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 * Cultural and Religious Practices.Political and Economic Structures.Cultural and Political Achievements

-**The following describes many practices and rituals done in Guyana based on the topics above, but prior to their colonization. Introduction:

-Guyana is just as diverse as the colors on its flag. There are so many different divisions within Guyana. Whether it be in religions, practices, economic structures and even political achievements; there is just a great amount of diversity in Guyana. Its location geographically and its location ‘continently’ allow Guyana to be very diverse. With Brazil, Suriname, and Venezuela being its neighboring countries, there is much diversity already. It is like being trapped in a corner with many different people you normally don’t associate with. With Guyana being surrounded partially by water to the north, this gives Guyana a more diverse feel. Although it may be very diverse geographically, there are many more appealing ways in which Guyana is very diverse.

-Religion is a very important aspect of Guyana. “Before bringing this discussion to a close, it should be noted that the religious associations (e.g., the Sanatan Dharm Maha Sabha and the Anjuman-E-Islam), unlike the League and the East Indian Association, are not ideologically racial.”[1] This means that there is no specific group to a specific religion. Religions are valued in the sense that it is needed in everyone’s life. Although there are many religions, there are three major ones, “Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism; in that order”.[2] People may not be in agreement but, religions are so vast they can be compared to plants. Plants have such variation and are very different throughout the country. Why so? Well, “In the south there are two regions that are distinguished on the basis of annual rainfall: the wet and the dry southern forest. These regions have a high affinity with true Amazonian forests in Brazil and Surinam, and contain a high abundance of late secondary and pioneer species.”[3] Religious practices are very important yet diverse because of the many people that practice them, but many people tweaked or changed it a little giving an assumption that, religion diversity as is diverse as plant diversity in Guyana.

-Political structures back in Guyana are very similar to the United States’ political structure in the sense that “Like other broker institutions political parties serve to form different types of social alignment between the groups that make up a society. However, political parties differ from other types of broker institutions in one very important respect. They have as their primary function the mobilization of social power for the expressed purpose of securing the apparatus of ultimate power in society, the government.”[4] It may seem odd, but we see this very frequently here in America because of the so many different political parties around. There was much diversity and freedom, but when the British were coming it changed a lot if not everything. Although the colonization took place, Guyana never lost its roots; even today they are still very diverse nation in their [|politics].

-The courts in Guyana back in the days were very “planter” friendly. The court practically revolved around them because they were so favored. This is because the “Court of Policy and the courts of justice, controlled by the plantation owners, constituted the center of power in British Guiana.[5]” The court was based “in the Court of Policy and the two courts of justice, established in the late 1700s under Dutch rule. The Court of Policy had both legislative and administrative functions and was composed of the governor, three colonial officials, and four colonists, with the governor presiding. The courts of justice resolved judicial matters, such as licensing and civil service appointments, which were brought before them by petition.”[6] Based on this information we can say that the “Court of Policy” in Guyana was very strong and firm.

-Economy was one of the many strong-points in Guyana. In 1780 there was a Guyanese version of the “Gold Rush”. In 1780 gold was discovered in Guyana among the riverain areas.[7] In this picture it shows us of a man looking for gold in riverain areas. With his cabin and his horses, it can be inferred that this man is here to stay and not to just test his luck. This is presumed the way it was for most if not all Guyanese families who were looking for a boost in their economies. Not only did this benefit the people, but from a standpoint of view, the country.

-Gold wasn’t the only natural resource thriving the country, agriculture was as well. All plantations owners paid other people to produce goods that could be sold, eaten, and even exported. With so much to do, Guyana was a very busy country. here is a picutre of some of the many goods Guyana was able to produce with agriculture.

-Agriculture is not just run by one person. It is run by a group of people and one leader. The leader is usually the plantation owner and this person hires all the other positions. This image (although not very visible) shows us how the many was spent between two different types of Guyanese groups. The Afro-Guyanese and East Indians are neighbors yet very different. From this image we can conclude that the Afro-Guyanese favored their subsistence farmers far more than did the East Indians. On the other hand, the East Indians favored more their cash-crop farmers compared to those of the Afro-Guyanese. One side was more for the money while the other side was more faor the quality. This relates back to Guyana being so diverse in many ways. With so much competition between both the Afro-Guyanese and the East Indians, Guyana was able to thrive economically.

- As we can see from this first part, Guyana is very diverse in all of the above categories. In Guyana's case, being different was a very positive thing for them. It is sad that not too many people know about Guyana's past because there is so much to learn about them that we could still use in our times. Many countries should look at Guyana and be in awe because of how they handled their business and still maintained their leadership and unity. There are so many different types of political and economic structures as well as cultural and religious practices that there are still many more I have not explored. All of these have affected Guyana greatly and as we can see the hard work of the people was a work of art. There should be more nations like this one.

http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/americas/guyana.gif

http://www.everyculture.com/images/ctc_02_img0477.jpg agrictulrue

[1] Despres, Leo A., and M G. Smith. Cultural Pluralism and Nationalist Politics in British Guiana. 1st ed. Vol. 1. Rand McNally, 1967. 24-25.

[2] Rebecca. Personal interview. 9 Jan. 2008.

[3] Planet Diversity in Guyana." Planet Diversity in Guyana. 16 Jan. 2008 <[|http://www.bio.uu.nl/~herba/Guyana/Plant_Diversity_Guyana/varia.htm>.] [4] Despres, Leo A., and M G. Smith. __Cultural Pluralism and Nationalist Politics in__ __British Guiana__. 1st ed. Vol. 2. Rand McNally, 1967. 35-36 [5] Waiwai Georgetown Embassy of Guyana, Washington. "Politics in Guyana." Courtroom. 16 Jan. 2008 <- [|http://www.country-data.edu/cgi-bin/query/r-5373.html>.] [6] Waiwai Georgetown Embassy of Guyana, Washington. "Politics in Guyana." Courtroom. 16 Jan. 2008 <- [|http://www.country-data.edu/cgi-bin/query/r-5373.html>.] [7] Iwokrama Library. __Historical Timeline of__ __Guyana____'s History__. Iwokrama. 8 Jan. 2008 .



**Part II:**

 * This is the Flag of Guyana which was officially adopted on May 20, 1966. The red triangle represents the dedication of the people for reform. Yellow is the symbol of wealth, green represents the vast forests. The arrow is symbolic of a bright and hopeful future.**

**Geography**

 * This purpose of this section is to describe the geographic features of Guyana, and to inform the advantages and disadvantages of Guyana’s geography.

Introduction

The word Guiana Is of Amerindian origin and it means “Land of water.” Guyana is surrounded by many bodies of water. As you can see in the map below, Guyana is located in the northeastern corner of South America. It is bordered by Venezuela to the west, Brazil to the southwest and south, Suriname (along the Courantyne River) to the east, and the Atlantic Ocean to the north. The land of Guyana has an area of 214,969 sq km (83,000 sq mi), and its coastline is 459 km (285 mi) long. This map shows the neighboring country Guyana was able to trade with. It was easier for them to trade with countries like Venezuela and Brazil because they were close to Guyana. Though this limited Guyana's trading sources, it allowed them to trade with less challenges. If the Guyanese traders wanted to trade with countries further from them, they would have to travel and cross large bodies of water. The geography of Guyana benefits them by providing them with some valuable minerals and little amount of land for agriculture. However, their geography also puts them at a disadvantage by having large amount of futile land and uncontrollable water."Guyana is a land of rivers and forests."[7] The land and water benefit them at times, but they can also be destructive and useless.

Map of Guyana [6]**


 * Advantages and Disadvantages of Guyana's Land**


 * The map above shows that there is barely any land for cultivation. The color yellow on the map represents the land eligible for agriculture and it covers very little part of Guyana.The lands of Guyana mainly consist of clays, tropical peat and river rain slits. [4]It also has small scattered areas of reef sands. The reef sands and tropical peat are not idealistic for farming because they have a possibility of being toxic. Also, when they are cultivated, they quickly become unfertile. However, coastal clays, and river rain slits are mostly used for agriculture. The coastal zone is used for both cultivation (500,000 acres), and for raising livestock (400,000 acres).This prevents the Guyana’s economy from improving. “Guyana faces two classes of constraint that arise out of its geographical situation. One tends to limit the potential for integration into the international marketplace, and the other tends to restrict the effort at national integration.” [1]

In order to improve their economy, Guyana needs to make contact with countries with bigger market. “There are no road links to Guyana's largest land neighbors.”[2] They need to build bridges and road links, so they can take part in the international trade. They are limited to only Venezuela and Brazil, they need trading routes to trade with country which is probably further away from them. Constructions of new road links and bridges will definitely assist in interaction with other markets and people. They should also consider deforestation in certain areas of their country. If a certain land is futile and uninhabitable by living things, they should take advantage of it. They should clean up the area and see if it can be used for agriculture. If the land is not cultivated, they can still use it to build something attractive or unique. This will probably make Guyana a better touring place as well. If tourists are attracted, the country will definitely make more money.**


 * "These sands cannot support crops, and if the trees are removed erosion is rapid and severe."[9]** **Their land does not allow them to grow crops in large amount and be able to take part in large market trades. The sugarcane industry of Guyana is one of the most important economic activities of the country and it is one of the important sources of foreign exchange. Sugar was the reason European colonists brought many Africans to work on the sugarcane fields as slaves. in the 1830s, people arrived from the Indian subcontinent to work on the plantations as labors. sugarcane is very useful because it contributes to the production of soda, rum, molasses, ethanol fuel and most importantly sugar. This crop is used all over the world. it is useful to other people because sugar, fuel, soda and many other similar products are used in other regions as well.**
 * This is an image of rum which is made from the sugar cane in Guyana

Though it sounds like most of Guyana's land is completely useless, it is not true. There are some areas with lands that are not ideal for farming but have other advantageous. For example the lands located on the south of coastal zone. The width of this land is in the range of 150 to 250 kilometers. This particular area of Guyana is bad for farming. The sand in this area will not be able to bear crops. It is filled with trees which prevents quick destruction or wearing down. However, some of the most valuable gold, diamond, and bauxite originate from this area. [3] The land of Guyana does benefit the country, if not by agriculture then by providing valuable minerals.**

**Land Of Many Waters**

 * Provided by Tripod

Guyana is known as the Land of Waters. However, the water is not always useful to Guyana and the geography is not very beneficial to the country. There are several important rivers in Guyana such as the Essequibo,Demerara, Courantyne, and Berbice. These rivers can be found from south to north of Guyana. They all empty into the Atlantic Ocean. One of the famous waterfalls is located in Guyana, it is called Kaieteur Falls. You can see the image of the waterfall above. It is 226 m or 741 ft high. It is one of the highest waterfalls of the world. Though Guyana has mass supply of water, it is unable to control it. The water benefits the county but causes many other problems. The river system is very poor, and sudden change in weather causes mass destruction all over the country. Floods and swamps are very common and they can be found not only in coastal areas but forests and savannas as well. [5]There is a small area that is fit for human habitation, and it is overpopulated. The expansion of the country in other areas will force the people to face challenges against unexpected floods and rain. Many economists have been trying to improve this. They want improvement in the management or control over water. This will protect the country from many troubles, and find many more beneficial uses of water in Guyana.**

[|_40816661_georgetown_ap203b.jpg] [if the image does not show up, click on the link]
 * This image shows a flood in Guyana. It looks like the the house is built in a middle of a river. They have even built a little bridge to walk into the house. The women in the image looks very calm, and the boy seem to know his way to the house. It shows that the people of Guyana have faced this challenge very often.They know how to deal with it pretty well by building bridges and staying calm.**

References:

[2] "KEY CONSTRAINTS TO GUYANA's DEVELOPMENT." __National Development Strategy__. 11 Oct. 1996. National Development Strategy. 3 Jan. 2008 <[|http://www.guyana.org/NDS/chap04.htm#2contents_A>.] [3] "GEOGRAPHY." U.S. Library of Congress. 3 Jan. 2008 <[|http://countrystudies.us/guyana/19.htm>.] [4] Smith, Raymond T. __British Guiana__. 2nd ed. Oxford University Press: London 1962. 6-7. [5] Smith, Raymond T. __British Guiana__. 2nd ed. Oxford University Press: London 1962. 9-10. [6] "Guyana: geography." Online Map/Still. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 8 Jan. 2008 <[|http://www.britannica.com/eb/art-66904>.] [7] "Guyana," Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2007 [|http://encarta.msn.com] © 1997-2007 Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved. [8]** "Flood-Hit Guyana." __BBC__. 10 Feb. 2005. BBC News. 15 Jan. 2008 <[|http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/40816000/jpg/_40816661_georgetown_ap203b.jpg>.] [9] **"GEOGRAPHY." U.S. Library of Congress. 3 Jan. 2008 .**
 * [1] "KEY CONSTRAINTS TO GUYANA's DEVELOPMENT." __National Development Strategy__. 11 Oct. 1996. National Development Strategy. 3 Jan. 2008 <[|http://www.guyana.org/NDS/chap04.htm#2contents_A>.]


 * Part III: Colonization[[image:Guyana.gif width="277" height="182" align="right"]]**

In about 1498, Columbus found the coast of Guyana, but there had been no attempts to settle it at the time. In the sixteenth century, some tried to begin a trading along that very same coast. Attention was finally brought to Europeans’ eyes between the years of 1595-1597 [1].

During this time, Raleigh had set sail to find El Dorado. El Dorado was a legend that told of a city that was made out of gold. Raleigh managed to map out the supposed location of the city, and they ended up in Guyana [1].

Gold was what brought the Europeans in. They were searching for El Dorado. Unfortunately, they did not find a whole city of gold, but they did find some. Guyana possessed resources such as gold, bauxite and diamonds [2] until the Europeans came and exploited the land and exported the resources [3].

The first country to actually settle Guyana was the Netherlands. Although Britain received a charter in 1621, the Dutch had already set up forts and establishments. The Dutch even ran their trading companies form Guyana’s coast [4].

The natives of Guyana were classified by two names. The Arawak were said to be the friendlier natives, while the Carib were hostile towards the Europeans [5]. They some how managed to get along fine by communicating with the Arawak and steering clear of the Carib. These native people were not used for employment or enslavement. Instead the Europeans invested in other people from other countries.

The people that make up Guyana are very multi-cultural for this reason. The Europeans brought in slaves from Africa and other West Indian countries such as Barbadoes and Trinidad. They also supported indentured laborers from East Indian, China and Portugal. [6] These people were used to work on the vast sugar plantations [3].

Colonization is usually seen from a negative viewpoint. With colonization comes loss of culture in most cases. In Guyana, the only culture they had was of the native peoples, and that is still preserved today [3]. Guyana, although it was bled of all its natural resources, still had something to gain from colonization. With all the different races that were sent to work there, came a nice infusion of cultures.

Footnotes [1] Smith, Raymond T. __British Guiana__. London: Oxford UP, 1962. 13. [2] 17 Jan. 2008 https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/print/gy.html. [3] Secondary Source: Ava Sewnauth (former citizen of Guyana) [4] Smith, Raymond T. __British Guiana__. London: Oxford UP, 1962. 14. [5] Smith, Raymond T. __British Guiana__. London: Oxford UP, 1962. 12. [6] Smith, Raymond T. __British Guiana__. London: Oxford UP, 1962. 8.

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