The aboriginal inhabitants of the Guyanese coast were Carib Indians who had driven the peaceful Arawak north and westwards into the Antilles. European settlement didn't occur until 1615, when the Dutch West Indian Company erected a fort and depot on the lower Essequibo River. The Dutch traded with the Indian peoples of the interior, and established riverside plantations - worked by African slaves - and sugar quickly became the dominant crop.
While the coast remained firmly under Dutch control, the English were busy establishing sugar and tobacco plantations west of the Suriname River. Conflict between the two countries meant parts of the region changed hands a number of times, but by 1796 Britain had become the major power. In 1834, slavery was abolished forcing many plantations to close or look for another source of labor. The British solved the problem by shipping indentured workers from India. From 1846-1917, almost 250,000 laborers entered Guyana, dramatically transforming the country's demographic balance and laying the basis for persistent ethnic tensions.
Guyana achieved independence in 1966 and four years later became a cooperative republic within the Commonwealth. The sugar industry was nationalized and the country's economic base diversified through production of rice and bauxite. However, Guyana's economy was in almost permanent recession up until 1990 as it slid out of mainstream engagement with the rest of the world and experienced the exodus of much of its educated class. Its domestic economy was not helped by border disputes with neighboring Venezuela and Suriname. In 1992, elections installed the US-educated dentist Dr Cheddi Jagan as president. An aging Marxist, Dr Jagan was in danger of seeming an anachronism, but Guyana's recovery meant he was more likely to be consulting the IMF than the teachings of Karl Marx. Dr Jagan's wife Janet became president of Guyana in 1997, amid protests. In summer 1999, Jagan retired from the presidency and named Bharrat Jagdeo as her successor.
Globalization and neoliberal economics dictate that Guyana's pristine environment will be under intense pressure from transnational companies seeking logging and mining concessions for the foreseeable future. These environmental issues are not the only threats to present-day Guyana. Higher crime rates, worsening poverty and political instability contribute to the troubles. In March 2001, Jagdeo was reelected president, but demonstrations and occasional violence - and fires that were possibly politically sparked - have shaken Georgetown and other areas since.
