The Guianas

The Guianas, also spelled Guyanas or Guayanas, are a geographical region in north-eastern South America. In contemporary use, the term usually refers to "the three Guianas": Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana. More broadly, it refers to the South American coast from the mouth of the Orinoco to the mouth of the Amazon.

Politically, the region is divided into, from West to East:

• formerly Spanish or Venezuelan Guiana, now the Delta Amacuro State and Guayana Region of Venezuela;
• formerly British Guiana, now Guyana, independent since 1966.
• formerly Dutch Guiana or Surinam, now Suriname, independent since 1975.
• French Guiana, an overseas department and region of France.
• formerly Portuguese or Brazilian Guiana, now the Amapá State of Brazil.

The three Guianas have a combined population of 1,718,651; Guyana: 804,567, Suriname: 612,985, and French Guiana: 301,099. 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 occupation, 1782 French occupation, 1783 Dutch reacquisition, 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.