Water Street was an active commercial zone in Georgetown, British Guiana. The street was called "Water Street" because it ran parallel with the river and was the original dam against flooding. The Portuguese owned many shops and large firms in the area. The "Great Fire" of 23rd February 1945 decimated this commercial section of Georgetown.
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| Image 01 - Water Street scene (1888) |
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| Image 02 - Water Street, Georgetown (1890) |
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| Image 03 - Water Street, Georgetown (1899) |
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| Image 04 - Water Street from Church Street looking South (1906) |
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| Image 05 - Water Street before the great 1945 fire (1945) |
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| Image 06 - At street level on Water Street before the 1945 fire (1945) |
[image 01] - Illustrated London News, "Across the two oceans", 1888-04-23
[image 02] - Unknown
[image 03] - Unknown
[image 04] - Unknown
[image 05] - Unknown
[image 06] - Unknown
'Water Street' was created long before Guyana became 'British Guiana' after 1814, the year the British achieved possession of the 200 year-old Dutch colonies of Essequibo, Berbice, and Demerara. It was originaly a dam dotted with taverns run by the few Flemish and Dutch peasant women who came to the colony from the 1740s until the early 1800s. These taverns catered to Dutch and Flemish young male bachelor colonists who rode from their small estates stretching from Ruimveldt to Herstelling and Soesdyke along the East bank of the Demerara river to the area later named Stabroek beside three-mast ships anchored mid-stream or moored along- side the dam and canals that ran inland along what became known as Croal Street, Brickdam,and Hadfield Street. The Dutch/Flemish planters, some from the west bank of the river, came in carriages with their African, Amerindian, (and mixtures between the two)wives and mistresses, to be entertained with gin and edible products which came to the taverns off the Dutch ships that arrived each month. After wealthy British colonists from the West Indian islands were allowed to settle in Demerara from the 1740s onward by governor Storm Van Gravesande, the social gatherings they held on their estates refused to allow the attendance of Dutch and Flemish settlers who had non-European wives or mistresses. That is history written by on the scene writers in Demerara during the 18th and 19th centuries.
ReplyDeleteThank you Terence Roberts for this informative narrative. Greatly appreciated! It adds valuable context to the images.
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