1.
Guyana
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Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a sovereign state on the northern mainland of South America. It is, however, included in the Caribbean Region due to its cultural, historical. Guyana is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north, Brazil to the south and southwest, Suriname to the east, with 215,000 square kilometres, Guyana is the fourth-smallest country on mainland South America after Uruguay, Suriname and French Guiana. The region known as the Guianas consists of the large landmass north of the Amazon River. Originally inhabited by indigenous groups, Guyana was settled by the Dutch before coming under British control in the late 18th century. It was governed as British Guiana, with mostly a plantation style economy until the 1950s and it gained independence in 1966, and officially became a republic within the Commonwealth of Nations in 1970. The legacy of British rule is reflected in the political administration and diverse population, which includes Indian, African, Amerindian. Guyana is the only South American nation in which English is the official language, the majority of the population, however, speak Guyanese Creole, an English-based creole language, as a first language. In addition to being part of the Anglophone Caribbean, Guyana is one of the few Caribbean countries that is not an island in the West Indies, CARICOM, of which Guyana is a member, is headquartered in Guyanas capital and largest city, Georgetown. In 2008, the joined the Union of South American Nations as a founding member. The name Guyana is derived from Guiana, the name for the region that formerly included Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, Guyana is derived from an Indigenous Amerindian language, there are nine indigenous tribes residing in Guyana, the Wai Wai, Macushi, Patamona, Lokono, Kalina, Wapishana, Pemon, Akawaio and Warao. Historically the Lokono and Kalina tribes dominated Guyana, although Christopher Columbus sighted Guyana during his third voyage, the Dutch were the first to establish colonies, Essequibo, Berbice, and Demerara. After the British assumed control in 1796, the Dutch formally ceded the area in 1814, in 1831 the three separate colonies became a single British colony known as British Guiana. Since its Independence in 1824 Venezuela has claimed the area of land to the west of the Essequibo River, in 1899 an international tribunal ruled the land belonged to Great Britain. Guyana achieved independence from the United Kingdom on 26 May 1966 and became a republic on 23 February 1970, the US State Department and the US Central Intelligence Agency, along with the British government, played a strong role in influencing political control in Guyana during this time. The American government supported Forbes Burnham during the years of independence because Cheddi Jagan was identified as a Marxist. In 1978, Guyana received international notice when 918 members of the American cult, Peoples Temple, however, most of the suicides were by Americans and not Guyanese
2.
Georgetown, Guyana
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Georgetown is the capital of Guyana, located in Region 4, which is also known as the Demerara-Mahaica region. It is the countrys largest urban centre and it is situated on the Atlantic Ocean coast at the mouth of the Demerara River and it was nicknamed Garden City of the Caribbean. Georgetown serves primarily as a retail and administrative centre and it also serves as a financial services centre. The city recorded a population of 118,363 in the 2012 census, the city of Georgetown began as a small town in the 18th century. Originally, the capital of the Demerara-Essequibo colony was located on Borselen Island in the Demerara River under the administration of the Dutch and it was the French who made it a capital city when they colonized it in 1782. The French called the capital Longchamps, when the town was restored to the Dutch in 1784, it was renamed Stabroek after Nicolaas Geelvinck, Lord of Stabroek, and President of the Dutch West India Company. Eventually the town expanded and covered the estates of Vlissengen, La Bourgade and Eve Leary to the North and it was renamed Georgetown on 29 April 1812 in honour of King George III. The ordinance provided that the districts of Georgetown shall be known by their own names. The supervision of Georgetown was to be done by a chosen by the Governor. Estimates of expenditure were to be prepared, by 1806 the owner of Vlissingen asked to be exempted from the responsibility of maintaining the road which is now called Camp Street, but the Court refused the request. In 1810 the maintenance of the roads in the area called Georgetown cost 11,000 guilders per annum, the governing body of Georgetown was once a Board of Police. The Board of Police was chosen by the governor and the Court of Policy and it came into existence as the result of disputes among various organisations which controlled the districts. The Board met monthly but what was discussed is not on the records between 1825 and 1837, newspapers in the colony were prohibited by law from reporting public matters. The post of Commisary of Police was not regarded as important, people elected to the Board invariably declined to attend meetings and never gave reasons for their refusal. It was, therefore, decided that individuals elected to the Board were bound to serve for two years, or suffer a penalty of 1,000 guilders, the Board of Police was abolished when an ordinance was passed to establish a Mayor and Town Council. Georgetown gained official city status on 24 August 1842 during the reign of Queen Victoria, the names of Georgetowns wards and streets reflect the influence of the Dutch, French and English who administered the town at different periods of history. Cummingsburg was originally named Plantation La Bourgade by its first owner and it was laid out in streets and building lots by its second proprietor, Thomas Cuming, a Scotsman, from whom it gets its current name. He made a presentation of the Militia Parade Ground and Promenade Gardens to the town as a gift and it is noteworthy that Carmichael Street was named after General Hugh Lyle Carmichael who served as Governor from 1812 to 1813
3.
Rastafari
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It developed in Jamaica in the 1930s, following the coronation of Haile Selassie I as Emperor of Ethiopia in 1930. There are many sects of Rastafari that have developed over the years and its adherents worship him in much the same way as Jesus in his Second Coming, or as God the Son. Members of the Rastafari way of life are known as Rastafari, Rastas, Rastafari are also known by their official church titles, such as Elder or High Priest. Rastafari has always been conceived as a way of life for, the name Rastafari is taken from Ras Tafari, the title and first name of Haile Selassie I before his coronation. In Amharic, Ras, literally head, is an Ethiopian title equivalent to prince or chief, while the personal given name Täfäri means one who is revered. Yah is a Biblical name of God, from a form of Jahweh or Yahuah found in Psalms 68,4 in the King James Version of the Bible. Most adherents see Haile Selassie I as Jah or Jah Rastafari, an incarnation of God the Father, Rastafari developed in Jamaica during the 1930s, having been influenced by both Ethiopianism and the Back to Africa movement promoted by black nationalist figures like Marcus Garvey. A number of Christian clergymen, most notably Leonard Howell, believed that the crowning of Haile Selassie as Emperor of Ethiopia in 1930 marked the fulfilment of a Biblical prophecy and this idea generated the Rastafari movement, which spread throughout Jamaica in that decade. By the 1950s the religion has come into conflict with other aspects of the islands society and had spread to other nations. In the 1960s it expanded and began to gain an increasing influence through music, the Rastafari way of life encompasses the spiritual use of cannabis and the rejection of the degenerate society of materialism, oppression, and sensual pleasures, called Babylon. It proclaims Zion, in reference to Ethiopia, as the birthplace of humankind, and from the beginning of the way of life calls for repatriation to Zion. This can mean moving to Ethiopia but also refers to mentally and emotionally repatriating before the physical. Some Rastafari also embrace various Afrocentric and Pan-African social and political aspirations, International awareness of Rastafari grew in the 1970s as a result of the popularity of reggae music, and especially the international success of singer-songwriter Bob Marley. By 1997 there were, according to one estimate, around one million Rastafari worldwide, in the 2011 Jamaican census,29,026 individuals identified themselves as Rastafari. Other sources estimated that in the 2000s they formed about 5% of the population of Jamaica, scholars of religion categorise Rastafari as a new religious movement. Many Rastas themselves do not however regard it as a religion, attempts have been made to summarise Rastafari belief, but these have never been accorded the status of a catechism or creed within the movement. Emphasis is placed on the idea that experience and intuitive understanding should be used to determine the truth or validity of a particular belief or practice. No Rasta therefore has the authority to declare what beliefs and practices are orthodox, the conviction that Rastafari has no dogma is so strong that it has itself become something of a dogma, according to Clarke
4.
British Empire
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The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It originated with the possessions and trading posts established by England between the late 16th and early 18th centuries. At its height, it was the largest empire in history and, for over a century, was the foremost global power. By 1913, the British Empire held sway over 412 million people, 23% of the population at the time. As a result, its political, legal, linguistic and cultural legacy is widespread, during the Age of Discovery in the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal and Spain pioneered European exploration of the globe, and in the process established large overseas empires. Envious of the great wealth these empires generated, England, France, the independence of the Thirteen Colonies in North America in 1783 after the American War of Independence caused Britain to lose some of its oldest and most populous colonies. British attention soon turned towards Asia, Africa, and the Pacific, after the defeat of France in the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, Britain emerged as the principal naval and imperial power of the 19th century. In the early 19th century, the Industrial Revolution began to transform Britain, the British Empire expanded to include India, large parts of Africa and many other territories throughout the world. In Britain, political attitudes favoured free trade and laissez-faire policies, during the 19th Century, Britains population increased at a dramatic rate, accompanied by rapid urbanisation, which caused significant social and economic stresses. To seek new markets and sources of raw materials, the Conservative Party under Benjamin Disraeli launched a period of imperialist expansion in Egypt, South Africa, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand became self-governing dominions. By the start of the 20th century, Germany and the United States had begun to challenge Britains economic lead, subsequent military and economic tensions between Britain and Germany were major causes of the First World War, during which Britain relied heavily upon its empire. The conflict placed enormous strain on the military, financial and manpower resources of Britain, although the British Empire achieved its largest territorial extent immediately after World War I, Britain was no longer the worlds pre-eminent industrial or military power. In the Second World War, Britains colonies in Southeast Asia were occupied by Imperial Japan, despite the final victory of Britain and its allies, the damage to British prestige helped to accelerate the decline of the empire. India, Britains most valuable and populous possession, achieved independence as part of a larger movement in which Britain granted independence to most territories of the empire. The transfer of Hong Kong to China in 1997 marked for many the end of the British Empire, fourteen overseas territories remain under British sovereignty. After independence, many former British colonies joined the Commonwealth of Nations, the United Kingdom is now one of 16 Commonwealth nations, a grouping known informally as the Commonwealth realms, that share a monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. The foundations of the British Empire were laid when England and Scotland were separate kingdoms. In 1496, King Henry VII of England, following the successes of Spain and Portugal in overseas exploration, Cabot led another voyage to the Americas the following year but nothing was ever heard of his ships again
5.
Mulatto
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Mulatto is a term used to refer to persons born of one white parent and one black parent or to persons born of a mulatto parent or parents. In English, the term is generally confined to historical contexts. English speakers of mixed white and black ancestry seldom choose to identify themselves as mulatto. Some residents of Latin America, Spain America, the Caribbean, in Latin America, most mulattoes have descended from multi-ethnic relationships dating to the slavery period, rather than from recent ethnic mixing. This is especially true in Brazil, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Haiti, Cape Verde, Puerto Rico and Venezuela. The etymology of the term is believed to derive from the Spanish and Portuguese mulato, which comes from mula, meaning mule, the hybrid offspring of a horse. Some dictionaries and scholarly works trace the origins to the Arabic term muwallad. Muwallad literally means born, begotten, produced, generated, brought up, with the implication of being born and raised among Arabs, Muwallad is derived from the root word WaLaD, and colloquial Arabic pronunciation can vary greatly. Walad means, descendant, offspring, scion, child, son, boy, young animal, in al-Andalus, Muwallad referred to the offspring of non-Arab/Muslim people who adopted the Islamic religion and manners. Notable examples of this include the famous Muslim scholar Ibn Hazm. Thus, in context, the term Muwalad has a meaning close to the adopted. According to the source, the term does not denote being of mixed-race but rather being of foreign-blood. In English, printed usage of mulatto dates to at least the 16th century and this earliest usage regarded black and white as discrete species, with the mulatto constituting a third separate species. According to Julio Izquierdo Labrado, the 19th-century linguist Leopoldo Eguilaz y Yanguas, as well as some Arabic sources muwallad is the origin of mulato. The Real Academia Española casts doubt on the muwallad theory, Scholars such as Werner Sollors cast doubt on the mule etymology for mulatto. In the 18th and 19th centuries, racialists such as Edward Long and they projected this belief back onto the etymology of the word mulatto. Sollers points out that this etymology is anachronistic, The Mulatto sterility hypothesis that has much to do with the rejection of the term by some writers is only half as old as the word Mulatto. Of São Tomé and Príncipes 193,413 inhabitants, the largest segment is classified as mestiço. or mixed race, 71% of the population of Cape Verde is also classified as such
6.
Dutch West India Company
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Dutch West India Company was a chartered company of Dutch merchants. Among its founding fathers was Willem Usselincx, the area where the company could operate consisted of West Africa and the Americas, which included the Pacific Ocean and the eastern part of New Guinea. The intended purpose of the charter was to eliminate competition, particularly Spanish or Portuguese, the company became instrumental in the Dutch colonization of the Americas. When the Dutch East India Company was founded in 1602, some traders in Amsterdam did not agree with its monopolistic politics, however, he failed to find a passage. One of the first sailors who focused on trade with Africa was Balthazar de Moucheron, the trade with Africa offered several possibilities to set up trading posts or factories, an important starting point for negotiations. It was Blommaert, however, who stated that in 1600 eight companies sailed on the coast of Africa, competing with each other for the supply of copper, pieter van den Broecke was employed by one of these companies. In 1612, a Dutch fortress was built in Mouree, along the Dutch Gold Coast, Trade with the Caribbean, for salt, sugar and tobacco, was hampered by Spain and delayed because of peace negotiations. Spain offered peace on condition that the Dutch Republic would withdraw from trading with Asia, Spain refused to sign the peace treaty if a West Indian Company would be established. At this time the Dutch War of Independence between Spain and the Dutch Republic was occurring, grand Pensionary Johan van Oldenbarnevelt offered to only suspend trade with the West in exchange for the Twelve Years Truce. The result was that during a few years the company sailed under a flag in South America. However, ten years later, Stadtholder Maurice of Orange, proposed to continue the war with Spain, in 1619, his opponent Johan van Oldenbarnevelt was beheaded, and when two years later the truce expired, the West Indian Company was established. Some historians date the origins of the firm to the 1500s with arrivals of settlers in what is now called New York long before the English at Jamestown. The WIC was organized similarly to the Dutch East India Company, the board consisted of 19 members, known as the Heeren XIX. The validity of the charter was set at 24 years, only in 1623 was funding arranged, after several bidders were put under pressure. The States General of the Netherlands and the VOC pledged one million guilders in the form of capital, unlike the VOC, the WIC had no right to deploy military troops. When the Twelve Years Truce in 1621 was over, the Republic had a hand to re-wage war with Spain. A Groot Desseyn was devised to seize the Portuguese colonies in Africa, when this plan failed, privateering became one of the major goals within the WIC. The arming of merchant ships with guns and soldiers to defend themselves against Spanish ships was of great importance, on almost all ships in 1623,40 to 50 soldiers were stationed, possibly to assist in the hijacking of enemy ships
7.
Atlantic slave trade
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The Atlantic slave trade or transatlantic slave trade took place across the Atlantic Ocean from the 15th through the 19th centuries. This was crucial to those western European countries which, in the late 17th and 18th centuries, were vying with each other to create overseas empires, the Portuguese were the first to engage in the New World slave trade in the 16th century. In 1526, the Portuguese completed the first transatlantic voyage from Africa to the Americas. The first Africans imported to the English colonies were classified as indentured servants, like coming from England. By the middle of the 17th century, slavery had hardened as a caste, they and their offspring were legally the property of their owners. As property, the people were considered merchandise or units of labour, the major Atlantic slave trading nations, ordered by trade volume, were, the Portuguese, the British, the French, the Spanish, and the Dutch Empire. Several had established outposts on the African coast where they purchased slaves from local African leaders and these slaves were managed by a factor who was established on or near the coast to expedite the shipping of slaves to the New World. Slaves were kept in a factory while awaiting shipment, current estimates are that about 12 million Africans were shipped across the Atlantic, although the number purchased by the traders is considerably higher, as the passage had a high death rate. Near the beginning of the century, various governments acted to ban the trade. In the early twenty-first century, several governments issued apologies for the slave trade. The Atlantic slave trade arose after trade contacts were first made between the continents of the Old World and those of the New World, between 1600 and 1800, approximately 300,000 sailors engaged in the slave trade visited West Africa. In doing so, they came into contact with societies living along the west African coast, historian John Thornton noted, A number of technical and geographical factors combined to make Europeans the most likely people to explore the Atlantic and develop its commerce. That leadership later gave rise to the myth that the Iberians were the leaders of the exploration. Slavery was practiced in parts of Africa, Europe, Asia. There is evidence that people from some African states were exported to other states in Africa, Europe. The African slave trade provided a number of slaves to Europeans. The Atlantic slave trade was not the slave trade from Africa, although it was the largest in volume. As Elikia M’bokolo wrote in Le Monde diplomatique, The African continent was bled of its resources via all possible routes
8.
Madeira
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Madeira is a Portuguese archipelago situated in the north Atlantic Ocean, southwest of Portugal. Its total population was estimated in 2011 at 267,785, the capital of Madeira is Funchal, located on the main islands south coast. The archipelago is just under 400 kilometres north of Tenerife, Canary Islands, since 1976, the archipelago has been one of the two Autonomous regions of Portugal. It includes the islands of Madeira, Porto Santo, and the Desertas, the region has political and administrative autonomy through the Administrative Political Statue of the Autonomous Region of Madeira provided for in the Portuguese Constitution. Madeira was claimed by Portuguese sailors in the service of Prince Henry the Navigator in 1419, the archipelago is considered to be the first territorial discovery of the exploratory period of the Portuguese Age of Discovery, which extended from 1415 to 1542. Today, it is a popular resort, being visited every year by about one million tourists. The region is noted for its Madeira wine, gastronomy, historical and cultural value, its flora and fauna, landscapes which are classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and embroidery artisans. Its annual New Year celebrations feature the largest fireworks show in the world, Madeira is the second richest region of Portugal by GDP per capita, only surpassed by Lisbon. They are called the Isles of the Blessed, archeological evidence suggests that the islands may have been visited by the Vikings sometime between 900-1030. During the reign of King Edward III of England, lovers Robert Machim and they were driven off their course by a violent storm and their ship went aground along the coast of an island, that may have been Madeira. Later this legend was the basis of the naming of the city of Machico, knowledge of some Atlantic islands, such as Madeira, existed before their formal discovery and settlement, as the islands were shown on maps as early as 1339. The following year, an expedition, under the captaincy of Zarco, Vaz Teixeira. Subsequently, the new settlers observed a black cloud suspended to the southwest. Their investigation revealed it to be the island they called Madeira. The first Portuguese settlers began colonizing the islands around 1420 or 1425, grain production began to fall and the ensuing crisis forced Henry the Navigator to order other commercial crops to be planted so that the islands could be profitable. The planting of sugarcane, and later Sicilian sugar beet, allowed the introduction of the salt into Europe. These specialised plants, and their associated industrial technology, created one of the major revolutions on the islands, the expansion of sugar plantations in Madeira began in 1455, using advisers from Sicily and financed by Genoese capital. The accessibility of Madeira attracted Genoese and Flemish traders, who were keen to bypass Venetian monopolies, by 1480 Antwerp had some seventy ships engaged in the Madeira sugar trade, with the refining and distribution concentrated in Antwerp
9.
Ezekiel Jackson
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Rycklon Ezekiel Stephens is a retired Guyanese professional wrestler best known for his tenure in WWE under the ring name Ezekiel Jackson. Within that organization, Stephens was a one time and last ECW Champion and he has also worked for Lucha Underground and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. Stephens signed a contract with World Wrestling Entertainment in March 2007. In his debut match on June 27, he teamed with Keith Walker to defeat Kofi Kingston and he continued to compete in the promotion in both tag team and singles matches. On May 6,2008, Stephens wrestled his final match in FCW before being called up to WWEs main roster, after being trained in FCW, Stephens debuted on the July 18,2008 episode of SmackDown under the name Ezekiel, as The Brian Kendricks bodyguard. On the August 8,2008 edition of SmackDown, his name was tweaked to Ezekiel Jackson. He then began interfering in Kendricks matches against Jeff Hardy, Finlay, on the October 17 episode of SmackDown, Jackson made his official in-ring debut by quickly defeating Super Crazy, after replacing a supposedly sick Kendrick. In late 2008, Jackson began teaming with Kendrick and both began feuding with the Tag Team Champions The Colóns, although Kendrick and Jackson failed to win the championship. He suffered his first defeat on the February 13,2009 episode of SmackDown, Jackson made his final appearance on the SmackDown brand in a losing effort against Jeff Hardy on the April 3,2009 episode. On April 15,2009, Jackson was drafted to the ECW brand as part of the 2009 Supplemental Draft, therefore breaking up the team of himself, Jackson returned to FCW for further training, however, without making an immediate appearance for the brand. He made his ECW debut defeating Jack Meridol on the July 9,2009 episode, Kozlov and Jackson aided Regal in his feud with Christian over the ECW Championship, but Regal was unable to capture the title. On the November 24 episode of ECW, Jackson attacked both Regal and Kozlov after Kozlov accused Jackson of costing Regal a match, the following week, Jackson once again betrayed Kozlov and Regal by walking out on Kozlov during a tag team match against Christian and Shelton Benjamin. Jackson, however, realigned himself with Regal, when he was aided by Regal in defeating Kozlov on an episode of ECW, on the January 12,2010 episode of ECW, Jackson won the ECW Homecoming battle royal to earn a match for the ECW Championship. He faced Christian for the ECW championship at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view but was unsuccessful, on the final episode of ECW on February 16, Jackson defeated Christian to win the ECW Championship in an Extreme Rules match. Upon winning the title, WWE credited Jackson as the final ECW Champion, on the February 19 episode of SmackDown, a video package aired, promoting Jacksons return to the brand. He made his return on the March 5 episode of SmackDown without Regal, who instead joined Raw, during his injury, Jackson was drafted to the Raw brand as part of the 2010 WWE Supplemental Draft. Jackson made his return to the ring on September 13,2010 and he returned to television on the October 18 episode of Raw, where he was revealed as a member of Team Raw for the Bragging Rights pay-per-view. At Bragging Rights, Jackson was one of the two remaining members of Team Raw, but they lost to Team SmackDown
10.
Slavery
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A slave is unable to withdraw unilaterally from such an arrangement and works without remuneration. Many scholars now use the chattel slavery to refer to this specific sense of legalised. In a broader sense, however, the word slavery may also refer to any situation in which an individual is de facto forced to work against his or her will. Scholars also use the generic terms such as unfree labour or forced labour. However – and especially under slavery in broader senses of the word – slaves may have some rights and/or protections, Slavery began to exist before written history, in many cultures. A person could become a slave from the time of their birth, capture, while slavery was institutionally recognized by most societies, it has now been outlawed in all recognized countries, the last being Mauritania in 2007. Nevertheless, there are still more slaves today than at any point in history. The most common form of the trade is now commonly referred to as human trafficking. Chattel slavery is still practiced by the Islamic State of Iraq. An older interpretation connected it to the Greek verb skyleúo to strip a slain enemy, there is a dispute among historians about whether terms such as unfree labourer or enslaved person, rather than slave, should be used when describing the victims of slavery. Chattel slavery, also called traditional slavery, is so named because people are treated as the chattel of the owner and are bought, although it dominated many societies in the past, this form of slavery has been formally abolished and is very rare today. Even when it can be said to survive, it is not upheld by the system of any internationally recognized government. Indenture, otherwise known as bonded labour or debt bondage is a form of labour under which a person pledges himself or herself against a loan. The services required to repay the debt, and their duration, debt bondage can be passed on from generation to generation, with children required to pay off their parents debt. It is the most widespread form of slavery today, debt bondage is most prevalent in South Asia. This may also include institutions not commonly classified as slavery, such as serfdom, conscription, Human trafficking primarily involves women and children forced into prostitution. And is the fastest growing form of forced labour, with Thailand, Cambodia, India, Brazil, in 2007, Human Rights Watch estimated that 200,000 to 300,000 children served as soldiers in current conflicts. A forced marriage may be regarded as a form of slavery by one or more of the involved in the marriage
11.
Religion in Guyana
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Christianity and Hinduism are the dominant religions in Guyana. According to the 2012 census, approximately 63 percent of the population is Christian, according to the 2012 census, approximately 25 percent are Hindu,7 percent are Muslim, and 1 percent practice other beliefs, including the Rastafari movement, Buddhism, and the Bahai Faith. More than 3 percent of the population do not profess any religion, between 1991 and 2012, Hinduism, Islam, Catholicism and Mainline Protestant churches all saw significant decline as the national population grew by 3%. This is in contrast to Pentecostalism, which more than doubled, and less-established Christian groups, the country is ethnically diverse, reflecting East Indian, African, Chinese, and European ancestry, as well as a significant indigenous population. Members of all groups are well represented in all religious groups. Foreign missionaries from many groups are present. Christianitys status as Guyanas dominant system of values is a consequence of colonial history, to the European planters, colonial administrators, and missionaries, the profession of Christian beliefs and observance of Christian practices were prerequisites to social acceptance. Even though the planters discouraged the teaching of their religion to the slaves, indeed, after abolition, Christian institutions played an even more important role in the lives of the former slaves than in the lives of the masters. By the time the East Indians and other indentured groups arrived in Guyana, among the Christian denominations active in Guyana in the 1990s, the Anglican Church claimed the largest membership, about 125,000 adherents as of 1986. Anglicanism was the religion of British Guiana until independence. The Roman Catholic Church had a membership of about 94,000 in 1985, the majority of Roman Catholics lived in Georgetown, and the Portuguese were the most active members, although all the ethnic groups were represented. The Presbyterian Church was the third largest denomination, with nearly 39,000 members in 1980, several other Christian churches had significant memberships in 1980, including the Methodists, Pentecostals, and Seventh-day Adventists, each of which had about 20,000 members. There were smaller numbers of Baptists, Jehovahs Witnesses, Congregationalists, Nazarenes, Moravians, Ethiopian Orthodox, other sects in Guyana included the Rastafari movement which looks to Ethiopia for religious inspiration, and the Hallelujah Church, which combines Christian beliefs with Amerindian traditions. There were also at least 60,000 people describing themselves as Christian who had no church affiliation. These groups would have services, bible teachings and discussions at a house or a provided empty location. The number of Guyanese practising Hinduism has been decreasing for many decades now, the majority of the East Indian immigrants were Hindu, and their dominant sect was Vaishnavite Hinduism. Status differences were attached to castes, and rituals varied with caste status, the higher castes worshipped the classic pantheon of Vishnu and Shiva. Vaishnavite Hinduism remains the predominant religion of the Indo-Guyanese, although it has been considerably modified, Orthodox Hinduism stresses the festivities accompanying religious rites
12.
Demerara rebellion of 1823
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The Demerara rebellion of 1823 was an uprising involving more than 10,000 slaves that took place in the Crown colony of Demerara-Essequibo. The rebellion, which place on 18 August 1823 and lasted for two days, was led by slaves with the highest status. Instigated chiefly by Jack Gladstone, a slave at Success plantation, the rebellion also involved his father, Quamina and its English pastor, John Smith, was implicated. The largely non-violent rebellion was crushed by the colonists under governor John Murray. They killed many slaves, estimates of the toll from fighting range from 100 to 250, after the insurrection was put down, the government sentenced another 45 men to death, and 27 were executed. The executed slaves bodies were displayed in public for months afterwards as a deterrent to others, Jack was deported to the island of Saint Lucia after the rebellion following a clemency plea by Sir John Gladstone, the owner of Success plantation. John Smith, who had been court-martialed and was awaiting news of his appeal against a death sentence, news of Smiths death strengthened the abolitionist movement in Britain. Quamina, who is thought to have been the leader of the rebellion, was declared a national hero after Guyanas independence. Streets and monuments have been dedicated to him in the capital of Georgetown, Demerara was first colonised by the Dutch in the 17th century under the auspices of the Dutch West India Company. The economy, initially based on trade, began to be superseded in the 18th century by sugar cane cultivation on large plantations, the Demerara region was opened to settlement in 1746, and new opportunities attracted British settlers from nearby Barbados. By 1760, they had become the largest contingent in Demerara, the British were a major external threat to Dutch control over the colonies from 1781 until 1796, when Britain obtained de facto control. Following a raid by privateers in February 1781, British occupation lasted until January 1782, the British transferred rule of Demerara to the Dutch in 1802 under the terms of the Peace of Amiens, but took back control of it a year later. In 1812, the British merged Demerara and Essequibo into the colony of Demerara-Essequibo, the colonies were ceded to Britain by treaty between the Netherlands and Britain on 13 August 1814. Stabroek, as the capital was known under the Dutch, was renamed as Georgetown in 1812. The colonial powers appointed a governor to rule in their stead, the mainstay of its economy was sugar, grown on cane plantations worked by slaves. The sale of the crop in Britain enjoyed preferential terms, there were 2,571 declared slaves working on 68 plantations in Essequibo, and 1,648 slaves in Demerara in 1762. These numbers were known to be understated, as the slave headcount was the basis of taxation. By 1769, there were 3,986 declared slaves for Essequibos 92 plantations and 5,967 for Demeraras 206 plantations, the slave labour was in short supply and expensive due to the trading monopoly of the DWIC, and smuggling from Barbados was rife
This article incorporates public domain material from the Library of Congress Country Studies website http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/.
This article incorporates 
