Oh Beautiful Guyana! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Co-operative Republic of Guyana

Guyana is an Amerindian word which means "Land of many waters." Since its discovery in 1498, many have fought for ownership of the land, including the Spanish, French, Dutch and British. Eventually, in the 17th century, Guyana was organized into three colonies, namely, Essequibo, Berbice and Demerara.

These were owned by the Dutch. Later, the land was captured by the British and became known as "British Guiana." East of British Guiana was Dutch Guiana which is modern day Suriname. Guyana gained independence from Great Britain in 1966 and now has the official name of the " Co-operative Republic of Guyana."

Answer: Georgetown

Georgetown, also known as "the garden city of the Caribbean," or simply GT, is Guyana's largest city with a population of over 200,000 people. All of the executive heads of departments are found in Georgetown. Also located in Georgetown is the Parliament building, Court of Appeals and the 1763 monument, which pays tribute to the African slave Cuffy. Being the main economic base of the country, many Guyanese travel to Georgetown to transact their business. Within the Metro area is the CARICOM headquarters.
Albion, Linden and New Amsterdam are some of the towns found in Guyana.

Answer: 1966

The correct answer is 1966. 1763 marks the year Cuffy led the slave revolt. 1831 is the year when the three separate colonies of Essequibo, Berbice and Demerara were merged into one colony called British Guiana. In 1970 Guyana became a Republic in the British Commonwealth of Nations.

Answer: 3

Guyana is bordered as follows:
East - Suriname
South and South West - Brazil
West - Venezuela
North - The Atlantic Ocean

Answer: Idaho ( 83, 574 Sq miles )

The approximate size of Guyana is 214,970 square km (83,000 Sq miles), slightly smaller than the state of Idaho but larger than the state of New York. Texas and California are the second and third largest states in the USA. Texas is about thrice the size of Guyana while California is twice as large.

Answer: The Golden Arrow Head

American Whitney Smith is credited with making the design of "the golden arrow head", Guyana's National flag. On inspection, the flag has two triangles. The inner triangle is red and has a black border. The outer triangle is golden (the golden arrow head) and has a white border. The background is green. Each color is symbolic.
Green - representing agriculture and forests
White - symbolizing rivers and water potential
Gold - representing mineral wealth
Black - portraying endurance
Red - zeal and nation building
"Dear Land Of Guyana", is a line from Guyana's National Anthem. The Victoria Regia Lily is the national flower and the Canje Pheasant, the national bird.

Answer: English

Guyana is the only English speaking country in South America. Also commonly spoken is an English-based Creole dialect known as Guyana Creolese. Other languages spoken in Guyana include Spanish, Hindi, Portuguese, Wai wai, Warrau, Wapishiana, Arekuna, Carib, and Arawak.

Answer: Essequibo River

The approximate measurement of the rivers mentioned here are as follows:
Essequibo - 1,010 kilometers(628 miles) long
Berbice - 595 kilometers(370 miles) long
Demerara - 346 kilometers (215 miles) long
Courantyne - 724 kilometer(450 miles) long

Answer: East Indians

Approximately 43% of Guyanese are East Indians. Africans comprise about 30% of the population and mixed races about 17% and Amerindians 9%. The other ethnic groups make up the remaining group of about 1%.

Answer: Jim Jones

Jim Jones, nicknamed the "Mad Messiah", was the leader of a cult called the People's Temple. During the mid 1970's he moved their membership to Guyana. They were located at a place called Jonestown, named after Jim Jones himself. Alienated from society, Jones had complete control of his brainwashed followers.

He allegedly was able to convince them to partake of cyanide hence the mass murder/ suicide occurred on November 18, 1978. In total, 909 individuals, 303 being children, died from supposed cyanide poisoning.

This was said to have been the greatest single loss of American civilians in a non-natural disaster up until the tragic events that took place on September 11, 2001.

Answer: The Hoatzin (Canje Pheasant)

The Hoatzin, also known as the Canje Pheasant, is a chicken-sized bird found in swamps, around riverbank trees and in the Orinoco delta region of South America. It has large wings, a long black tail and a long neck. The eyes of a Hoatzin are maroon-colored with a large blue area around them.

Answer: The Taj Mahal

The Taj Mahal is a mausoleum located in Agra, India. The construction of this building lasted from 1632 up until 1653. Mughal emperor Shah Jahan had it built in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal and it stands today as a symbol for eternal love.
The St. George's Anglican Cathedral is located in Georgetown, Guyana on Church Street. Standing at 143ft tall, St. George's Anglican Cathedral is one of the tallest wooden churches in the world.
The Demerara Harbour Bridge connects the Guyanese capital of Georgetown with West Bank Demerara. It is 6,074ft long, making it the world's fourth longest floating bridge.
The Kaieteur Falls is on the Potaro River in central Guyana, Potaro-Siparuni region. It is the largest single drop waterfall in the world. A beautiful sight to behold.

Answer: Arthur Chung

Born January 10, 1918, Arthur Chung was the first president of Guyana, which also made him the first ethnic Chinese head of state in a non-Asian country. The youngest of eight children, Arthur was born in West Coast Demerara, Guyana. He received his education at Windsor Forest, Blankenburg and Modern High School. Later on in life, Arthur became a magistrate and then a senior magistrate in 1960.

In 1963 Arthur became an Appeal Court Judge and on March 17, 1970, when Guyana had become a republic, he took office as the country's first president.

Answer: True

More than 70% of the lightly populated Guyana is covered in forest. As a result of Guyana's diverse climate, a plethora of plants and animals is unique to the country. For example, the ground snake (Atractus tamessari), glass frog (Hyalinobatrachium ignioculus), and the armored catfish (Corymbophanes) are known to be found solely in Guyana.

Answer: Cricket

Guyanese inherited cricket from the British. Almost every small boy owned a cricket bat of some sort and could be seen playing a game of cricket in any open plot of land. Some even played in the less busy streets. Lots of famous cricketers were born in Guyana, some of which include Clive Lloyd, Rohan Kanhai, Roy Fredericks, Alvin Kallicharan, Chanderpaul, Hooper, Harper and many others. Guyana also had some success in boxing.

In fact, Guyana's first Olympic medal was won by Michael Parris who got a bronze for boxing in 1980.