Guyana is a nation in South America. Its indigenous roots have been influenced by centuries of Dutch and British colonial control. Today, it is an independent member of the British Commonwealth, with its own unique flavor. This book dives into Guyana's rich history and studies its heritage, culture, traditions, government, economy, and religious practices, ultimately creating a complete understanding of the nation in the twenty-first century.
The Guyana StoryFrom Earliest Times to Independence traces the countrys history from thousands of years ago when the first Amerindian groups began to settle on the Guyana territory. It examines the period of early European exploration leading to Dutch colonization, the forcible introduction of African slaves to work on cotton and sugar plantations, the effects of European wars, and the final ceding of the territory to the British who ruled it as their colony until they finally granted it independence in 1966. The book also tells of Indian, Chinese, and Portuguese indentured immigration and shows how the cultural interrelationships among the various ethnic groups introduced newer forms of conflict, but also brought about cooperation in the struggles of the workers for better working and living conditions. The final part describes the roles of the political leaders who arose from among these ethnic groups from the late 1940s and began the political struggle against colonialism and the demand for independence. This struggle led to political turbulence in the 1950s and early 1960s when the country was caught in the crosshairs of the cold war resulting in joint British-American devious actions that undermined a democratically elected pro-socialist government and deliberately delayed independence for the country until a government friendly to their international interests came to power.
Colin Palmer, one of the foremost chroniclers of twentieth-century British and U.S. imperialism in the Caribbean, here tells the story of British Guiana's struggle for independence. At the center of the story is Cheddi Jagan, who was the colony's first premier following the institution of universal adult suffrage in 1953. Informed by the first use of many British, U.S., and Guyanese archival sources, Palmer's work details Jagan's rise and fall, from his initial electoral victory in the spring of 1953 to the aftermath of the British-orchestrated coup d'etat that led to the suspension of the constitution and the removal of Jagan's independence-minded administration. Jagan's political odyssey continued--he was reelected to the premiership in 1957--but in 1964 he fell out of power again under pressure from Guianese, British, and U.S. officials suspicious of Marxist influences on the People's Progressive Party, founded in 1950 by Jagan and his activist wife, Janet Rosenberg. But Jagan's political life was not over--after decades in the opposition, he became Guyana's president in 1992. Subtly analyzing the actual role of Marxism in Caribbean anticolonial struggles and bringing the larger story of Caribbean colonialism into view, Palmer examines the often malevolent roles played by leaders at home and abroad and shows how violence, police corruption, political chicanery, racial politics, and poor leadership delayed Guyana's independence until 1966, scarring the body politic in the process.
The NWIG is the oldest scholarly journal on the Caribbean. The NWIG publishes articles and book reviews relating to the Caribbean in the social sciences and humanities. The language of publication is English.
A subject list of new books printed in the Republic of Guyana, based on the books deposited at the National Library ... and provided with a full author, title and subject index and a List of Guyanese publishers.
Through the perspective of a child, this novel depicts the extremely hierarchical world of the colonized Guyana sugar plantation. Lilboy, the narrator, describes the liveliness and closeness of community and the restrictions it places on the opportunities of personal freedom of those working there. However, Lilboy describes how his family and friends cope with their seemingly bleak existences through maintaining their own rice plots, fishing, and celebrating with feasts and festivities. Written as a partial autobiography, this story recreates the sights, smells, sounds, and other sensual pleasures of a rural childhood within the plantation era.
