Introduction

Guyana

Background:

Originally a Dutch colony in the 17th century, by 1815 Guyana had become a British possession. The abolition of slavery led to black settlement of urban areas and the importation of indentured servants from India to work the sugar plantations. This ethnocultural divide has persisted and has led to turbulent politics. Guyana achieved independence from the UK in 1966, and since then it has been ruled mostly by socialist-oriented governments. In 1992, Cheddi JAGAN was elected president in what is considered the country's first free and fair election since independence. After his death five years later, his wife, Janet JAGAN, became president but resigned in 1999 due to poor health. Her successor, Bharrat JAGDEO, was reelected in 2001 and again in 2006.

Geography

Guyana

Location:	Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Suriname and Venezuela
Geographic coordinates:	5 00 N, 59 00 W
Map references:	South America
Area:	total: 214,970 sq km land: 196,850 sq km water: 18,120 sq km
Area - comparative:	slightly smaller than Idaho
Land boundaries:	total: 2,949 km border countries: Brazil 1,606 km, Suriname 600 km, Venezuela 743 km
Coastline:	459 km
Maritime claims:	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the outer edge of the continental margin
Climate:	tropical; hot, humid, moderated by northeast trade winds; two rainy seasons (May to August, November to January)
Terrain:	mostly rolling highlands; low coastal plain; savanna in south
Elevation extremes:	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Roraima 2,835 m
Natural resources:	bauxite, gold, diamonds, hardwood timber, shrimp, fish
Land use:	arable land: 2.23% permanent crops: 0.14% other: 97.63% (2005)
Irrigated land:	1,500 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources:	241 cu km (2000)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):	total: 1.64 cu km/yr (2%/1%/98%) per capita: 2,187 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards:	flash floods are a constant threat during rainy seasons
Environment - current issues:	water pollution from sewage and agricultural and industrial chemicals; deforestation
Environment - international agreements:	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94 signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note:	the third-smallest country in South America after Suriname and Uruguay; substantial portions of its western and eastern territories are claimed by Venezuela and Suriname respectively

People

Guyana

Population:	769,095 note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2007 est.)
Age structure:	0-14 years: 26.1% (male 102,111/female 98,325) 15-64 years: 68.6% (male 266,288/female 261,620) 65 years and over: 5.3% (male 17,308/female 23,443) (2007 est.)
Median age:	total: 27.8 years male: 27.3 years female: 28.3 years (2007 est.)
Population growth rate:	0.234% (2007 est.)
Birth rate:	18.09 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Death rate:	8.28 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Net migration rate:	-7.47 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Sex ratio:	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.039 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.018 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.738 male(s)/female total population: 1.006 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Infant mortality rate:	total: 31.35 deaths/1,000 live births male: 34.93 deaths/1,000 live births female: 27.58 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:	total population: 66.17 years male: 63.52 years female: 68.95 years (2007 est.)
Total fertility rate:	2.04 children born/woman (2007 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:	2.5% (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:	11,000 (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:	1,100 (2003 est.)
Major infectious diseases:	degree of risk: high food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne diseases: dengue fever and malaria water contact disease: leptospirosis (2008)
Nationality:	noun: Guyanese (singular and plural) adjective: Guyanese
Ethnic groups:	East Indian 50%, black 36%, Amerindian 7%, white, Chinese, and mixed 7%
Religions:	Christian 50%, Hindu 35%, Muslim 10%, other 5%
Languages:	English, Amerindian dialects, Creole, Caribbean Hindustani (a dialect of Hindi), Urdu
Literacy:	definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school total population: 98.8% male: 99.1% female: 98.5% (2003 est.)

Government

Guyana

Country name:	conventional long form: Cooperative Republic of Guyana conventional short form: Guyana former: British Guiana
Government type:	republic
Capital:	name: Georgetown geographic coordinates: 6 48 N, 58 10 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Administrative divisions:	10 regions; Barima-Waini, Cuyuni-Mazaruni, Demerara-Mahaica, East Berbice-Corentyne, Essequibo Islands-West Demerara, Mahaica-Berbice, Pomeroon-Supenaam, Potaro-Siparuni, Upper Demerara-Berbice, Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo
Independence:	26 May 1966 (from UK)
National holiday:	Republic Day, 23 February (1970)
Constitution:	6 October 1980
Legal system:	based on English common law with certain admixtures of Roman-Dutch law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage:	18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:	chief of state: President Bharrat JAGDEO (since 11 August 1999); note - assumed presidency after resignation of President Janet JAGAN and reelected in 2001, and again in 2006 head of government: Prime Minister Samuel HINDS (since October 1992, except for a period as chief of state after the death of President Cheddi JAGAN on 6 March 1997) cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president, responsible to the legislature elections: president elected by popular vote as leader of a party list in parliamentary elections, which must be held at least every five years (no term limits); elections last held 28 August 2006 (next to be held by August 2011); prime minister appointed by the president election results: President Bharrat JAGDEO reelected; percent of vote 54.6%
Legislative branch:	unicameral National Assembly (65 seats; members elected by popular vote, also not more than 4 non-elected non-voting ministers and 2 non-elected non-voting parliamentary secretaries appointed by the president; to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 28 August 2006 (next to be held by August 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - PPP/C 54.6%, PNC/R 34%, AFC 8.1%, other 3.3%; seats by party - PPP/C 36, PNC/R 22, AFC 5, other 2
Judicial branch:	Supreme Court of Judicature, consisting of the High Court and the Judicial Court of Appeal, with right of final appeal to the Caribbean Court of Justice
Political parties and leaders:	Alliance for Change or AFC [Raphael TROTMAN and Khemraj RAMJATTAN]; Guyana Action Party or GAP [Paul HARDY]; Justice for All Party [C.N. SHARMA]; People's National Congress/Reform or PNC/R [Robert Herman Orlando CORBIN]; People's Progressive Party/Civic or PPP/C [Bharrat JAGDEO]; Rise, Organize, and Rebuild or ROAR [Ravi DEV]; The United Force or TUF [Manzoor NADIR]; The Unity Party [Joey JAGAN]; Vision Guyana [Peter RAMSAROOP]; Working People's Alliance or WPA [Rupert ROOPNARAINE]
Political pressure groups and leaders:	Amerindian People's Association; Guyana Citizens Initiative; Guyana Bar Association; Guyana Human Rights Association; Guyana Public Service Union or GPSU; Private Sector Commission; Trades Union Congress
International organization participation:	ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, CSN, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (subscriber), ITU, ITUC, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OIC, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US:	chief of mission: Ambassador Bayney KARRAN chancery: 2490 Tracy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 265-6900 FAX: [1] (202) 232-1297 consulate(s) general: New York
Diplomatic representation from the US:	chief of mission: Ambassador David M. ROBINSON embassy: 100 Young and Duke Streets, Kingston, Georgetown mailing address: P. O. Box 10507, Georgetown; US Embassy, 3170 Georgetown Place, Washington DC 20521-3170 telephone: [592] 225-4900 through 4909 FAX: [592] 225-8497
Flag description:	green, with a red isosceles triangle (based on the hoist side) superimposed on a long, yellow arrowhead; there is a narrow, black border between the red and yellow, and a narrow, white border between the yellow and the green

Economy

Guyana

Economy - overview:	The Guyanese economy exhibited moderate economic growth in 2001-07, 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. Economic recovery since the 2005 flood-related contraction has been buoyed by increases in remittances and foreign direct investment. 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. In March 2007, the Inter-American Development Bank, Guyana's principal donor, canceled Guyana's nearly $470 million debt, equivalent to nearly 41% of GDP. The bauxite mining sector should benefit in the near term from restructuring and partial privatization, and the state-owned sugar industry will conduct efficiency increasing modernizations. Export earnings from agriculture and mining have fallen sharply, while the import bill has risen, driven by higher energy prices. Guyana's entrance into the Caricom Single Market and Economy (CSME) in January 2006 will broaden the country's export market, primarily in the raw materials sector.
GDP (purchasing power parity):	$4.057 billion (2007 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate):	$978 million (2007 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:	4.5% (2007 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):	$5,300 (2007 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:	agriculture: 35.2% industry: 19% services: 45.8% (2007 est.)
Labor force:	418,000 (2001 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:	agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: NA%
Unemployment rate:	9.1% (understated) (2000)
Population below poverty line:	NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share:	lowest 10%: 1.3% highest 10%: 33.8% (1999)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:	43.2 (1999)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):	10.4% (2007 est.)
Investment (gross fixed):	39.3% of GDP (2007 est.)
Budget:	revenues: $419.4 million expenditures: $527.4 million (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products:	sugarcane, rice, shrimp, fish, vegetable oils; beef, pork, poultry, dairy products
Industries:	bauxite, sugar, rice milling, timber, textiles, gold mining
Industrial production growth rate:	2% (2007 est.)
Electricity - production:	807.3 million kWh (2005)
Electricity - production by source:	fossil fuel: 99.4% hydro: 0.6% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)
Electricity - consumption:	750.7 million kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports:	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports:	0 kWh (2005)
Oil - production:	0 bbl/day (2005 est.)
Oil - consumption:	10,500 bbl/day (2005 est.)
Oil - exports:	0 bbl/day (2004)
Oil - imports:	10,070 bbl/day (2004)
Oil - proved reserves:	0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.)
Natural gas - production:	0 cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:	0 cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - exports:	0 cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - imports:	0 cu m (2005)
Natural gas - proved reserves:	0 cu m (1 January 2006 est.)
Current account balance:	$-229.7 million (2007 est.)
Exports:	$499.4 million f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Exports - commodities:	sugar, gold, bauxite, alumina, rice, shrimp, molasses, rum, timber
Exports - partners:	US 18.8%, Canada 18.4%, UK 8.7%, Portugal 6.5%, Trinidad and Tobago 4.9%, Netherlands 4.3%, Belgium 4.3%, Jamaica 4.1% (2006)
Imports:	$835.8 million f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Imports - commodities:	manufactures, machinery, petroleum, food
Imports - partners:	Trinidad and Tobago 23%, US 21.3%, China 9.7%, Cuba 6.3%, UK 4.5% (2006)
Economic aid - recipient:	$136.8 million (1995), Heavily Indebted Poor Country Initiative (HIPC) $253 million (1997) (2005)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:	$292 million (31 December 2007 est.)
Debt - external:	$1.2 billion (2002)
Market value of publicly traded shares:	$187.3 million (2005)
Currency (code):	Guyanese dollar (GYD)
Currency code:	GYD
Exchange rates:	Guyanese dollars per US dollar - 201.89 (2007), 200.28 (2006), 200.79 (2005), 198.31 (2004), 193.88 (2003)
Fiscal year:	calendar year

Communications

Guyana

Telephones - main lines in use:	110,100 (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular:	281,400 (2005)
Telephone system:	general assessment: fair system for long-distance service domestic: microwave radio relay network for trunk lines; fixed-line teledensity is about 15 per 100 persons; many areas still lack fixed-line telephone services; mobile-cellular teledensity reached 37 per 100 persons in 2005 international: country code - 592; tropospheric scatter to Trinidad; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations:	AM 3, FM 3, shortwave 1 (1998)
Radios:	420,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations:	3 (1 public station; 2 private stations which relay US satellite services) (1997)
Televisions:	46,000 (1997)
Internet country code:	.gy
Internet hosts:	3,000 (2007)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):	3 (2000)
Internet users:	160,000 (2005)

Transportation

Guyana

Airports:	93 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways:	total: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 under 914 m: 6 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways:	total: 84 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 14 under 914 m: 69 (2007)
Roadways:	total: 7,970 km paved: 590 km unpaved: 7,380 km (1999)
Waterways:	Berbice, Demerara, and Essequibo rivers are navigable by oceangoing vessels for 150 km, 100 km, and 80 km respectively (2006)
Merchant marine:	total: 7 ships (1000 GRT or over) 12,516 GRT/14,193 DWT by type: cargo 5, petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 1 registered in other countries: 2 (St Vincent and The Grenadines 2, unknown 1) (2007)
Ports and terminals:	Georgetown

Military

Guyana

Military branches:	Guyana Defense Force: Army (includes Coast Guard, Air Corps) (2007)
Manpower available for military service:	males age 18-49: 206,098 (2005 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:	males age 18-49: 137,964 (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:	1.8% (2006)

Transnational Issues

Guyana

Disputes - international:

all of the area west of the Essequibo River is claimed by Venezuela preventing any discussion of a maritime boundary; Guyana has expressed its intention to join Barbados in asserting claims before UNCLOS that Trinidad and Tobago's maritime boundary with Venezuela extends into their waters; Suriname claims a triangle of land between the New and Kutari/Koetari rivers in a historic dispute over the headwaters of the Courantyne; Guyana seeks arbitration under provisions of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to resolve the long-standing dispute with Suriname over the axis of the territorial sea boundary in potentially oil-rich waters

Illicit drugs:

transshipment point for narcotics from South America - primarily Venezuela - to Europe and the US; producer of cannabis; rising money laundering related to drug trafficking and human smuggling

History of Guyana

Guyana has been peopled for thousands of years before Europeans became aware of the area some 500 years ago. Guyana's past is punctuated by battles fought and won, possessions lost and regained as the Spanish, French, Dutch and British wrangled for centuries to own and exploit this land. Independence was achieved in 1966. Guyana became a Republic in 1970.

Pre-colonial
The history of Guyana begins before the arrival of Europeans, when the region of present-day Guyana was inhabited by Carib, Arawak, and Warao peoples. The word 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.

Beginnings of European involvement
Guyana's first sighting by Europeans was by Alonzo de Ojeda and Amerigo Vespucci in 1499. Christopher Columbus did not sight Guyana on his third voyage of discovery which started in 1498. The coastline of the country was first traced by Spanish sailors in 1499 and 1500; and during the 16th and early 17th centuries, the search for the fabulous city of El Dorado - forever linked in British minds, with exploits of Sir Walter Raleigh - stimulated exploration of this region.

In 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.

The Dutch period
The Dutch began exploring and settling in Guyana in the late 16th century, followed by the English. Both began trading with the Amerindian peoples upriver.

The first known Dutch expedition to coast of Guyana, led by Capt. A Cabeliau, came in 1598.

The first Dutch settlement was established on the Pomeroon River in 1581. The settlers were evicted by Spaniards and Indians, probably in 1596. The evicted settlers retired to Kyk-over-al (Look-over-everything) on the Essequibo River, where the Dutch West India Company established a fort in 1616-1621 in what they called the County of Essequibo.

In 1627 a settlement was founded in the Berbice River by Abraham van Pere, a Flushing merchant, and held by him under a licence (issued 12 July 1627) from the Company. Some historians believe that van Pere was a member of a Portuguese Jewish refugee family. He sent 40 men and 20 boys to settle at Nassau, about 50 miles upriver. Van Pere had a good knowledge of the territory since he had apparently been trading with the Amerindians of the area for a few years before 1627. He later applied his trading skills when he was contracted by the Zeeland Chamber to supply goods from Europe to the Dutch settlements in Essequibo.

At Nassau, where Fort Nassau was built, the settlers planted crops and traded with Amerindians. African slaves were introduced shortly after the settlement was established to cultivate sugar and cotton. The situation was very peaceful until 1665 when the settlement was attacked by an English privateer. However, the colonists put up a strong defence and it left after causing some damage to the settlement.

Between 1675 and 1716 all the cultivation on lands in British Guiana took place upstream. Finding the soil on the coastlands more fertile, the settlers gradually moved down river. In 1741 English Settlers from Barbados and Antigua began to build river dams and drainage sluices in the Essequibo River islands, and later tried to reclaim the fertile tidal marshes in Demerara. Until 1804 there were estates, now forgotten, Sandy Point and Kierfield, on the seaward side of the present seawall of Georgetown.

As attempts at settling inland failed, the Europeans were forced to settle on the coast in the mid-1700s, where they created plantations worked by African slaves. The main crops were coffee, cotton, and sugar, the last of which soon become the main crop. The soil quality was poor, however. The slaves, led by Cuffy, (Guyana's national hero), revolted in 1763 in what became known as the Berbice slave revolt.

In 1746 colonists from Essequibo and Caribbean islands settled along the Demerara River. In 1773 Demerara was granted a certain degree of autonomy, and in 1784 the capital was transferred there, while Berbice continued under a separate government. This arrangement survived under the British administration until 1831.

The British period
The first English attempt at settlement in this area was made in 1604 by Captain Charles Leigh on the Oyapock River (in what is now French Guyana). The effort failed. A fresh attempt was made by Robert Harcourt in 1609.

Lord Willoughby, famous in the early history of Barbados, also turned his attention to Guiana, and founded a settlement in Suriname in 1651. This was captured by the Dutch in 1667, and though later recaptured by the British, it was ceded to the Dutch at the Peace of Breda.

Britain took the region from the Dutch in 1796. The Dutch took it back in 1802, before being ousted again by the British in 1803. Immediately after the British took possession of Essequibo-Demerara and Berbice they began to implement changes in the administration of the colonies with the aim of removing the strong Dutch influence. in 1806 the slave trade was abolished in the two colonies, as well as in Trinidad; final abolition occurred in other British territories during the following year. Regulations were put in place to prevent transfer of slaves from one colony to another, but this did not prevent trafficking in slaves from the Caribbean islands to Berbice and Demerara-Essequibo.

The colonies of Essequibo, Demerara, and Berbice were officially ceded to the United Kingdom in the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814 and at the Congress of Vienna in 1815. In 1831 they were consolidated as British Guiana.

A further rebellion by ten to twelve thousand slaves in Demerara in 1823 resulted in the trial and execution of thirty-three slaves and the trial and conviction of missionary John Smith.

When slavery was abolished in 1834, the Afro-Guyanese refused to work for wages, and many scattered into the bush. This forced many plantations to close or consolidate. Thousands of indentured laborers were brought to Guyana to replace the slaves on the sugarcane plantations, primarily from India, but also from Portugal and China.

This provided the basis for the racial tension that was encouraged and manipulated later, at the point where Guyana made its bid for independence, and to the present day. However, Guyanese culture is in many ways homogeneous, due to shared history, intermarriage, and other factors.

Despite the recruitment of West Indian, African and Portuguese and other European labourers, this did not help very much to ease the labour shortage of the 1830s. After the West Indian islands placed restrictions on emigration, the sugar planters in Guyana began to look further afield to obtain a large labour force. One of them, John Gladstone, the father of the British statesman, applied for permission from the Secretary of State for the Colonies to recruit Indians to serve in Guyana for a five-year period of indenture.

Gladstone's proposed venture was supported by a number of other sugar planters whose estates were expected to obtain some of the Indians to be recruited. By this time Indians were being taken to Mauritius to work on the sugar plantations and were proving to be very productive. Gladstone's request was granted and he, Davidson, Barclay and Company, Andrew Colville, John and Henry Moss, all owners of sugar plantation in Guyana, made arrangements to recruit 414 Indians. Of these 150 were "hill coolies" from Chota Nagpur, and the remainder were from Burdwan and Bancoorah near Calcutta. (The word "coolie", a corruption of the Tamil word "kuli", referred to a porter or labourer).

To transport these Indians, two ships, the Whitby and Hesperus were chartered. The Whitby sailed from Calcutta on 13 January 1838 with 249 immigrants, and after a voyage of 112 days, arrived in Guyana on 5 May. Five Indians died on the voyage. The ship immediately sailed to Berbice and 164 immigrants, who were recruited by Highbury and Waterloo plantations, disembarked. The ship then returned to Demerara and between 14-16 May the remaining 80 immigrants landed and were taken to Belle Vue Estate.

Of the total of 244 Indians who arrived on the Whitby, there were 233 men, 5 women and 6 children.

The Hesperus left Calcutta on the 29 January 1838 with 165 passengers and arrived in Guyana late on the night of the 5 May, by which time 13 had already died. The remaining 135 men, 6 women and 11 children were distributed between the 8-10 May to the plantations Vreedestein, Vreed-en-hoop and Anna Regina.

The British stopped the practice of importing labor in 1917, by which time around 250,000 people had settled in Guyana. Many of the Afro-Guyanese former slaves moved to the towns and became the majority urban population, whereas the Indo-Guyanese remained predominantly rural. A scheme in 1862 to bring black workers from the United States was unsuccessful.

A fall in sugar prices in the late 19th century led to an increase in logging and mining.

Lead up to independence
Guyanese politics occasionally have been turbulent. The first modern political party in Guyana was the People's Progressive Party (PPP), established on January 1, 1950, with Forbes Burnham, a British-educated Afro-Guyanese, as chairman; Dr. Cheddi Jagan, a U.S.-educated Indo-Guyanese, as second vice chairman; his American-born wife, Janet Jagan, as secretary general and Lionel Jeffries (no relation to the British actor of the same name) as Treasurer. The PPP won 18 out of 24 seats in the first popular elections permitted by the colonial government in 1953. Dr. Jagan became leader of the house and minister of agriculture in the colonial government. However, Jagan's Marxist views caused concern in Washington.

On October 9, 1953, five months after his election, the British suspended the constitution and landed troops because, they said, the Jagans and the PPP were planning to make Guyana a communist state. Among the troops sent were the 2nd Battalion of the Scottish regiment, The Black Watch (Royal Highlanders), who arrived in 1954. Their unusual regalia and their bagpipe music made them quite conspicuous.

These events led to a manipulated split in the PPP, in which Burnham broke away and founded what eventually became the People's National Congress (PNC). Colonial interests, which hoped to thwart the Guyanese independence movement, instigated conflict between Indo-Guyanese and Afro-Guyanese. The PPP, which was a multi-ethnic, nationalist party, was depicted as a vehicle for the majority Indo-Guyanese population, and the PNC posed as an alternative for Afro-Guyanese. Lionel Jeffries, the PPP Treasurer who was half Afro-Guyanese and half Indo-Guyanese emigrated with his family to Britain. This ethnic divide in politics continues to this day.

Self rule was achieved on 26 August 1961.

From the latter part of 1963, through the early part of 1964, came the period euphemistically called "The Disturbances" by the British. The governments of The UK and the USA joined forces to destabilize the Guyanese political landscape, with the U.S. providing intelligence and infiltration (through the American Institute for Free Labor Development (AIFLD)), while the British brought in brute force. AIFLD operatives instigated a 90 day strike of primarily urban and Afro-Guyanese unions, which brought the nation's economy to a halt; the strike was also the occasion for outbreaks of racial violence, as it was used to pit the predominantly Indo-Guyanese government against the predominantly Afro-Guyanese service unions. The British alternately moved to crush the altercations, or to simply allow them to run their course. During this period, PPP leaders such as Jagan, Brindley Benn, and the man who came to be regarded as Guyana's poet laureate, Martin Carter, were frequently imprisoned and harassed by the British. Around 200 people died in the riots.

At a Constitutional Conference in London in 1963, the British agreed to grant independence to the colony, but only after another election in which proportional representation would be introduced for the first time. It was widely believed that this system would reduce the number of seats won by the PPP and prevent it from obtaining a clear majority in parliament. The December 1964 elections gave the PPP 45.8 percent, the PNC 40.5 percent, and the United Force (TUF), a conservative party, 12.4 percent. TUF threw its votes in the legislature to Forbes Burnham, and he became Prime Minister.

Independence
Guyana achieved independence on May 26, 1966, and became the Co-operative Republic of Guyana on February 23, 1970 - the anniversary of the Cuffy slave rebellion - with a new constitution. From December 1964 until his death in August 1985, Forbes Burnham ruled Guyana in an increasingly autocratic manner, first as Prime Minister and later, after the adoption of a new constitution in 1980 (declaring Guyana to be in transition from capitalism to socialism and allowing an elected President and Prime Minister appointed by the president), as Executive President. During that time-frame, elections were viewed in Guyana and abroad as fraudulent. Human rights and civil liberties were suppressed, and two major political assassinations occurred: the Jesuit priest and journalist Bernard Darke in July 1979, and the distinguished historian and WPA Party leader Walter Rodney in June 1980. Agents of President Burnham are widely believed to have been responsible for both deaths. Burnham also nationalised many industries, such as sugar and bauxite, and fostered links with the Soviet Union and Eastern European countries.

In 1974 the Guyanese government allowed the religious group the Peoples Temple, led by the American Jim Jones, to build a 300-acre settlement (called Jonestown) in the north-west of the country. Following increasing concern about abuses at Jonestown, US Congressman Leo Ryan agreed to conduct a fact-finding mission to the settlement, accompanied by concerned relatives and media persons, on 14 November 1978. Whilst boarding a plane, the company was fired upon; several people, including Ryan, were killed. This was then followed by the mass-suicide, at Jones's instigation, of all 900 people at Jonestown.

The PPP in Power
Following Burnham's own death in 1985, Prime Minister Hugh Desmond Hoyte acceded to the presidency and was formally elected in the December 1985 national elections. Hoyte gradually reversed Burnham's policies, moving from state socialism and one-party control to a market economy, industry privatisation and unrestricted freedom of the press and assembly. Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter visited Guyana to lobby for the resumption of free elections, and on October 5, 1992, a new National Assembly and regional councils were elected in the first Guyanese election since 1964 to be internationally recognized as free and fair. Cheddi Jagan of the PPP-Civic was elected and sworn in as President on October 9, 1992, the first time the PPP had won power since independence, reversing the monopoly Afro-Guyanese traditionally had over Guyanese politics. The poll was marred by violence however. A new IMF Structural Adjustment programme was introduced which led to an increase in the GDP whilst also eroding real incomes and hitting the middle-classes hard.

When President Jagan died of a heart attack in March 1997, Prime Minister Samuel Hinds replaced him in accordance with constitutional provisions, with his widow Janet Jagan as Prime Minister. She was then elected President on 15th December 1997 for the PPP. Desmond Hoyte's PNC contested the results however, resulting in strikes, riots and 1 death before a Caricom mediating committee was brought in. Janet Jangan's PPP government was sworn in one 24th December having agreed to a constitutional review and to hold elections within three years, though Hoyte refused to recognise her government.

Jagan resigned in August 1999 due to ill health and was succeeded by Finance Minister Bharrat Jagdeo, who had been named Prime Minister a day earlier. National elections were held on March 19, 2001, three months later then planned as the election committees said they were unprepared. Fears that the violence that marred the previous election led to monitoring by foreign bodies, including Jimmy Carter. Meanwhile a High Court judge ruled that the 1997 elections were invalid. In March incumbent President Jagdeo the election with a voter turnout of over 90%.

Meanwhile tensions with Suriname were seriously strained by a dispute over their shared maritime border after Guyana had allowed oil-prospectors license to explore the areas.

In December 2002 Hoyte died, with Robert Corbin replacing him as leader of the PNC. He agreed to engage in 'constructive engagement' with Jagdeo and the PPP.

Severe flooding following torrential rainfall wreaked havoc in Guyana beginning in January 2005. The downpour, which lasted about six weeks, inundated the coastal belt, caused the deaths of 34 people, and destroyed large parts of the rice and sugarcane crops. The UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean estimated in March that the country would need $415 million for recovery and rehabilitation. About 275,000 people — 37% of the population — were affected in some way by the floods.

Last update on 7 March 2008