South America Guyana

Guyana, country located in the northeastern corner of South America. Indigenous peoples inhabited Guyana prior to European settlement, and their name for the land, Guiana (“land of water”), gave the country its name. reflects its British and Dutch colonial past and its reactions to that past. It is the only English speaking country of South America. Since Guyana gained its independence in 1966, the country’s chief economic assets have been its natural resources, mainly its pristine rainforests, sugarcane plantations, rice fields, and bauxite gold reserves. Despite those riches, Guyana remained one of the poorest countries in South America.