Contributions to the arts

British Guiana (also spelled Guyana) was the name of the British colony on the northern coast of South America, since 1966 known as the independent nation of Guyana. Its indigenous people are the Arawak speaking Lucayan, part of the Taino people.

The first European to discover Guiana was Sir Walter Raleigh, an English explorer. The Dutch were the first Europeans to settle there, starting in the early 17th century, when they founded the colonies of Essequibon and Berbice, adding Demerara in the mid-eighteenth century.

In 1796, Great Britain took over these three colonies during hostilities with the French, who occupied the Netherlands. Britain returned control to the Batavian Republic in 1802, but captured the colonies a year later during the Napoleonic Wars. The colonies were officially ceded to the United Kingdom in 1814, and consolidated into a single colony in 1831. The colony's capital was at Georgetown (known as Stabroek prior to 1812).

As the British developed the colony for sugar cane plantations, they imported many Africans as slave labour. The economy became more diversified since the late nineteenth century, but has relied on resource exploitation. Guyana became independent of the United Kingdom on 26 May 1966.

Literature is the art of written work. The word literature literally means: "things made from letters". Literature is commonly classified as having two major formsfiction and nonfictionand two major techniquespoetry and prose.

Martin Carter

He was a Guyanese poet and political activist. Widely regarded as the greatest poet and one of the most influential poets in the Caribbean. His poems dealt with resistance, protest and revolution. He was famously imprisoned by the British government in Guyana (then British Guiana) in October 1953 under allegations of "spreading dissension", and again in June 1954 for taking part in a PPP procession. Carter played an active role in Guyanese politics, particularly in the years leading up Independence in 1966 and those following immediately after Important term/ acronyms: spreading dissension disagreement, especially : partisan and contentious quarreling Merriam Webster Online Dictionary. Shortly after being released from prison the first time, Carter published his most well-known poetry collection, Poems of Resistance from British Guiana (1954).

Cheddi Berret Jagan (22 March 1918 6 March 1997) was a Guyanese politician who was first elected Chief Minister in 1953 and later Premier of British Guiana from 196164, prior to independence. He later served as President of Guyana from 199297. He is widely regarded in Guyana as the "Father of the Nation". Other poets affiliated with Martin Carter were: a.Wilson Harris b.Fred D'Aguiar c.Grace Nichols

Martin Carter gave the Guyanese people a voice in a time when they were almost mute. He spoke out on colonialism which ultimately led to them having a chance to become independent. He introduced the art of literature to the Guyanese people which is now being studied in schools. His poems helped to give Guyanese and by extension previous or currently ruled British colonies a sense of pride and hope.