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Timeline of Guyanese history

From the GuyanaHub Wiki. Last updated 24 Oct 2026.

Key dates in the history of Guyana, from the first peoples to the ICJ border hearings of 2026.

Guyana in its region
Guyana in north east South America. Map: TUBS, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. "Guyana in its region.svg" by TUBS, CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0), via Wikimedia Commons

Each entry links to the full article. Numbers in brackets point to the sources listed at the end.

First peoples and the Dutch

Date Event
Thousands of years ago Indigenous peoples settle the region; dates differ between sources[1][2] (Indigenous peoples)
1498 Christopher Columbus sights the Guiana coast[2]
1616 Dutch trading post on the Essequibo, later Fort Kyk-Over-Al[1][3] (Dutch colonisation)
1621 Dutch West India Company takes control of Essequibo[1]
1627 Colony of Berbice founded[1]
1648 Treaty of Münster: Spain recognises Dutch possessions[1]
1741 to 1746 Demerara settled and opened to British planters[1]
1743 Brick Fort Zeelandia built on Fort Island[4]
1763 Berbice Uprising led by Cuffy[5] (Berbice Uprising)
1781 to 1784 British, then French occupation; French found Longchamps, renamed Stabroek by the Dutch[1]

British rule

Date Event
1796 / 1803 British occupation of the colonies[1]
1807 Britain abolishes the slave trade[2]
1812 Stabroek renamed Georgetown[1]
1814 London Convention: colonies ceded to Britain[1]
18 Aug 1823 Demerara rebellion[6] (Demerara rebellion)
1831 British Guiana formed[1]
1 Aug 1834 Slavery Abolition Act in force; apprenticeship begins[7]
1835 First Portuguese indentured workers from Madeira[8]
1 Aug 1838 Full emancipation[7] (Slavery and emancipation)
5 May 1838 First Indian indentured workers arrive[1][9] (Indentureship)
Nov 1839 Freed Africans buy Plantation Northbrook, renamed Victoria[10]
1853 First Chinese indentured workers arrive[11]
1879 Gold discovered[2]
3 Oct 1899 Paris arbitral award fixes the border with Venezuela[1][12]
1905 Ruimveldt Riots[1]
1917 Indian indenture outlawed; British Guiana Labour Union founded[1]
1928 Crown colony government imposed[1]

Road to independence

Date Event
1 Jan 1950 People's Progressive Party founded[1]
27 Apr 1953 First election with universal adult suffrage; PPP wins 18 of 24 seats[13]
9 Oct 1953 Britain suspends the constitution[1] (Road to independence)
1957 People's National Congress formed[1]
1962 to 1964 Riots, strikes and ethnic violence[1]
14 Dec 1964 Forbes Burnham becomes head of government[1]
17 Feb 1966 Geneva Agreement on the border[14]
26 May 1966 Independence[1]

Independent Guyana

Date Event
Jan 1969 Rupununi uprising[15]
23 Feb 1970 Co-operative Republic declared[1] (The Republic)
1972 Non-Aligned foreign ministers meet in Georgetown; Umana Yana built[1]
1974 Declaration of Sophia[16]
18 Nov 1978 Jonestown deaths[17] (Jonestown)
13 Jun 1980 Walter Rodney killed[18]
1980 New constitution; Burnham becomes executive President[1]
6 Aug 1985 Burnham dies; Desmond Hoyte becomes President[1]
5 Oct 1992 Free and fair election; Cheddi Jagan elected[1] (Burnham and Jagan eras)
Dec 1997 Janet Jagan elected President[19]
Aug 1999 Bharrat Jagdeo becomes President[1]
2005 Severe coastal floods[1]
2007 UN tribunal settles sea border with Suriname[20]
2011 Donald Ramotar elected President[20]
May 2015 Liza oil discovery; David Granger elected President[20][21] (Oil era)
29 Mar 2018 Guyana files ICJ case against Venezuela[12] (Border controversy)
20 Dec 2019 First oil from Liza Phase 1[21]
Aug 2020 Irfaan Ali sworn in after a recount[20] (Guyana since 1999)
1 Dec 2023 ICJ provisional measures order[12]
1 Sep 2025 Ali re-elected[22]
4 to 11 May 2026 ICJ merits hearings in The Hague[12]
CIA World Factbook map of Guyana
Map of Guyana. Map: CIA World Factbook, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. "Guyana-CIA WFB Map.png" by Directorate of Intelligence, CIA, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (no attribution legally required; credited as good practice)

References

  1. "History of Guyana". Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Guyana (accessed 24 Oct 2026) Open source Checked 24 Oct 2026.
  2. Richardson, Bonham C. "Guyana: History". Encyclopaedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/place/Guyana/History Open source
  3. "Fort Kyk-Over-Al". Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Kyk-Over-Al Open source
  4. "Fort Zeelandia (Guyana)". Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Zeelandia_(Guyana) Open source
  5. "Berbice Rebellion". Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berbice_Rebellion Open source
  6. "Demerara rebellion of 1823". Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demerara_rebellion_of_1823 Open source
  7. "Slavery Abolition Act 1833". Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_Abolition_Act_1833 Open source
  8. "Portuguese Guyanese". Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portuguese_Guyanese Open source
  9. "Indian Arrival Day". Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Arrival_Day Open source
  10. "Victoria, Guyana". Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria,_Guyana Open source
  11. "Chinese Guyanese". Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Guyanese Open source
  12. International Court of Justice, case 171. https://www.icj-cij.org/case/171 (accessed 24 Oct 2026) Open source Checked 24 Oct 2026.
  13. "1953 British Guiana general election". Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1953_British_Guiana_general_election Open source
  14. "Geneva Agreement (1966)". Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geneva_Agreement_(1966) Open source
  15. "Rupununi uprising". Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rupununi_uprising Open source
  16. "Forbes Burnham". Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forbes_Burnham Open source
  17. "Jonestown". Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonestown Open source
  18. "Walter Rodney". Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Rodney Open source
  19. "Janet Jagan". Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janet_Jagan Open source
  20. Richardson, Bonham C. and Menke, Jack K. "Guyana: Independence". Encyclopaedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/place/Guyana/Independence Open source
  21. "Petroleum industry in Guyana". Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroleum_industry_in_Guyana Open source
  22. "Irfaan Ali". Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irfaan_Ali Open source

Categories: History

Text CC BY-SA 4.0. Adapted in part from the Wikipedia articles listed under References (CC BY-SA 4.0). Images are credited under their own licences. Site contact: service@computingcore.net.