The Guianas, also spelled Guyanas or Guayanas, is a region in north-eastern South America. Strictly, the term refers to the three Guianas: Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana, formerly British, Dutch and French Guiana. Broadly it refers to the South American coast from the mouth of the Orinoco to the mouth of the Amazon.
Politically it is divided into:
- So-called Spanish or Venezuelan Guiana, now the Delta Amacuro and Guayana Region of Venezuela.
- Guyana, formerly British Guiana, independent since 1966.
- Suriname, formerly Dutch Guiana, independent since 1975.
- French Guiana, an overseas department of France.
- So called Portuguese or Brazilian Guiana, now the Amapá state of Brazil.
The three Guianas proper have a combined population of 1,718,651; Guyana: 804,567, Suriname: 612,985 and French Guiana: 301,099 [1][2] Most of the population is along the coast. Due to the jungles to the south, the Guianas are one of the most sparsely populated regions on Earth.
Prior to c. 1815 there was a string of mostly Dutch settlements along the coast which changed hands several times. They were mostly several miles upriver to avoid the coastal marshes which were only drained later.
- British Guiana (before 1793 part of Dutch Guyana):
- Pomeroon (colony) (70 miles NW of Georgetown) 165?: Dutch, 1689:abandoned after French destruction, Dutch later return, 1831 to British Guyana.
- Essequibo (colony) (20 miles NW of Georgetown) c 1616 Dutch, 1665 British occupation, (1781 British, 1782 French occupation, 1783 Dutch), 1793 British, 1831 British Guiana
- Demerara (Georgetown) 1745 Dutch from Essequibo, 1781-1831: like Essequibo
- Berbice (114 miles SE of Georgetown) 1627 Dutch, 1781-1831: like Essequebo
- Dutch Guiana
- Nickerie (200 miles SE of Georgetown)(small) 1718 Dutch
- Surinam 1651 English, 1667 Dutch, 1799 English during French wars, 1814 restored to Dutch but England keeps British Guiana
- French Guiana
- Sinnamary: (100 miles NW of Cayenne) 1624 French, captured by Dutch and English several times, 1763: French
- Cayenne 1604,1643 French fail,1615 Dutch fail, 1635 Dutch, 1664 French, 1667 English capture and return, French, 1676? Dutch, 1763? French, 1809 Anglo-Portuguese, 1817 French
To the east and up the lower Amazon, there were a number of English, French and Dutch outposts that either failed or were expelled by the Portuguese. To the west, Spanish Guyana was thinly settled and interacted slightly with Pomeroon.
- ^ "Population, total". World Bank. 2021. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
- ^ "Produits intérieurs bruts régionaux et valeurs ajoutées régionales de 2000 à 2020" (in French). Retrieved 13 March 2023.