When did the Dutch arrive in Guyana?
When did the Dutch arrive in Guyana?
Explorer Christopher Columbus sighted the Guyana coast in 1498, and Spain subsequently claimed, but largely avoided, the area between the Orinoco and Amazon deltas, a region long known as the Wild Coast. It was the Dutch who finally began European settlement, establishing trading posts upriver in about 1580.
Why did the Dutch come to Guyana?
The initial purpose of the Dutch settlements was trade with the indigenous people. The Dutch aim soon changed to acquisition of territory as other European powers gained colonies elsewhere in the Caribbean.
What were the Dutch settlements in Guyana?
From the seventeenth century, the Netherlands had three colonies in Guyana: Essequibo, Demerara, and Berbice. In his book, Hoonhout looks at Essequibo and Demerara, two colonies named after the rivers on which they were situated, that were governed by the West India Company (WIC).
When did the Dutch leave Guyana?
After the Napoleonic Wars in 1814, Britain gained control of the three colonies (Demerara, Berbice, and Essequibo) west of the Courantyne River, which became British Guiana and then modern Guyana. The remaining colony, Suriname (also called “Dutch Guiana”), remained under Dutch control until its independence in 1975.
Where did the slaves in Guyana come from?
Afro-Guyanese people are generally descended from the enslaved people brought to Guyana from the coast of West Africa to work on sugar plantations during the era of the Atlantic slave trade.
Was there slavery in the Netherlands?
Over the course of the more than 200 years that The Netherlands was involved in the slave trade and the use of slavery in its colonies, historians estimate that more than 500,000 people worked as slaves in the Dutch colonies.
Did the Dutch create slavery?
Dutch involvement on the Slave Coast started with the establishment of a trading post in Offra in 1660. Later, trade shifted to Ouidah, where the English and French also had a trading post….Dutch Slave Coast.
| Dutch Slave Coast Slavenkust | |
|---|---|
| • Established | 1660 |
| • Disestablished | 1760 |
Where did Guyanese people originate from?
Guyana’s populace is mainly of colonial origin, although Indians are scattered throughout the forested interior. The more numerous coastal peoples are chiefly descendants of slaves from Africa and indentured workers from India, who were originally transported to work the coastal sugarcane plantations.
When did slavery end in Guyana?
1834
1831 – Guyana officially declared a British colony. 1834 – Slavery abolished; many slaves leave plantations to set up their own freeholdings and are replaced by indentured workers mainly from India. 1879 – Gold is discovered in Guyana and is followed by an economic boom.
How did the Dutch get African slaves?
The beginning of the Dutch transatlantic slave trade can be dated to 1636, after the Dutch West India Company (WIC) had acquired its own plantation colony around Recife in Brazil. In order to set up a regular trade in slaves, the WIC also took Elmina on the Gold Coast and Luanda in Angola from the Portuguese.
What race are you if you’re from Guyana?
The majority of the population of Guyana is of African (29.2 per cent), mixed heritage (19.9 per cent) and East Indian (39.9 per cent) descent (2012 Census), with Indo-Guyanese being the dominant group. The rest of the population is of European, Chinese or indigenous origin.