Guyana (Paperback)

Located along the northeast coast of South America, Guyana is the only English-speaking nation on the continent. Most of the country's 800,000 people, the majority of whom are of East Indian, African, or mixed descent, live along the swampy coastal plain in the north. This tropical land of sugar plantations, settled by the Dutch in the early 1600s, received its name from the Indian word Guiana, meaning "land of water." Later a colony of the United Kingdom, it gained independence in 1966. Despite the country's fertile land and rich mineral deposits, Guyana is one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere. Its major exports of sugar, bauxite, and other crops and minerals leave through. ports in the capital city of Georgetown. Each lavishly illustrated book in the "South America Today" series teaches about the geography, history, economy, and culture of each nation. Each volume is indexed, and contains a bibliography featuring books and Web sources for further information.