archeologia: History of Guyana

Evidence: 100 • authority: 72

The history of Guyana begins about 35,000 years ago with the arrival of humans coming from Eurasia. These migrants became the Kalina and Lokono tribes, who met Alonso de Ojeda's first expedition from Spain in 1499 at the Essequibo River. In the ensuing colonial era, Guyana's government was defined by the successive policies of the French, Dutch, and British settlers. During the colonial period, Guyana's economy was focused on plantation agriculture, which initially depended on slave labour. Guyana saw major slave rebellions in 1763 and 1823. Following the British Slavery Abolition Act 1833, 800,000 enslaved Africans in the Caribbean and South Africa were freed, resulting in plantations cont…

Evidence: 27 • authority: 72

The Essequibo River (Spanish: Río Esequibo; originally called by Alonso de Ojeda; Río Dulce) is the largest river in Guyana, and the largest river between the Orinoco and Amazon. Rising in the Acarai Mountains near the Brazil–Guyana border, the Essequibo flows to the north for 1,014 km (630 mi) through forest and savanna into the Atlantic Ocean. It has a total drainage basin of 156,828 km2 (60,552 mi2) and an average discharge of 154 to 178 km³/year. Territory near the river is argued over by Venezuela and Guyana. The river is administered by Guyana after being previously colonized by the British. Historically, Venezuela has claimed the Essequibo River as their most eastern border, though i…

Evidence: 20 • authority: 72

Alonso de Ojeda (Spanish pronunciation: [aˈlonso ðe oˈxeða]; c. 1466 – c. 1515) was a Spanish explorer, governor and conquistador. He is famous for having named Venezuela, which he explored during his first two expeditions, for having been the first European to visit Guyana, Curaçao, Colombia (La Guajira) and Lake Maracaibo, and later for founding Santa Cruz (La Guairita). He also travelled to Trinidad, Tobago and Aruba, in some of his travels he journeyed with Amerigo Vespucci and Juan de la Cosa. Ojeda was part of the first wave of Spanish conquistadors in the Americas.

Evidence: 20 • authority: 80

Evidence: 20 • authority: 72

There is an ongoing territorial dispute between Guyana and Venezuela over the Essequibo region (Spanish: Guayana Esequiba; Spanish pronunciation: [ɡwaˈʝana eseˈkiβa] ), a 159,500 km2 (61,600 sq mi) area west of the Essequibo River and even parts south of it. The territory, excluding the Venezuelan-controlled Ankoko Island, is controlled by Guyana as part of six of its regions, based on the 1899 Paris Arbitral Award. It is also claimed by Venezuela as the Guayana Esequiba State. The boundary dispute, also known as the Essequibo conflict, which began under the colonial powers (Spain in the case of Venezuela, and the Netherlands and the United Kingdom in the case of Guyana) and has persisted f…

Evidence: 20 • authority: 72