Abstract
Chapter 4 looks at the way race and politics intersect in the case of Guyana. Again, it was important to focus on the historical assimilation patterns of the two ethnic groups since this would later impact on the way political parties were formed and how these would impact on the trends in voting. The chapter also looked closely at some of the mechanisms that that allow for conflict resolution among the various ethnic communities.
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Notes
- 1.
J.J. Hartsinck, Dutch Historian and Comptroller of the Amsterdam Chamber of the WIC, noted that in 1770 the western boundary was either the Barima or the Waini River and the eastern one was the Sinamari or the Maowini River. (Beschrijving Van Guiana, Amsterdam 1770, p.146), translated into English MS by WE Roth in boxes 13 and 14, University of Guyana Library, Guyana.
- 2.
Alvin O. Thompson, 1976.
- 3.
This College was established in 1743 for the primary purpose of electing the representatives of private planters.
- 4.
Taken from Celebrating East Indian Arrival in Guyana – a story of survival against tremendous odds May 6, 2015. Guyana Chronicle Online, 30th June 2015.
- 5.
Greene, Race vs. Politics, 14
- 6.
Despres, “Nationalist Politics in British Guiana,” 1054.
- 7.
The Port-of-Spain Gazette June 13, 1946.
- 8.
After completing a law degree in 1947 Forbes Burnham returned to Guyana where he founded the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) in 1950 with Cheddi Jagan, an Indo-Guyanese dentist who had also attended Queens College. Both had strong leftist leanings, and their party was affiliated with the British Guiana Labour Union. In 1953 British authorities finally allowed elections with universal suffrage in the colony, and Burnham and Jagan’s PPP won 18 of the 24 seats in the legislative assembly.
- 9.
For more on this, see GUYANA UNDER SIEGE A History of Political Alliances in Guyana: 1953–1997 by Hazel Woolford http://www.guyanaundersiege.com/Historical/Political%20Alliances.htm
- 10.
SNIE 87.2 61 Washington, March 21,1961 PROSPECTS FOR BRITISH GUIANA. Declassified Documents on British Guiana (Extracted from Foreign Relations of the United States, 1961-1963, Volume XII – American Republics. This volume was published by US Department of State, Office of the Historian, Bureau of Public Affairs, and printed by the United States Government Printing Office, Washington, 1996).
- 11.
DRAFT BRIEF PREPARED BY BRITISH COLONIAL OFFICE (Undated, but prepared in December 1961) SECRET DRAFT BRIEF FOR PRIME MINISTER’S VISIT TO BERMUDA – ANGLO-U.S. APPROACH TO THE CARIBBEAN AREA Declassified Documents on British Guiana (Extracted from Foreign Relations of the United States, 1961-1963, Volume XII – American Republics. This volume was published by US Department of State, Office of the Historian, Bureau of Public Affairs, and printed by the United States Government Printing Office, Washington, 1996).
- 12.
FOREIGN OFFICE MEMORANDUM SENT TO LORD HOOD, MINISTER AT THE BRITISH EMBASSY IN WASHINGTON (8 March 1962) TOP SECRET & GUARD FOREIGN OFFICE, S.W.1 March 8, 1962. Declassified Documents on British Guiana (Extracted from Foreign Relations of the United States, 1961–1963, Volume XII – American Republics. This volume was published by US Department of State, Office of the Historian, Bureau of Public Affairs, and printed by the United States Government Printing Office, Washington, 1996).
- 13.
See Horowitz, 2000.
- 14.
Jain, 1989.
- 15.
Taken from Roberts with the assistance of Byrne, 1965.
- 16.
Guyana – HISTORY OF THE ECONOMY – Post independence http://countrystudies.us/guyana/55.htm
References
Despres, Leo A. 1964. “The Implications of Nationalist Politics in British Guiana for the Development of Cultural Theory.” American Anthropologist 66 (5): 1051–77.
Greene, J. E. 1974. Race vs. Politics in Guyana: Political Cleavages and Political Mobilisation in the 1968 General Election. Kingston, Jamaica: Institute of Social and Economic Research, University of the West Indies.
Horowitz, Donald L. 2000. Ethnic Groups in Conflict. London, England: University of California Press.
Jain, Prakash Chand. 1989. Racial Discrimination Against Overseas Indians: A Class Analysis. Ashok Kumar Mittal. Delhi, India: Concept Publishing Co., Taj Press.
Premdas, Ralph R. 1995. Ethnic Conflict and Development: The Case of Guyana. Al-dershot, Hants: Ashgate Publishing Limited.
Steward, Julian H. 1955. The Theory of Culture Change: The Methodology of Multilinear Evolution. Urbana, University of Illinois Press.
Thompson, Alvin O. 1976. “Aspects of Dutch Administration in Demerara, Essequibo and Berbice.” In Selected Issues in Guyanese Politics, eds. Harold A. Lutchman, Perry Mars, and Herb Addo, 3–37. Guyana: Department of Political Science and Law, University of Guyana.
Documents
Guyana – HISTORY OF THE ECONOMY – Post independence http://countrystudies.us/guyana/55.htm PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION – A REVISIT July 4, 2014. Guyana Chronicle online SNIE 87.2 61 Washington, March 21,1961 PROSPECTS FOR BRITISH GUIANA. Declassified Documents on British Guiana (Extracted from Foreign Relations of the United States, 1961–1963, Volume XII – American Republics. This volume was published by US Department of State, Office of the Historian, Bureau of Public Affairs, and printed by the United States Government Printing Office, Washington, 1996). DRAFT BRIEF PREPARED BY BRITISH COLONIAL OFFICE (Undated, but prepared in December 1961) SECRET DRAFT BRIEF FOR PRIME MINISTER’S VISIT TO BERMUDA – ANGLO-U.S. APPROACH TO THE CARIBBEAN AREA Declassified Documents on British Guiana (Extracted from Foreign Relations of the United States, 1961–1963, Volume XII – American Republics. This volume was published by US Department of State, Office of the Historian, Bureau of Public Affairs, and printed by the United States Government Printing Office, Washington, 1996).
FOREIGN OFFICE MEMORANDUM SENT TO LORD HOOD, MINISTER AT THE BRITISH EMBASSY IN WASHINGTON (8 March 1962) TOP SECRET & GUARD FOREIGN OFFICE, S.W.1 March 8, 1962. Declassified Documents on British Guiana (Extracted from Foreign Relations of the United States, 1961–1963, Volume XII – American Republics. This volume was published by US Department of State, Office of the Historian, Bureau of Public Affairs, and printed by the United States Government Printing Office, Washington, 1996). The Port-of-Spain Gazette June 13, 1946. (Trinidad and Tobago) Taken from GW Roberts with the assistance of JA Byrne. 1965. “Memorandum on the racial Composition of the British Guiana’s Public Service. Appendix V.
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Bissessar, A.M. (2017). Race and Politics in Guyana. In: Ethnic Conflict in Developing Societies . Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-53709-2_4
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