BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY: SLAVE TRADE AND SLAVERY IN GUYANA:

In 1616 the Dutch established the first European settlement in the area of Guyana. They made various settlement in the territory with time the Dutch gained control over the region early in the 17th century. Dutch sovereignty was officially recognized with the signing of the Treaty Of Munster in 1648. Eager to attract more settlers in 1746 the Dutch authorities open the area near Demerara River to British Immigrants, British plantation owners in the Lesser Antilles had been plagued by poor soil and erosion and many were lured to the Dutch Colonies by richer soils and promise of land ownership.

The influx of British citizens was so great that by 1760 the English constituted a majority of the population of Demerara. By 1786 the internal affairs of the Dutch colony were effectively under British control. As economic growth accelerated the strain began to appear in the relationship between the planters and the Dutch West Indian Company. In 1781 war broke out between the Netherlands and Britain which resulted in the British occupation of Guyana. In 1814 Dutch colony of Guyana was formally ceded to Britain after the London Convention of 1814.