The English made at least two unsuccessful attempts in the 17th century to colonise the lands that would later be known as British Guiana. By that time, the Dutch had established two colonies in the area: … See more

The economy was based on cultivation and processing of sugarcane as a commodity crop, dependent on extensive labor by enslaved workers of mostly sub-Saharan African descent. Although the UK and the United Stat… See more

British colonists built the first railway system in British Guiana: 98 km (61 mi) of 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge, from Georgetown to Rosignol, and 31 km (19 mi) of 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) line between Vreeden H… See more

The British long continued the forms of Dutch colonial government in British Guiana. A Court of Policy exercised both legislative and executive functions under the direction of the colonial Governor (which existed fro… See more

In 1840, the British Government assigned the German-born explorer Robert Hermann Schomburgk to survey and mark out the western boundary of British Guiana with newly independent Venezuela. Venezuela did not acc… See more