See also
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The governor of British Guiana was the Crown representative in British Guiana. The office existed from 1831 when the colonies of Demerara-Essequibo (see Demerara and Essequibo (colony)) and Berbice united as British Guiana until 1966 when Guyana attained independence.
| Term | Incumbent | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 21 July 1831 – 26 June 1833 | Sir Benjamin d'Urban | |
| 26 June 1833 – 27 June 1838 | Sir James Carmichael Smyth | |
| 27 June 1838 – 19 May 1848 | Sir Henry Light | |
| 19 May 1848–12 February 1849 | William Walker | acting, first time |
| 12 February 1849 – 11 May 1853 | Henry Barkly | |
| 11 May 1853–23 May 1854 | William Walker | acting, second time |
| 23 May 1854 – 7 January 1862 | Sir Philip Wodehouse | |
| 7 January 1862 – 25 January 1869 | Sir Francis Hincks | |
| 25 January 1869 – 26 December 1873 | Sir John Scott | |
| 27 December 1873–10 March 1874 | Edward Rushworth | acting |
| 10 March 1874 – 8 March 1877 | James Robert Longden | |
| 8 March 1877–3 April 1877 | William A. G. Young | acting, first time |
| 3 April 1877 – 13 December 1881 | Sir Cornelius Hendricksen Kortright | |
| 13 December 1881–4 May 1882 | William A. G. Young | acting, second time |
| 4 May 1882 – 1887 | Sir Henry Turner Irving | |
| 26 April 1884–1884 | Sir William Frederick Haynes-Smith | acting for Irving |
| 1887–1888 | Charles Bruce | acting |
| 1888–23 March 1893 | The Viscount Gormanston | |
| April 1891–15 October 1891 | Sir Charles Bruce | acting for Viscount Gormanston, second time |
| 23 March 1893–5 July 1893 | Sir Charles Bruce | acting, third time |
| 5 July 1893–September 1895 | Sir Charles Cameron Lees | |
| 15 December 1894–29 January 1895 | Charles Cavendish Boyle | acting for Lees, first time |
| September 1895–March 1896 | Charles Cavendish Boyle | acting, second time |
| March 1896–27 March 1898 | Sir Augustus William Lawson Hemming | |
| 1 October 1896–18 November 1896 | Charles Cavendish Boyle | acting for Hemming, third time |
| 27 May 1897–28 July 1897 | Charles Cavendish Boyle | acting for Hemming, fourth time |
| 27 March 1898 – 3 July 1901 | Sir Walter Joseph Sendall | |
| 3 July 1901 – 26 September 1904 | Sir James Alexander Swettenham | [1] |
| 26 September 1904 – 5 July 1912 | Sir Frederick Mitchell Hodgson | |
| 5 July 1912 – 15 April 1917 | Sir Walter Egerton | |
| 15 April 1917 – 4 April 1923 | Sir Wilfred Collet | |
| 4 April 1923 – 31 August 1925 | Sir Graeme Thomson | |
| 31 August 1925 – 7 November 1928 | Sir Cecil Hunter-Rodwell | |
| 7 November 1928 – 9 June 1930 | Sir Frederick Gordon Guggisberg | |
| 9 June 1930 – 26 March 1935 | Sir Edward Brandis Denham | |
| 26 March 1935 – 19 November 1937 | Sir Geoffry Alexander Stafford Northcote | acting from 1936 |
| 19 November 1937 – 7 November 1941 | Sir Wilfrid Edward Francis Jackson | |
| 7 November 1941 – 1947 | Sir Gordon James Lethem | acting from 1946 |
| 12 April 1947 – 14 April 1953 | Sir Charles Campbell Woolley | |
| 14 April 1953 – 25 October 1955 | Sir Alfred William Lungley Savage | |
| 25 October 1955 – 22 December 1958 | Sir Patrick Muir Renison | |
| 22 December 1958 – 7 March 1964 | Sir Ralph Francis Alnwick Grey | |
| 7 March 1964 – 26 May 1966 | Sir Richard Edmonds Luyt |
On 26 May 1966, the colony achieved independence from the United Kingdom as Guyana. After independence, the viceroy in Guyana was the Governor-General of Guyana.
The history of Guyana begins about 35,000 years ago with the arrival of humans coming from Eurasia. These migrants became the Carib and Arawak tribes, who met Alonso de Ojeda's first expedition from Spain in 1499 at the Essequibo River. In the ensuing colonial era, Guyana's government was defined by the successive policies of the French, Dutch, and British settlers. During the colonial period, Guyana's economy was focused on plantation agriculture, which initially depended on slave labor. Guyana saw major slave rebellions in 1763 and 1823. Following the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833, 800,000 enslaved Africans in the Caribbean and South Africa were freed, resulting in plantations contracting indentured workers, mainly from India. Eventually, these Indians joined forces with Afro-Guyanese descendants of slaves to demand equal rights in government and society. After the Second World War, the British Empire pursued policy decolonization of its overseas territories, with independence granted to British Guiana on May 26, 1966. Following independence, Forbes Burnham rose to power, quickly becoming an authoritarian leader, pledging to bring socialism to Guyana. His power began to weaken following international attention brought to Guyana in wake of the Jonestown mass murder suicide in 1978.
British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies, which resides on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana.
"Green Land of Guyana" is the national anthem of Guyana. Robert Cyril Gladstone Potter composed the music, while the lyrics were authored by Archibald Leonard Luker. Two separate contests were held to determine the words and the tune, respectively. It was adopted as the national anthem in 1966, when the country gained independence from the United Kingdom.
The Dutch began their colonisation of the Guianas, the coastal region between the Orinoco and Amazon rivers in South America, in the late 16th century. The Dutch originally claimed all of Guiana but—following attempts to sell it first to Bavaria and then to Hanau and the loss of sections to Portugal, Britain, and France—the section actually settled and controlled by the Netherlands became known as Dutch Guiana.
Demerara is a historical region in the Guianas, on the north coast of South America, now part of the country of Guyana. It was a colony of the Dutch West India Company between 1745 and 1792 and a colony of the Dutch state from 1792 until 1815. It was merged with Essequibo in 1812 by the British who took control. It formally became a British colony in 1815 until Demerara-Essequibo was merged with Berbice to form the colony of British Guiana in 1831. In 1838, it became a county of British Guiana until 1958. In 1966, British Guiana gained independence as Guyana and in 1970 it became a republic as the Co-operative Republic of Guyana. It was located around the lower course of the Demerara River, and its main settlement was Georgetown.
The Guianas, also spelled Guyanas or Guayanas, is a region in north-eastern South America. Strictly, the term refers to the three Guyanas: Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana, formerly British, Dutch and French Guyana. Broadly it refers to the South American coast from the mouth of the Oronoco to the mouth of the Amazon.
Berbice is a region along the Berbice River in Guyana, which was between 1627 and 1792 a colony of the Dutch West India Company and between 1792 and 1815 a colony of the Dutch state. After having been ceded to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in the latter year, it was merged with Demerara-Essequibo to form the colony of British Guiana in 1831. It became a county of British Guiana in 1838 till 1958. In 1966, British Guiana gained independence as Guyana and in 1970 it became a republic as the Co-operative Republic of Guyana.
Essequibo was a Dutch colony in the Guianas and later a county on the Essequibo River in the Guiana region on the north coast of South America. It was a colony of the Dutch West India Company between 1616 and 1792 and a colony of the Dutch state from 1792 until 1815. It was merged with Demerara in 1812 by the British who took control. It formally became a British colony in 1815 until Demerara-Essequibo was merged with Berbice to form the colony of British Guiana in 1831. In 1838, it became a county of British Guiana till 1958. In 1966, British Guiana gained independence as Guyana and in 1970 it became a republic as the Co-operative Republic of Guyana. It was located around the lower course of the Essequibo River.
The Railways of Guyana comprised two public railways, the Demerara-Berbice Railway and the Demerara-Essequibo Railway. There are also several industrial railways mainly for the bauxite industry. The Demerara-Berbice Railway is the oldest in South America. None of the railways are in operation in the 21st century.
The Colony of Demerara-Essequibo was created on 28 April 1812, when the British combined the colonies of Demerara and Essequibo into the colony of Demerara-Essequibo. They were officially ceded to Britain on 13 August 1814. On 20 November 1815 the agreement was ratified by the Netherlands. On 21 July 1831 Demerara-Esequibo united with Berbice as British Guiana.
The Guyana–Venezuela territorial dispute is an ongoing territorial dispute between Guyana and Venezuela over the Essequibo region, also known as Esequibo or Guayana Esequiba in Spanish, a 159,500 km2 (61,600 sq mi) area west of the Essequibo River. The territory, excluding the Venezuelan-controlled Ankoko Island, is controlled by Guyana as part of six of its regions, based on the 1899 Paris Arbitral Award, but is also claimed by Venezuela as the Guayana Esequiba State. The boundary dispute was inherited from the colonial powers and has persisted following the independence of Venezuela and Guyana.
The Rev. Joseph Ketley (1802-1875) was a mid-nineteenth century Congregational missionary and abolitionist in Guyana, the former British colony of British Guiana which was known as Demerara and Essequibo at the time when his mission was established. The Dutch colonies of Berbice‚ Demerara and Essequibo were ceded to the British in 1814‚ and incorporated into a single colony in 1831. Guyana became independent in 1966.
Demerara cricket team played first class cricket in the Jones Cup, later the Guystac Trophy, and came from the former British colony of Demerara, which is now a county of Guyana, formerly British Guiana. The other counties are Berbice and Essequibo.
Fort Zeelandia is located on Fort Island, a fluvial island of the Essequibo River delta in the Essequibo Islands-West Demerara region of Guyana. Not to be confused with Fort Zeelandia in Paramaribo, Suriname, the current brick fort was built in 1743 for the Essequibo colony, replacing an earlier wooden fort built in 1726, and is among the oldest structures in Guyana. The fort replaced Fort Kyk-Over-Al as the capital of Essequibo in 1739.
Pomeroon is the name of a former Dutch plantation colony on the Pomeroon River in the Guyana region on the north coast of South America. After early colonization attempts in the late 16th century were attacked by Spaniards and local Indians, the original inhabitants fled the interior of Guyana, founding the colony of Essequibo around Fort Kyk-Over-Al shortly after. A second, and more serious attempt at colonization started in 1650, but was ultimately unsuccessful, as French privateers destroyed the colony in 1689. In the late 18th century, a third attempt of colonization was started, this time under the jurisdiction of the Essequibo colony.
The Combined Court was the legislature of British Guiana until 1928. In its final form, it consisted of a sitting of the Court of Policy together with the elected Financial Representatives.
The Court of Policy was a legislative body in Dutch and British Guiana until 1928. For most of its existence it formed the Combined Court together with the six Financial Representatives.
The College of Kiezers was an electoral college in the Dutch colonies of Essequibo and Demerara and their successor, British Guiana.
Laurens Storm van 's Gravesande was a Dutch governor of the colonies of Essequibo and Demerara from 1743 to 1772. He turned Demerara in a successful plantation colony, and the borders of Guyana are mainly based on his expeditions into the interior. He is also noted for his treatment of the Amerindians.
Guyanese nationality law is regulated by the 1980 Constitution of Guyana, as amended; the Citizenship Act of 1967, and its revisions; and various British Nationality laws. These laws determine who is, or is eligible to be, a national of Guyana. Guyanese nationality is typically obtained either on the principle of jus soli, i.e. by birth in Guyana; or under the rules of jus sanguinis, i.e. by birth abroad to parents with Guyanese nationality. It can also be granted to persons with an affiliation to the country, or to a permanent resident who has lived in the country for a given period of time through naturalisation. There is not currently a program in Guyana for persons to acquire nationality through investment in the country. Nationality establishes one's international identity as a member of a sovereign nation. Though it is not synonymous with citizenship, for rights granted under domestic law for domestic purposes, the United Kingdom, and thus the Commonwealth, have traditionally used the words interchangeably.
