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27-405: In the early tournaments British Guiana were sometimes referred to as Demerara . For simplicity British Guiana is used in the article. The tournament was restricted to Amateurs. This excluded many of the leading black cricketers who were often Professionals. A tournament between Barbados, British Guiana and Trinidad took place in 1891. Each team played the other, and then there was a final between

54-650: A 2 or 3-pounder gun, were found on each storey. By 1781, during the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War , the fort was no longer in a fit state to be of any use. When some six British privateers arrived in late February 1781, the Council at Essequibo instructed Captain Severyn, the commander of the fort, that if the British sailed towards the colony, he was to fire a blank shot. If that did not cause them to stop, he

81-403: A monopoly on the slave trade, was unable to supply them, leading to illegal smuggling from English colonies. In 1755, Gedney Clarke, a Barbados merchant and plantation owner, requested political representation, therefore the administration was moved to the island of Borsselen , 20 miles (32 km) upriver near plantation Soesdyke which was owned by the commander of Demerara. The decision

108-459: A plantation in Essequibo. Half a year later, there were 18 large sugar plantations and 50 smaller plantations. The colony was initially governed from Fort Zeelandia by Laurens Storm van 's Gravesande , the governor of Essequibo. In 1750 he appointed his son Jonathan as Commander of Demerara. Demerara grew rapidly, and attracted many English planters. The Dutch West India Company , who had

135-726: A result of the relocation of the Dutch settlers on the fertile banks of the Essequibo River. In 1726, it was resolved that a fort should be constructed to protect the planters and the interest of the Dutch West India Company (DWIC). In 1726, Leslorant, an engineer, was sent from the Netherlands to construct a horn work with wooden redoubt and a strong palisade of the northern point of Vlaggeneiland (Flag Island). In August 1738, Laurens Storm van 's Gravesande ,

162-472: Is a historical region in the Guianas , on the north coast of South America , now part of the country of Guyana . It was a colony of the Dutch West India Company between 1745 and 1792 and a colony of the Dutch state from 1792 until 1815. It was merged with Essequibo in 1812 by the British who took control. It formally became a British colony in 1815 until Demerara-Essequibo was merged with Berbice to form

189-732: Is located on Fort Island , a fluvial island of the Essequibo River delta in the Essequibo Islands-West Demerara region of Guyana . Not to be confused with Fort Zeelandia in Paramaribo , Suriname , the current brick fort was built in 1743 for the Essequibo colony , replacing an earlier wooden fort built in 1726, and is among the oldest structures in Guyana. The fort replaced Fort Kyk-Over-Al as

216-465: Is similar to other forts constructed in West Africa during that period. Fort Zeelandia consisted of a redoubt of fifty square feet, with walls thick enough to endure the heaviest ordnance. There were two stories; the lower served as a warehouse for provisions and a safe powder house whilst the upper floor housed the soldiers, with a room for the non commissioned officers. Twenty gunports, each holding

243-438: The letter wood " (wood of Brosimum guianense tree). Demerara sugar is so named because originally, it came from sugarcane fields in the colony of Demerara. Demerara was first mentioned in 1691 as a trading post. On 18 October 1745, Demerara was created as a separate colony, even though it was located on an unoccupied part of Essequibo , because the people from the province of Holland wanted to settle there and Essequibo

270-538: The 1893 tournament were automatic finalists for the 1895 tournament, the other two teams playing to decide who would play them. The same procedure was used in the subsequent tournaments. Due to travel costs and logistics of travelling to the other colonies, Jamaica never took part in the Inter-Colonial Tournament. British Guiana did not take part in 1893–94. The 13th series was unfinished, the final between Trinidad and Barbados being left drawn with

297-792: The Amerindian Arawak , Kalina , Warao and Akawaio tribes, and prevented the uprising from spreading to Demerara and Essequibo. 50 soldiers from Demarara were sent to Berbice as assistance. The slave uprisings were a source of concern: in a 1767 letter to Frederick the Great , the King of Prussia, which aimed to promote the colony for German planters, a request was added for 100 soldiers. In 1780, there were almost 200 plantations in Demerara compared to 129 in Essequibo. Demerara had become more successful than Essequibo. The rivalry between

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324-849: The Barbados team needing to catch the boat home. Initially the tournament was held every two years but after the 8th series it became an annual event although a number of years were missed for various reasons. Of the 27 official series Trinidad won 11, Barbados won 10 and British Guiana won 5 with one unfinished. Trinidad competed in 24 of the 27 finals, Barbados 19 and British Guiana 11. In matches between Trinidad and Barbados, Trinidad won 11 and Barbados won 9 with 1 drawn. In matches between Trinidad and British Guiana, Trinidad won 13 and British Guiana won 6. In matches between Barbados and British Guiana, Barbados won 8 and British Guiana won 5. Demerara Demerara ( / ˌ d ɛ m ə ˈ r ɛər ə / ; Dutch : Demerary , [ˌdeːməˈraːri] )

351-539: The Caribbean Islands, a squadron was detached to take possession of the colonies of Essequibo and Demerara, which was accomplished without even a fight. The previous year, the colony produced 10,000 hogsheads of sugar, 5,000,000 pounds coffee and 800,000 pounds cotton. In 1782 the French took possession of the whole of the Dutch settlements, compelling Gov. Robert Kingston to surrender. The opinion of

378-463: The Dutch newspapers varied. The Leeuwarder Courant called it the loss of our Demerary, while the Hollandsche historische courant described it as a pleasant reconquest. The peace of Paris , which occurred in 1783, restored these territories to the Dutch. The British recaptured Demerara, Essequibo, and Berbice in 1796. A deal was struck with the colony: all laws and customs could remain, and

405-627: The Netherlands ratified the agreement. Large slave rebellions broke out in West Demerara in 1795 and on the East Coast of Demerara in 1823 . Although these rebellions were easily and bloodily crushed, according to Winston McGowan, they may have had a long-term impact in ending slavery: The 1823 revolt had a special significance not matched by the earlier Berbice uprising. It attracted attention in Britain inside and outside Parliament to

432-458: The Netherlands. However, the entire complex was completed in 1749, since construction was delayed as a result of the shortage of building materials and labour. The completed structure was then christened Fort Zeelandia, after the County of Zeeland in the Netherlands, from which many of the original settlers had originated. The Lozenge shaped design of the fort, submitted by Storm van 's Gravesande,

459-604: The Secretary to Commander Gleskerk, inspected the fort and reported that the structure was falling to pieces. He recommended to the Directors of the Netherlands that a new fort of brick be built to defend the interest of the DWIC. Construction of the fort commenced in 1740 and, with the labour of enslaved Africans, the structure was completed in 1743. Brick was baked on the spot and mortar and trass were imported from Barbados and

486-491: The capital of Essequibo in 1739. The small fort is a 15 x 20 m structure surrounded by four ramparts at each corner. Constructed during the Dutch possession of the region, the fort was a vital defensive fortification strategically located at the mouth of the Essequibo River . From the beginning of the 18th century, the commanders of Essequibo recommended that the location of the colony's administrative centre be removed as

513-563: The citizens were equal to British subjects. Any government official who swore loyalty to the British crown could remain in function. They returned the colony to the Dutch in 1802 under the terms of the Peace of Amiens , but re-took control of it a year later. On 28 April 1812, the British combined the colonies of Demerara and Essequibo into the colony of Demerara-Essequibo . They were ceded to Britain on 13 August 1814. On 20 November 1815,

540-711: The colonies resulted in the creation of a combined Court of Policy in Fort Zeelandia. The majority of the white population of the colony were English and Scottish planters. In 1781, the American revolution induced the Dutch Republic to join with the Bourbon side against the British. A large fleet under Admiral Lord Rodney's command was sent to the West Indies, and after having made some seizures in

567-641: The colony of British Guiana in 1831. In 1838, it became a county of British Guiana until 1958. In 1966, British Guiana gained independence as Guyana and in 1970 it became a republic as the Co-operative Republic of Guyana . It was located around the lower course of the Demerara River , and its main settlement was Georgetown . The name "Demerara" comes from a variant of the Arawak word immenary or dumaruni , which means "river of

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594-444: The leading two teams. During this tournament a suggestion was made by Hon. Aucher Warner that there should be a regular series of matches between the three colonies to be played alternately at each colony. By the time of the next tournament in 1893, a cup had been subscribed for but British Guiana were unable to take part, Barbados being winners again. This 1893 match is regarded as the first proper tournament. Barbados as winners of

621-672: The slaves were finally freed on 1 August 1838. On 21 July 1831, Demerara-Essequibo united with Berbice as British Guiana , now Guyana . In 1838, Demerara was made one of the three counties of Guiana, the other two being Berbice and Essequibo. In 1958, the county was abolished when Guiana was subdivided into districts. Historical Demerara was divided in 1958 and are a part of Guyanese administrative regions of Demerara-Mahaica , Essequibo Islands-West Demerara , and Upper Demerara-Berbice . 6°48′44″N 58°10′12″W  /  6.8121°N 58.1701°W  / 6.8121; -58.1701 Fort Zeelandia (Guyana) Fort Zeelandia

648-555: The terrible evil of slavery and the need to abolish it. This played a part, along with other humanitarian, political and economic factors, in causing the British parliament ten years later in 1833 to take the momentous decision to abolish slavery in British Guiana and elsewhere in the British Empire with effect from 1 August 1834. After serving four years of a modified form of slavery euphemistically called apprenticeship,

675-404: Was criticised because the island was hard to defend, and the planters had started to build houses around the guard post near the mouth of the river. That settlement later became known as Stabroek , and in 1782 the capital of the colony. The town was renamed Georgetown in 1812. In 1763, a slave uprising took place in neighbouring Berbice . Governor van 's Gravesande formed an alliance with

702-486: Was part of Zeeland . In the founding documents, it was mentioned that the colonists should live in peace with the Amerindian population and respect their territories, because they fought with the colony of Essequibo against the French privateers and helped to chase them off. The Amerindians were considered free people, and they were not allowed to enslave them. The first planter was Andries Pieterse who already owned

729-420: Was to fire a pro-forma shot and surrender. The privateers captured 16 Dutch vessels and sailed away. A few days later, two British sloops-of-war, HMS  Barbuda and HMS Surprize , that Admiral Lord Rodney had sent appeared at Demerara and Essequibo and accepted their surrender. The British takeover was short-lived, as the French occupied the island in the following year. The Dutch regained control of

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