On 21 August 1961, British Guiana held a general election under a new constitution that established a bicameral legislature, including an elected Legislative Assembly. The People’s Progressive Party won 20 of the 35 elected seats, and Cheddi Jagan continued as Premier. Independence was a central campaign issue. The vote represented another step toward self-government, but constitutional design, colonial authority and Cold War intervention continued to shape the path to sovereignty. The political contest unfolded in a society whose plantation economy had relied first on enslaved African labor and later on indentured workers, with those histories shaping unequal social and political relations.
On 16 June 1948, British Guiana police opened fire on striking workers gathered outside the factory at Plantation Enmore. Five workers were killed: Rambarran, Pooran, Lallabagee, Surajballi and Harry....
On 17 June 1948, workers and mourners marched from Plantation Enmore toward Le Repentir cemetery in Georgetown with the funeral hearses of the five workers killed by police. The march transformed a...
On 27 April 1953, British Guiana held its first general election under universal adult suffrage, with 24 House of Assembly seats contested. The People’s Progressive Party (PPP), an anti-colonial...
On 9 October 1953, the British government suspended British Guiana’s recently introduced constitution, dismissed the elected ministers and sent troops to the colony. The action followed the PPP’s...
On 12 August 1957, British Guiana held elections under a revised constitutional order after four years of appointed interim government. The People’s Progressive Party faction led by Cheddi Jagan won...
👉 British Guiana votes under a new constitution
Current
21 August 1961
On 21 August 1961, British Guiana held a general election under a new constitution that established a bicameral legislature, including an elected Legislative Assembly. The People’s Progressive Party...
On 26 May 1966, British Guiana became the independent state of Guyana. The UK Guyana Independence Act set that date as the point when Britain ceased responsibility for governing the territory, and...
On 23 February 1970, Guyana became a republic while remaining a member of the Commonwealth. The date was selected to coincide with Mashramani and the anniversary of the 1763 Berbice uprising,...
On 23 May 1976, Guyana unveiled the 1763 Monument in Georgetown to commemorate the Berbice uprising against Dutch plantation slavery. The monument was designed by Guyanese artist Philip Moore and...
On 16 June 1977, Guyana unveiled the Enmore Martyrs’ Monument on the twenty-ninth anniversary of the police killings. Prime Minister Forbes Burnham unveiled the monument, designed by Guyanese artist...
On 17 December 1992, Afro-centric Guyanese founded the African Cultural and Development Association (ACDA) to nurture African culture and support a prosperous African community. ACDA’s work connects...
