The land of six peoples - CHINESE
Guyanese of Chinese extraction are normally just refered to as being Chinese as opposed to Asians.
Most of the Chinese to arrive in Guyana came from the Cantonese speaking cities of Canton (now known as Guangzhou) and
Hong Kong.
A sizeable number of Hakka speaking Chinese from other parts of the province of Canton (now known as Guangdong) also left
from the city of Canton for the Caribbean.
The first Chinese arrived in Georgetown, British Guiana on 12th January 1853 on the ship "Glentanner", this was soon followed
by the arrival of the "Lord Elgin" on 17th January and the "Samuel Boddington" on 4th March 1853.
They were dispatched to the plantations La Jalousie, Windsor Forest, Ponderoyen, Union, Blankenburg, Schoon Ord, Stewartville,
Anna Regina, Hague, Anna Catherina and Haarlem.
Unlike the East Indians and Portuguese they did not bring their religion and customs with them, many adopting Christianity
and inter-marrying with East Indians or Africans.
The period of Chinese Indenture to British Guiana lasted from 1853 to 1879, during this period just over 13,500 Chinese had
arrived in the Colony.
The number of migrants began to drop once subsidies were withdrawn and only a small number arrived after 1879 of their own means.
After the end of their Indenture contracts many Chinese left for other Caribbean countries to join other Chinese communities, those
that remained mostly became shopkeepers or restauranteers.
Today most Chinese live in and around the Georgetown area and run a number of successful businesses, others have became doctors
or lawyers.
Written by Jonathan Budhram
To learn more about your Chinese Heritage/History and to start your research, try the following links:
Chinese roots in Guyana
Chinese Indentureship
The arrival of the Chinese
Also see the Sources page for links related to the Genealogical research of the Chinese.
