Ivan A. Ross Cultural and Political History of Guyana

Annotation

The history of the Indigenous people, enslaved Africans, indentured Portuguese, Chinese, and Indian laborers provides an in-depth view of the evolution of the Guyanese people. It provides evidence of their strong cultural identity and reveals their ambitions, sense of direction, and perseverance to strive for well-being and happiness in the best possible life.A chain of events began in 1953 when British Guiana elected its first native-born leader, Dr. Cheddi Jagan. The British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, suspended British Guiana's Constitution, ordered the dissolution of the Government, and imprisonment of the elected leader, his wife, and members of his cabinet as they were not compatible to Churchill's taste.The United States of America had difficulty appreciating how different forms of government and economic systems are applied in different countries. In 1961, President John F Kennedy ordered his Central Intelligence Agency to subvert the elected leader of British Guiana. The leader fell and the CIA's men, accomplishing their task, moved on to another. Thirty years later, the fallen leader was again democratically elected to lead his country.President Kennedy's ruthless subversion of democracy became the policy for subsequent elections of using the divisive concept of racial and ethnic segregations. The racial and ethnic prejudices have affected the distribution of power, opportunity, and wealth and creating enduring social stratifications.The children became adults with a poor understanding of how imperialism, the ancestral slaves and indentured laborers influenced their lives and their country, and the powerful and lasting effects they have.