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Caribbean Colonial Statistics from the British Empire, 1824–1950 - Volumes
Volumes
21 volumes in Caribbean Colonial Statistics from the British Empire, 1824–1950 | Page 2 of 6
British Guiana, 1868-1938
The Guianas were first settled by the Surinen people of the Americas, followed by Amerindian tribes. The first European colonizers were the Spanish in 1593, then came the Dutch from 1602, the English and French colonizers would also join the scramble for the Guianas. By the time the dust had settled from European wars and associated land trading, the British had control of British Guiana (1831), the French had French Guiana, and the Dutch had control over a third part known as Suriname. Slaves in different parts of Guiana were freed in different years: slaves of the British were released in 1840, slaves of the French were released in 1848 and those of the Dutch were emancipated in 1863. British Guiana gained its independence in 1966, Suriname gained its independence from the Dutch Government in 1975, and French Guiana is still a French colony. Read more →
British Honduras, 1839-1938
First settled by the Maya people, Spain was the first European country to attempt to form a settlement on the land that would become British Honduras; these attempts proved unsuccessful as the Maya drove the Spanish out. When settlers did start to colonize the land in the 1600s, they did so unofficially; officially Spain still possessed the colonization rights to the country, having made the prior claim of ownership. The unofficial settlers were British privateers and pirates whose presence would remain a cause for contention between Britain and Spain throughout the 18th century.British Honduras was used by the British as a logging colony to supply wood to the Empire. The last recorded slave rebellion in the country was the New River Revolt led by two slaves, Will and Sharper, in 1820. When martial law was declared and the militia was sent to quell the rebellion, the leader of the militia found that that the slaves 'had certainly good grounds for complaint' due to being 'treated with very unnecessary harshness by their Owner'. Will, Sharper and the rebel slaves were spared the lethal penalty which was the norm for rebelling slaves; Will and Sharper later disappeared. The slaves on British Honduras were freed in 1838, following 4 years of apprenticeship.British Honduras would be renamed Belize in 1973; however, tensions between Britain and Guatemala over who owned Belize continued to forestall its independence. As negotiations over ownership stalled, the colonized state appealed to the Non-Aligned Movement (of nations which are not part of any political bloc of countries) and the United Nations, for the right to self-determination. Belize won its Independence in 1981, yet it would take in excess of a decade before the threat of a Guatemalan invasion would be deemed to have passed and British troops would leave Belize. Read more →
Dominica, 1826-1887
Dominica was first colonized by the French in 1690 and run as a sugar colony which also used slaves to grow coffee. It was taken by the British in 1761 and ceded to the British by the French in 1763. French importation of African slaves resulted in a majority-African colony. Dominica was ceded to the British in the 1783 Treaty of Paris. Dominican slaves were freed, after 4 years of apprenticeship, in 1838. Following emancipation, Dominica became the first British Caribbean colony to have a non-white controlled legislature. Read more →
Grenada, 1860-1938
First settled by the indigenous Amerindians, it was then colonized by the French in 1650, before being ceded to the British in 1783. From 1795 to 1796 Julien Fedon, a planter of mixed African and French heritage, led around 100 freed men and slaves in an unsuccessful rebellion against British rule. This rebellion came the year after France had abolished slavery in all of its colonies and grew considerably as 1795 passed. Having held most of the Island for a year, Fedon was defeated but never captured. Grenada's slaves were freed in 1834, without the four years of apprenticeship experienced elsewhere. The Grenada United Labour Party was founded in 1951 by Eric Gairy, Gairy would then serve as Prime Minister once Grenada became independent in 1974. These Blue Books commence after the emancipation of Grenada's slaves and cover British Colonial rule until the year before the First World War. Read more →
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