People of East Indian Origin

Image 01 - Coolie girl from Demerara (1800s)

Image 02 - East Indian man and woman in Demerara (1870)

Image 03 - Indian Coolies at home (1890)

Image 04 - Coolie girl from Georgetown, Demerara (1905)

Image 05 - East Indian Coolies at home (1905)

Image 06 - East Indian immigrants in Demerara (1909)

Image 07 - Street vendors in Demerara (1910)

Image 08 - East Indian sisters in Demerara (1910)

Sources:

[image 01] - Unknown
[image 02] - Unknown
[image 03] - Unknown
[image 04] - Unknown
[image 05] - Unknown
[image 06] - Unknown
[image 07] - Unknown
[image 08] - Unknown 

The Africans arrive in Essequibo

The date of the first arrival of African slaves to Novo Zeelandia (later called Essequibo, British Guiana) is not exactly known, but some historians believe the Dutch were the first to bring West African slaves to work on the expanding plantations during 1658. These early Dutch plantations were mainly on the Essequibo coast. In 1665, Essequibo was taken by the British and then by the French, and regained by the Dutch in 1666. In 1831, the British were able to unite Essequibo, Demerara and Berbice to be called British Guiana under one government. During the trip from Africa, the slaves were usually chained and placed in cramped quarters. Once the slaves arrive at various coastal ports, they were assembled and auctioned off to the various plantation owners. These owners would conduct a detailed inspection by subjecting the individuals to an almost naked body check-up. Complete families were on the auction block and usually there was no desire to keep family units and frienships together. This practice also enabled the "divide and rule" practice that minimized threats associated with rebellion. The diverse groups that were now on each plantation necessitated a common language between the owners and the slaves, and so language forms such as Creole-Dutch and later Creole-English emerged on the plantations. Religions and beliefs from the motherland were also forbidden and Christian missionaries were introduced on the plantations to preach a Christian message. Once settled into the work environment, Africans were stratified into various categories of work such as field workers, sugar factory workers, and skilled artisans such as carpenters, masons, etc. Slave homes were made of earth and thatched roofs, standard clothing was provided, and a kitchen garden supplemented food and sustenance received from their daily meals. The work hours were from sunrise to 8:00pm with a one-hour break at midday. Flogging and other forms of punishment were a common occurrence. Conditions on these plantations were brutal and the owners collaborated with the Amerindians to help re-capture any runaway slaves. The situation came to a head on 23rd February 1763 with the Berbice uprising lead by Cuffy, Atta, Accara and Accabre. The Demerara Revolution of 1823 lead by Quamina Gladstone from Success Plantation was also another milestone on the road to the emancipation of the African slaves. On 1st August 1834, slavery was abolished in British Guiana and the plantation owners received compensation for the loss of slave labour. Afterwards, the British used "new Africans" from Africa as immigrants to work on the sugar plantations, and some freed slaves from other countries such as the USA were also allowed to migrate to British Guiana to work as immigrants. In addition, other groups of people such as the Portuguese, East Indians and Chinese were brought to the British Guiana plantations to supplement the workforce. The images show scenes from the initial African experience in Essequibo.

Image 01 - Africans boarding the slave ships forcefully (undated).

Image 02 - African male being physically examined to determine health condition (undated).

Image 03 - Auction of the Africans in progress (undated).

Image 04 - Branding Africans to establish ownership (undated).

Image 05 - Africans who came to British Guiana as immigrants post-emancipation (1870).

Sources

[Image 01] - Atlantic Black Star, undated.
[Image 02] - Atlantic Black Star, undated.
[Image 03] - Atlantic Black Star, undated.
[Image 04] - Unknown.
[Image 05] - UK National Archives, 1870.


Bibliography

• Facts about slavery in Guyana, Atlanta Black Star.

The East Indians in British Guiana

The East Indians or "Hindoo Coolies" were brought to British Guiana to supplement the workforce of the colony after the emancipation of the slaves. They came from the mountain regions of Calcutta and referred to as "Hill Coolies" or Hill Labourers. A first experiment was tried in 1838 and about 400 East Indians of good labourer stock arrived from Calcutta and found immediate employment on the Plantations of British Guiana. Two ships (Whitby and Hesperus) were chartered to bring this first batch of East Indians. The Whitby arrived in British Guiana on 5th May 1838 in Berbice and there were 244 persons alive (233 men, 5 women and 6 children) who disembarked with five casualties during the 112 days journey. The Hesperus also arrived on 5th May 1838 with 152 persons alive (135 men, 6 women, and 11 children) with 13 casualties. These two test groups did not fear well in terms of health and working conditions. The living conditions were also very poor at the "logies" or tenement ranges. But the immigration continued and the East Indians subsequently came in large numbers. There were about five thousand who arrive annually and were given a free passage to British Guiana, five years industrial service to a plantation assigned to them, and a free passage to return back to India. As of 23rd March 1889 there were about 90,000 East Indians in British Guiana. They were primarily sugar workers and developed an attitude of being willing and regular workers. Not many returned to India, but in 1891 three vessels took away 2,151 Coolies back to India. Those who remained became horse and cattle owners and small shopkeepers. The images show scenes from the early years of the East Indian experience in British Guiana.

Image 01 - East Indian immigrants on the journey (1884).

Image 02 - The immigration depot with filtering shed at Garden Reach, Calcutta (1889).

Image 03 - Mealtime at the embarkation shed in Calcutta (1889).

Image 04 - An estate hospital for the sick in British Guiana (1889).

Image 05 - Medical examination of the East Indian arrivals in British Guiana (1890s).

Image 06 - Hospital at the British Guiana immigration depot for 94 patients (1890s)

Image 07 - At meal time in British Guiana (1890s).

Image 08 - The tenement ranges or "logies" in British Guiana (1890s).

Image 09 - East Indian workers constructing a path through the British Guiana forest (1900).

Image 10 - East Indian hut in British Guiana (1910).

Image 11 - Coolie house on the Corentyne Coast, Berbice (1910).

Image 12 - Coolie huts on a sugar estate in British Guiana (1910).

Image 13 - Group of Indian Coolies in British Guiana (1924).

Sources

[Image 01] - The Graphic, British Guiana, 1884-09-17.
[Image 02] - Illustrated London News, 1889-03-23.
[Image 03] - Illustrated London News, 1889-03-23..
[Image 04] - Illustrated London News, 1889-03-23.
[Image 05] - National Archives UK.
[Image 06] - National Archives UK.
[Image 07] - National Archives UK.
[Image 08] - Unknown.
[image 09] - The New York Public Library.
[Image 10] - Unknown.
[Image 11] - Unknown.
[Image 12] - Unknown.
[Image 13] - Unknown.


Bibliography

• The arrival of East Indians in Guyana. Horizons.

The Portuguese in British Guiana

On 3rd May 1835, the Portuguese from Madeira arrived in British Guiana as indentured labourers [1]. They were industrious, thrifty, patient, persevering, and aspire to commercial trading [2]. After indentureship, they would rent or lease houses built by Creoles and convert them into shops, with rooms above or behind in which to live [2]. In this way wealth was accumulated quickly. Soon they controlled the bulk of the retail trade of the colony. The Portuguese retained their traditional cuisine such as cabbage, pumpkin soup, corn-meal, garlic pork, salt-fish, and wine that was imported from Madeira. Religion was a pillar of their culture and many were Roman Catholics. The Africans were school-masters, artisans, porters, gold and diamond diggers, and Balata bleeders. The East Indians loved the land and had a fondness for agriculture and pastoral activities. The Chinese were interested in trade and commerce, and they competed with the Portuguese in this regard. These main peoples together with the Amerindians were the driving labour force of the Colony [3]. The image shows a Portuguese grocery store in the Stabroek Market in 1900s British Guiana.



Sources

[image] -The UK National Archives, 1900s


Bibliography

[1] A brief history of the Portuguese in Guyana, Stabroek News, 2010-05-04.
[2] Bennett, G.H. (1866). An illustrated history of British Guiana. Richardson and Co.
[3] British Guiana (1924). British Guiana. Saunders and Phillips & Co.

Queen Victoria Statue Unveiled in Georgetown

Victoria was the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 1837 until her death in 1901. On 4th September 1894, a jubilee statue of the Queen was unveiled for the first time in Georgetown, British Guiana in front of the Victoria Law Courts. The statue was the result of the action of a citizens committee and chaired by the City's Mayor Mr. J. Barrington Woolford. The image shows the public unveiling of the statue of Queen Victoria in 1894 British Guiana.

 

Sources:
[image]  The Graphic, 1894-11-17

Street Sweepers of Georgetown

The street sweepers were labourers who were assigned the task of cleaning the streets. Their tools would include brooms and cutlass, and they were tasked with cleaning undesirable materials from the street surface and also to work on beautifying the greenery on the shoulder of the roads. While this was an official occupation, prisoners were also used for the job. The image shows a street sweeper (with chains on the right ankle suggesting a prisoner) in 1910 British Guiana.

 

Sources
[image] Unknown

A Colonial Family Outing

In the old days the best way of enjoying the outdoors and seeing some of the country was to go on an outing. The vehicles were usually rented. The image below shows a group of owners and workers (most likely for support services) on an outing at #59 Village, Corentyne in 1900.



Sources:
[image] The Berbice Gazette Store, British Guiana, 1900

Mounted Overseers of the British plantation

The Overseers were hired by plantation owners to direct the field workers. These Overseers were usually of a lower social class than the owners and not well-educated. Their goal was to optimize profits which translated to fear, intimidation and punishment for the workers.

Mounted Overseers at Plantation Springlands, British Guiana (1910)

Sources:
[image] The Berbice Gazette Store, British Guiana

The Taruma people of British Guiana

The Taruma people lived mostly in the extreme south of British Guiana. In the early 1900s they were exposed to influenza due to external contact. It seems these people have disappeared out of the history of British Guiana and Guyana.

Image 1 - Members of a Taruma village (1900s)

Image 2 - Taruma boys at breakfast (1922)

Sources:
[Image 1] Museum of the University of Pennsylvania, 1900
[Image 2] R.G Humphrey, 1922