Georgetown is the capital and largest city of Guyana. It is situated in Demerara-Mahaica, region 4, on the Atlantic Ocean coast, at the mouth of the Demerara River. It is nicknamed the "Garden City of the Caribbean." It is the retail, administrative, and financial services centre of the country, and the city accounts for a large portion of Guyana's GDP. The city recorded a population of 118,363 in the 2012 census.
All executive departments of Guyana's government are located in the city, including Parliament Building, Guyana's Legislative Building and the Court of Appeals, Guyana's highest judicial court. The State House (the official residence of the head of state), as well as the offices and residence of the head of government, are both located in the city. The Secretariat of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), an international organization with 15 memberstates and five partners, is also based in Georgetown.
The city of Georgetown began as a small town in the 18th century. Originally, the capital of the Demerara-Essequibo colony was located on Borsselen Island in the Demerara River under the administration of the Dutch. When the colony was captured by the British in 1781, Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Kingston chose the mouth of the Demerara River for the establishment of a town which was situated between Plantations Werk-en-Rust and Vlissingen.[citation needed]
It was the French who made it a capital city when they colonised it in 1782. The French called the capital Longchamps. When the town was restored to the Dutch in 1784, it was renamed Stabroek after Nicolaas Geelvinck, Lord of Stabroek, and president of the Dutch West India Company. Eventually the town expanded and covered the estates of Vlissingen, La Bourgade and Eve Leary to the North, and Werk-en-Rust and La Repentir to the South.
A view of the Kingston section of Georgetown in the 19th century.
It was renamed Georgetown on 29 April 1812 in honour of King George III.[citation needed] On 5 May 1812, an ordinance was passed to the effect that the town formerly called Stabroek, with districts extending from La Penitence to the bridges in Kingston and entering upon the road to the military camps, shall be called Georgetown.[citation needed]
The ordinance provided that the various districts of Georgetown shall be known by their own names. The supervision of Georgetown was to be done by a committee chosen by the governor and Court of Policy. Estimates of expenditure were to be prepared.[citation needed]
By 1806, the owner of Vlissingen asked to be exempted from the responsibility of maintaining the road which is now called Camp Street, but the Court refused the request. In 1810, the maintenance of the roads in the area called Georgetown cost 11,000 guilders per annum.[citation needed]
The governing body of Georgetown was once a Board of Police. The Board of Police was chosen by the governor and the Court of Policy. It came into existence as the result of disputes among various organisations which controlled the districts. The board met monthly but what was discussed is not on the records between 1825 and 1837. Newspapers in the colony were prohibited by law from reporting public matters.[citation needed]
The post of Commissary of Police was not regarded as important. People elected to the board invariably declined to attend meetings and never gave reasons for their refusal. It was, therefore, decided that individuals elected to the board were bound to serve for two years, or suffer a penalty of 1,000 guilders. The Board of Police was abolished when an ordinance was passed to establish a mayor and town council.[citation needed]
The names of Georgetown's wards and streets reflect the influence of the Dutch, French, and British who administered the town at different periods of history.
Cummingsburg was originally named Plantation La Bourgade by its first owner, Jacques Salignac. It was laid out in streets and building lots by its second proprietor, Thomas Cuming, a Scotsman, from whom it gets its current name. He made a presentation of the Militia Parade Ground and Promenade Gardens to the town as a gift. Carmichael Street was named after General Hugh Lyle Carmichael who served as governor from 1812 to 1813. He died in March 1813 and was buried in the Officers' Cemetery, Eve Leary.[citation needed]
Water Street was so called because it ran along the riverside and formed the original river dam. High Street formed the leading road from the East Bank to the East Coast of Demerara. The part of High Street that ran through Cummingsburg was called Main Street. Camp Street received its name because it was the road which led to the camp or garrison at the northern end of the city. Kingston got its name from King George of Great Britain. It was part of Pln. Eve Leary which was named after the wife or daughter of its owner, Cornelis Leary. Some of the streets of Kingston have military names because the garrison used to be located there, e.g. Parade Street, Barrack Street and Fort Street.[citation needed]
Lacytown was another leasehold portion of Plantation Vlissengen. Luke M. Hill*states that it was named after the lessee, George Lacy, who was related to the family of [de Lacy Evans|General Sir George de Lacy Evans GCB], a Crimean war hero.[citation needed] The owner of Vlissengen was Joseph Bourda, Member of the Court of Policy. After his son and heir disappeared at sea, the government claimed the property under the authority of the Vlissengen Ordinance of 1876. A new district of Bourda was laid out and Lacytown was improved by the Board of Vlissengen Commissioners.[citation needed]
Bourda Street and the ward of Bourda were named after Joseph Bourda, Member of the Court of Policy and former owner of Pln. Vlissengen. It was laid out by the Commissioner of Vlissengen in 1879. The Bourda Cemetery holds the remains of many citizens of Georgetown. Only those persons who owned family vaults or burial rights in the enclosed ground used it.[citation needed]
In 1945, a large fire (The Great Fire) broke out in the city, causing widespread damage.[3]
Geography
View of Georgetown from over the Atlantic Ocean
Georgetown is located on Guyana's Atlantic coast on the east bank of Demerara River estuary. The terrain in this part of the country where the city is located is flat coastal plains. The city is surrounded by a blanket of cane fields along with marshy swamps, and savannah lands on its east and south. The elevation of the land is one metre below the high tide level.[citation needed] This low elevation is protected by a retaining wall known as the seawall to keep the ocean out and an innovative network of canals with kokers to drain the city of excess water.[citation needed]
Climate
Georgetown has a year-round hot trade-wind tropical rainforest climate (Af). Relative humidity fluctuates throughout the year with the highest occurring in May, June, August and December–January; these months are usually the rainiest part of the year. Between the months of September to November relative humidity is lower ushering in the drier season.
Georgetown does not truly have a dry season – monthly precipitation in all 12 months is above 60mm (2.4in). Because of its location Georgetown's temperatures are moderated by the North-East trade winds blowing in from the North Atlantic and so it rarely sees temperatures above 31 degrees Celsius.
The Cheddi Jagan International Airport (formerly Timehri Airport) acts as the major air transportation hub for the city, which is located on the right bank of the Demerara River, 41 kilometres south of Georgetown. Closer to the city is Eugene F. Correia International Airport (formerly Ogle Airport), with a terminal facility geared to handle regional, international and inter-Caricom flights, connecting CARICOM states with the CARICOM Secretariat. Helicopters also use this airport for the support of offshore oil and gas exploration activities.
Land
The four-lane East Coast Highway was completed in 2005.[citation needed]
Georgetown is served by private buses.[6] There is a regular coach service between Georgetown and Boa Vista in Brazil. The Demerara Harbour Bridge is a major crossing point. Taxi service is available almost everywhere along the coast including in large numbers in Georgetown.
Water
Georgetown also is home to a seaport. The Demerara River is navigable by oceangoing vessels up to roughly 100 km upriver.[7]
Demographics
Georgetown recorded a population of 118,363 in the 2012 Guyanese census, down 12 percent from the 134,497 people counted in the 2002 census.[1] In 2002, about 70,962 (53%) listed themselves as Black/African; 31,902 (24%) as mixed; 26,542 (20%) as East Indian; 1,441 (1.1%) as Amerindian; 1,075 (0.8%) as Portuguese; 475 (0.35%) as Chinese; 2,265 (1.7%) as "don't know/not stated"; 196 (0.15%) as white not of Portuguese descent; 35 as "other".[8]
Georgetown is laid out in a north–south, east–west grid, interlaced with canals protected by kokers (sluices), built by the Dutch and later the British that provide drainage to a city that lies 0.91m (3ft) below high-tide level. A long seawall helps prevent flooding. The city has numerous boulevards and contains many wooden colonial buildings and markets.
The Georgetown Cenotaph, at Main and Church Streets, was built in 1923. It is the site of Remembrance Day (Remembrance Sunday) services in November each year.
To the south of this region is where the neo-GothicCity Hall (1889) is to be found, as well as the Victoria Law Courts (1887), the Parliament Building (1829–1834), the large Stabroek Market (1792) containing the prominent cast-iron clock tower that dominates the city sky line, the Roman CatholicBrickdam Cathedral, City Engineer House, the Magistrate's Court, St. Andrew's Kirk (1818) and Independence Arch.
The Guyana National Park is an urban park in the city. More inland, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods are the Guyana Zoo, Botanical Gardens and Castellani House. The Botanical Garden, in addition to a variety of plants, also features a manatee pond, as well as other enclosures housing felines such as jaguars, lynxes, or bobcats.[10] The city's suburbs are also home to the Museum of African Heritage located in Bel Air Park.[11]
Sports
Georgetown hosted the CaribeBasket, the top international basketball tournament for countries in the Caribbean in 1981, 1988 and 1994.
Georgetown's theatre scene is dominantly concentrated on the stages of the National Cultural Centre. Plays are also staged at the theatre guild of Guyana. This is the oldest theatrical performance facility in Guyana. It was opened in 1957 and restored in 2007.
This area also has a number of exclusive gated communities. Bel Air Park, Bel Air Gardens, Lamaha Gardens and Bel Air Springs are well known ultimately as places for the rich and powerful.
North of Georgetown lies Main Street, where the head of state's official residence as well as the Ministry of Finance. East of Georgetown stretches towards the Avenue of the Republic, where Georgetown's city hall building is located, and St. George's Cathedral. Also on the east side is Brickdam, which is the single most concentrated area of executive departments and agencies. The Ministries of Health, Education, Home Affairs, Housing and Water are all located on Brickdam.
West of Stabroek Market is the Port of Georgetown, the largest and busiest shipping point in Guyana. Stabroek Market itself contains the Ministry of Labour as well as the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security. It is also the host facility for the equally famous Stabroek markets. Regent Street is considered Georgetown's premier shopping district and Sheriff Street is the main entertainment area containing most of the city's clubs, bars and restaurants.
South Georgetown
The south end incorporates communities of neighbourhoods along the eastern bank of the Demerara River such as Sophia, Roxanne Burnham Gardens, Albouystown, and Agricola. Those are well known and highly regarded poor areas of the city. Some areas such as Houston Estates, Ruimvelt and Thirst Park have retained high levels of affluence.
Crime
Armed robberies occur regularly in Georgetown, especially in businesses and shopping districts.[12] Particularly high crime areas of Georgetown include Tiger Bay, Albouystown, Sophia, all of south Georgetown, Buxton and Agricola.[13] Robberies are a daily occurrence in the Stabroek Market area.[13] A number of assaults have taken place in the botanical garden.[13]
Guyana is a parliamentary republic in which the President of Guyana is both head of state and head of government. Executive power is exercised by the President, advised by a cabinet. Legislative power is vested in both the President and the National Assembly of Guyana. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
Demerara-Mahaica is a region of Guyana, bordering the Atlantic Ocean to the north, the region of Mahaica-Berbice to the east, the region of Upper Demerara-Berbice to the south and the region of Essequibo Islands-West Demerara to the west.
Ian McDonald is a Caribbean-born poet and writer who describes himself as "Antiguan by ancestry, Trinidadian by birth, Guyanese by adoption, and West Indian by conviction." His ancestry on his father's side is Antiguan and Kittitian, and Trinidadian on his mother's side. His only novel, The Humming-Bird Tree, first published in 1969, is considered a classic of Caribbean literature.
Stabroek Market is the largest market of Georgetown, Guyana. Located in the centre of the capital city, the market is housed in an iron and steel structure with a prominent clock tower.
Stabroek was the old name of Georgetown, Guyana, between 1784 and 1812, and was the capital of Demerara. Stabroek is currently a ward in the centre of Georgetown.
St. Andrew's Kirk is one of the oldest buildings in Georgetown, Guyana that has been continually in use for religious purposes. The Dutch Reformed congregation laid its foundations in 1811. However, due to financial difficulties it was acquired by Scottish Presbyterians and was formally opened for service on 28 February 1818.
Lusignan is a community in Demerara-Mahaica region of Guyana and approximately 16 km from the capital city Georgetown. Located on the East Coast of Demerara, it has population of 1,868 persons as of 2012 mostly Indo-Guyanese.
Jonestown is a village in the Demerara-Mahaica region of Guyana. The old name of the village was Voorzigtigheid. The village is located 37.5 kilometres from Georgetown between Hand-en-Veldt and the Atlantic Ocean, and near the town of Mahaica. Therefore, it tends to be called "Jonestown, Mahaica" or "Jonestown, Mahaica, ECD", even today, although by current Guyanese administrative regions it is in Demerara-Mahaica.
Ruel Johnson is a Guyanese author.
The following is an alphabetical list of topics related to the Co-operative Republic of Guyana.
Cove and John is located on the Atlantic coast of Guyana, 18 miles east of Georgetown and bordered by Nabacalis to the west and Victoria to the east. It has a population of 494 people as of 2012. This village has the Guyana Sevashram.
Bourda Cemetery is an eighteenth-century cemetery situated on Bourda Street in Georgetown, Guyana. Formerly known as "Bourda's Walk", Bourda cemetery is the oldest cemetery in Georgetown, and the only surviving plantation cemetery in the city. It is considered a national landmark and has been listed as a monument by the National Trust of Guyana.
Castellani House is a large nineteenth-century building in Georgetown, Guyana. It is on the corner of Vlissengen Road and Homestretch Avenue. It was designed and constructed by the Maltese architect, Cesar Castellani, between 1879 and 1882. Originally serving as a residence for colonial government officials, Castellani House has been the home of Guyana's National Art Gallery since 1993.
Crime in Guyana is investigated by Guyana's police.
Mahaica is a village located in region 4 of Demerara-Mahaica in Guyana. Mahaica is often used as a subregion for the adjoining villages near the Mahaica River like Hand-en-Veldt, Good Hope, Chelsey Park, and Jonestown, which is often referred to as Mahaica or its old Dutch plantation name Voorzigtigheid.
Werk-en-rust, also Werken-Rust, is a ward in Georgetown, Guyana, located along the Demerara River that feeds into the Atlantic Ocean.
The COVID-19 pandemic in Guyana was a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The virus was confirmed to have reached Guyana on 11 March 2020. The first case was a woman who travelled from New York, a 52-year-old woman with underlying health conditions, including diabetes and hypertension. The woman died at the Georgetown Public Hospital.
Guyana Botanical Gardens is a tropical botanical garden in Georgetown, Guyana. It is next to the Guyana Zoo and Castellani House.
Kingston is a former village in Demerara. In 1837, it became a ward of Georgetown. The ward is located along the Atlantic Ocean coast. Kingston is home to many landmarks and historic buildings.
Le Repentir Cemetery is a cemetery established in the nineteenth century on Princess St, Georgetown, Guyana. It is the main Georgetown cemetery and the largest cemetery in Guyana.
↑ Luke M. Hill - The Nomenclature of Georgetown in Timehri: The Journal of the Royal Agricultural and Commercial Society of British Guiana (Third Series) Vol.1, January 1911, p.42
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