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Guyana Independence Guyana Independence Taken from the 2016 Black History Month Gallery Guyana, officially named the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is unique in being mainland South America’s only English speaking country and member of the Commonwealth of Nations. It is also its third smallest country. Guyana lies north of the equator, in the tropics, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north, Suriname to the east, to the south and southwest by Brazil and to the west by Venezuela. Culturally it is more associated with the Caribbean than with Latin America. Guyana is a full and participating founder-member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the headquarters of which is located in its capital, Georgetown. British Guiana became a Crown colony in 1928. In 1950, Cheddi Jagan, of Indian-Guyanese origin, and Forbes Burnham, who was Afro-Guyanese, created the colony's first political party, the Progressive People's Party (PPP), dedicated to gaining the colony's independence. In 1953 Guyana was granted home rule and Cheddi Jagan was elected chief minister. The British, however, alarmed by Jagan's Marxist views, suspended the constitution and government within months and installed an interimgovernment. In 1961, Britain granted the colony autonomy, and Jagan became prime minister (1961–1964). Strikes and rioting weakened Jagan's rule and in 1964, Burnham became prime minister, a position he retained after the country gained full independence on May 26, 1966. With independence, the country returned to its traditional name, Guyana, but retained its membership of the Commonwealth. On February 23, 1970, Guyana declared itself a Cooperative Republic and cut all ties to the British monarchy. The governor general was replaced as head of state by a ceremonial president. Although its ties to the British monarch were broken, Guyana remained within the Commonwealth of Nations. Membership in the Commonwealth allowed Guyana to reap the benefits of access to markets in Britain and to retain some of the defence arrangements that Britain offered its former colonies. In particular, the British defence umbrella was seen as a deterrent to Venezuelan claims on Guyanese territory. At the end of World War II, political awareness and demands for independence grew in all segments of Guyanese society. The immediate post-war period witnessed the founding of Guyana's major political parties. In the 1950s the situation in British Guiana reached a tipping point, with people living in “logies” (very basic, over-crowded accommodation) and widespread malaria. The response was a mass movement for independence. The government transferred control of the country’s many resources from foreign capitalists to Guyanese state control, organising the population into co operatives which they felt would provide the best path to development. The banking system was also transformed, releasing it from foreign control. Independence has brought elements of equality that were not present under British rule such as who could join the civil service, formerly not open to Guyanese applicants. For the full gallery go to: www.wokingham.gov.uk/bmeforum.
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