured workers from India. When the British government stopped officially supporting East Indian immigration in 1917, 341,000 Indians had settled permanently in British Guiana (Costa, 1994, p. 227). After World War II, the British prepared for the colony's independence. Political parties formed for elections; 1953 was the first year of universal suffrage. The most dynamic new party was the People's Progressive Party (PPP), established by Cheddi Jagan. The son of Indian immigrants, Jagan embraced Marxism while studying dentistry in the United States. The PPP splintered in the late 1950s after the British tried to halt its rise to power (Moore, 1987). Another party, the People's National Congress (PNC), was led by leftist Linden Burnham. His support came from the Afro-Guyanese, while Jagan's came from the East Indian or Indo-Guyanese community. When Britain granted self-rule in 1961, an anticommunist party formed to challenge the PPP, which had gained a majority in 1961 elections. The party became the United Force (UF) and joined with the PNC and other groups to oppose the government. Violence and turbulence characterized the next few years. In 1964, the PNC and UF formed a coalition government under Burnham's leadership. Independence was granted in 1966, and British Guiana became Guyana. The PNC consolidated power in 1968 elections, and Burnham used that power to commit Guyana to socialism. In 1970, he renamed the country the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, and by 1974, it was essentially a one-party state (Encyclopdia Britannica, 2006) Elections were viewed in Guyana and abroad as fraudulent under the Burnham regime. Human rights and civil liberties were suppressed, and two major political assassinations occurred. Jesuit priest and journalist Bernard Darke was murdered in July 1979, and distinguished historian and Working People's Alliance party leader Walter Rodney was killed in June 1980. While the assassins have never been arrested, some authorities and public discourse on the assassinations lay blame on agents of President Burnham. After independence, substantial foreign aid helped provide social benefits to a broader section of the population. Those benefits were specifically related to education, housing, road and bridge building, agriculture and rural development and health, such as establishing rural clinics. Initially, a Marxist-Leninist economic system was selected for Guyana, but ethnic tension and Burnham's authoritarian rule undermined the establishment of a coherent development strategy. During Burnham's last years, the government's attempts to build a socialist society caused a massive emigration of skilled workers and, along with other economic factors, led to a significant decline in the overall quality of life in Guyana. After Burnham's sudden death in 1985, his successor, Vice President Desmond Hoyte, introduced political and economic reforms. Nevertheless, the standard of living remained low and Hoyte was urged to hold free and fair elections. The elections in 1992 were considered the country's first free elections and brought the PPP back to power. As president, Jagan continued to reform the systems that had been changed by Burnham, but Jagan died in March 1997 before he could complete his term. Subsequent leaders have been unable to bring political cooperation to the nation. Because the two main parties tend to block each other's progress, political reform is a major challenge facing Guyana. Regarding its current economy, Guyana exhibited moderate economic growth in 2001 and 2002, based on expansion in the agricultural and mining sectors, a more favorable atmosphere for business initiatives, a more realistic exchange rate, fairly low inflation, and the continued support of international organizations. Growth then slowed in 2003 and came back gradually in 2004, buoyed largely by increased export earnings. Chronic problems include a shortage of skilled labor and a deficient infrastructure. The government is juggling a sizable external debt against the urgent need for expanded public investment. The bauxite mining sector should benefit in the near term from restructuring and partial privatization (U.S. Department of State., 2001) In terms of health and welfare, Guyana's infant mortality rate is 32.19 deaths per 1,000 live births. Life expectancy at birth is 65.86 years of age for the total population, according to recent estimates.3 Although the government has provided free education from nursery school to university since 1975, it has not allocated sufficient funds to maintain the standards of what had been considered the best educational system in the region. Many school buildings are in poor condition, there is a shortage of textbooks and workbooks, the number of teachers has declined and, for the first time, fees are being charged at the university level for some courses of study. Nevertheless, the literacy rate remains very high at 98.8 percent. Despite the fact that Guyana has yet to resolve the increasing violent crime, improving their unstable economy and deal with ethnic tension and episodic political unrest, Guyana never failed to strive to work with international organizations and foreign countries to increase economic stability and strengthen international relations. The potential for economic recovery in the country promising and it is hoped that an investment boom will occur. Eventually, this will be the key to Guyana's prosperous future. Works Cited Da Costa, Emilia Viotti. Crowns of Glory, Tears of Blood: The Demerara Slave Rebellion of 1823. New York: Oxford University Press, 1994. Daly, Vere T. A Short History of the Guyanese People, London & Basingstoke: Macmillan Education, 1975. Guyana. CultureGrams 2006 World Edition. Provo, UT: ProQuest Information and Learning. (2006). Guyana. Encyclopdia Britannica. 2006. Encyclopdia Britannica Online. 5 Dec. 2006 .. Moore, Brian. Race, Power and Social Segmentation in Colonial Society. Guyana after Slavery, 1838-1891, New York: Gordon and Breach, 1987. U.S. Department of State. Country Commercial Guide: Guyana, 2001. 5 Dec. 2006. . United States Central Intelligence Agency, World Factbook. Guyana. Washington, D.C.: Printing and Photography Group. 5 Dec. 2006. . Read More