The country is unique in that it is the only one in South America where English is the official language. Culturally, it has more in common with the islands to the north in the Caribbean than it does with neighbours Venezuela and Brazil.
Guyana was colonised by the Dutch in the 17th century through a series of sugar plantations but the area had fallen under British control by the late 18th century and it became known as British Guyana – taking its name from an Amerindian word meaning something akin to “land of many waters”.
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