About Guyana
Centuries ago the forces of nature came together and created the continent of South America including this beautiful land of Guyana. The fascinating movement of the earth’s crust resulted in Guyana being a land with imposing rock formations and outstanding mountain ranges. It’s the source of thunderous volumes of water, flowing from the highlands and meandering its way through the lowlands, cascading across mountain tops and valleys towards the coastline and, finally, the Atlantic Ocean. With stunning waterfalls, great rivers, a network of smaller rivulets and creeks, this water’s journey results in a maze of waterways that crisscross the entire country.
This base of rivers, waterfalls and mountains, over time, have produced a stunning variety of natural landscapes of highlands, lowlands, valleys, gorges and vast savannahs. Boasting a tropical lush environment, these lands also provide a natural habitat for numerous world famous species of flora and fauna, indigenous to Guyana, including many of the world’s endangered species.
With the discovery of the New World by the Spanish Conquistadors in the eighteenth century, the secret of this fabulous country in the Guianas was revealed. Here the mineral wealth was in such abundance that there was a city of gold called “El Dorado”. This tale caused a rush of European explorers, including the famed British explorer Sir Walter Raleigh, to make many voyages across the Atlantic Ocean in the hopes of laying claim to this land as part of their colonial empires.
The battle for Guyana shows the dominance of the Dutch and the British who became the ultimate colonial power with sovereignty over Guyana. In the search for El Dorado they discovered the Amerindians — the first peoples have settled in this beautiful land. Unable to find this city of gold, many of the Europeans who settled in Guyana then turned to cultivating sugar, where the richness of the vast flat lands and water from the large rivers as litigation were perfect for agriculture. The success of sugar generated a new wave of settlers, primarily from England, who came to Guyana acquiring and developing huge plantations based on producing sugar for export.
The unsuitability of the native Amerindians to work on the plantations Resulted in the establishment of the African slave trade and importation of loge populations of Africans. With the abolition of Slavery, new immigrants needed to be imported to replace the freed African slaves’ places as workers RRI the plantations. These new workers were indentured from Portugal, China and India. These groups brought with them a myriad of unique cultures and Myles which have allowed Guyana to establish itself as a multi-ethnic community in today’s world, thus boasting of being “A Nation of Six Races”. The cultural diversity of music, food, festivals, theatre, dress and others are jint some of the proud legacies of our forebears which Guyanese of today *are with the wider world.
The legacies of the Dutch and British can be identified readily in the landscape across Guyana in many ways, including the names of plantations, villages and the architecture of buildings. The most famous legacy of the Dutch was the construction of the long standing Sea Wall, built along the entire coastline of the country, along with the system of canals and sluices that support the irrigation of the plantations, controlling the flow of water across the land. This function is essential as Guyana is below sea level. The British, on the other hand, left us the legacy of English as our official language, governance and national infrastructure. In addition, as part of the British Empire, we became intricately connected to the English-speaking Caribbean islands. Today, Guyana is “The only English speaking country in all of South America”.
Independence from the British in 1966 created the new “Guyana” n independent country now challenged to carve its place amongst nations of the world. We then saw aggressive development of as hinterland with our Porkknockers continuing the search for Dorado” and discovering the gems of our great rivers and mountains mold and diamonds. Our craftsmen mastered the art of jewelery production and today produce some outstanding gold and diamond creations, readily available through our many specialty jewelery stores across the country.
Over the years, our Guyanese hinterland pioneers ventured further inland. Following the great rivers and mountains, they discovered many Amerindian settlements and their unique way of life which are primarily positioned close to the banks of our many rivers, creeks and waterways. In addition, the early adventurers also uncovered many undiscovered natural treasures to Guyana, including Kaieteur Falls, Mount Roraima, Rupununi Savannahs, the Arapaima and a wide array of flora and fauna existent in our tropical rain forests.
Tourism has since become a major area of emphasis on Guyana’s economy, where the country is positioned as a nature based tourism market. While on trips to the interior, visitors to Guyana are overawed by the sights and sounds of the many flowers and plant life, birds and animal life, large rivers and giant mountains, numerous waterfalls and the unique lifestyle of our Amerindian communities.
We are proud to share our lifestyle and the undiscovered treasures of our great rivers and mountains with the world. Our fun-loving people are happy and excited to welcome you to our home and ensure you enjoy our world renowned “Guyanese Hospitality”.
