Raymond T. Smith
Copyright 2000: All Rights Reserved
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by
RAYMOND T. SMITH
Issued under the auspices of the Royal Institute of International Affairs
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
LONDON NEW YORK TORONTO
The Royal Institute of International Affairs is an unofficial and non-political body, founded in 1920 to encourage and facilitate the scientific study of international questions. The Institute, as such, is precluded by the terms of its Royal Charter from expressing an opinion on any aspect of international affairs. Any opinions expressed in this publication are not, therefore, those of the Institute.
© Royal Institute of International Affairs 1962
First edition 1962
Reprinted 1964
Reprinted in 1980 by Greenwood Press,
a division of Congressional Information Service, lnc.
51 Riverside Avenue, Westport, Connecticut 06880
Printed in the United States of America
This reprint has been authorized by the Oxford University Press
GREENWOOD PRESS, PUBLISHERS
WESTPORT, CONNECTICUT
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Smith, Raymond Thomas, 1925-
British Guiana.
Reprint of the ed. published by Oxford University Press, London.
Bibliography:
p.
Includes
index.
1.
Guyana.
I.
Title.
[F2368.
S6
1980]
988’.
1
80-10964
ISBN
0–313–22142–1
lib.
bdg.
©
Royal
Institute of
International
Affairs 1962
©
Oxford
University
Press 1962
PREFACE
BRITISH GUIANA presents two faces to the outside world. Many people know it as a country of jungle and vast rivers; of exotic wild life and primitive Amerindians. Visitors to the country whose interests lie in this direction find their transit through Georgetown an irritation to be endured. The crowded streets, the shops, and the newspaper accounts of local politics are of only marginal interest and represent a sort of blight upon the picture of a vast, primitive, and naturally beautiful country. For them the real Guiana begins when you leave the coast behind. Many excellent books have been written as a result of gazing upon this face of the country and some of its features have become familiar to television viewers through the many documentary films that have been made of it.
The other face of British Guiana, the Guiana of sugar estates, of drainage problems, ethnic diversity, political crises, and plans for economic development is less familiar and has been less well served by those who have written about it. Although there are a number of excellent specialist works there are few books which give a general picture of the main social, economic, and political features of the country, and it is hoped that the present volume will help to make good this deficiency. Although I am a professional sociologist and have spent a number of years engaged in field research in the coastal region of British Guiana, I have not attempted to make this book into a sociological treatise. On the contrary, I have been at some pains to avoid this and I have sometimes allowed myself liberties of comment and judgement even where the evidence is less than one would demand for scientific analysis. I am currently engaged upon the preparation of a more technical sociological analysis of the social structure of British Guiana and the present work is not intended to be a substitute for it, though it could perhaps be regarded as an interim report.
The section of the book dealing with political questions will probably be the most controversial and I am glad of this opportunity to try to correct some of the misleading impressions which I believe have been given of the events of 1953. The discussions of racial division and conflict will not meet with wholehearted agreement in many quarters, particularly in British Guiana itself, but I think it important to emphasize the considerable progress that has been made toward racial harmony and to try to dispel the notions about East Indian communal aggressiveness which some people find it necessary or convenient to cherish. At a less controversial level I hope that the chapters dealing with history might provide a convenient summary pending the publication of a really up-to-date history of British Guiana.
Since
the
manuscript
of this book
went to the
printers
there have
been further
developments
in the
political
sphere.
Dr
Jagan’s
party has
been
returned to
office with
a
substantial
majority and
the granting
of full
self-government
is well
within
sight. This
does not
alter any of
the main
arguments of
the book,
especially
since these
developments
were
expected.
The chief
problems
continue to
be the
containment
of ethnic
differences
and class
conflict
within the
bounds of
national
purpose, and
the
fostering of
rapid
economic
growth.
R.T.S.
University
of Ghana
September
I961
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
OVER the years many people have helped me to attain what understanding I have of British Guiana and its problems. I owe a particular debt to the people of the villages in which I lived for a number of years carrying out field studies, and to the many friends I made in Georgetown. The staffs of the Departments of Local Government and Social Welfare, Lands and Mines, Labour, and Land Settlement have always been unfailingly helpful as have the officials of the Government Archives and the Bureau of Public Information. To Mr. Dwarka Nath of the Immigration-Agent General’s office I am grateful for much information on the peculiar problems of East Indian immigrants. Mrs Joy Pilgrim of the Georgetown Office of the Extra-Mural Department of the University College of the West Indies has assisted in various ways in the collection of information. Dr. C. Jayawardena, now of the University of Sydney, has contributed much to my knowledge of the sugar plantation areas through our many discussions of his work there. I am most grateful to Miss Hermia Oliver of the Royal Institute of International Affairs for her patient advice on editorial matters and for her guidance on material relating to the Dutch period.
R.T.S.