Portuguese
Starting in 1834 thousands of Portuguese servants began immigrating from Madeira, an island off the shore of Portugal, to just around the Essequibo River and the shore of Georgetown. The first immagrants left their home on the Louisa Baille due to a famine strike after agreeing to move as indentured servants working on sugar plantations. This made the best land becasue as you can see in the map, all the cultivated land was close to the delta and coast. Although the Portuguese are European, they were thought of as less in the community because they came over as servants, but by the 1850’s the Portuguese gained a large chunk of the commercial commerce.
The Portuguese quickly rose in the social system, going from servants to property owners, merchants, spirit shop owners, importers and many others in just 20 years. Once 1867 hit, 97% of the spirit shops in Demerara and 95% in Georgetown were owned by Portuguese settlers. They were quick to object the heavy taxation and regulation the government set on alcohol, and weren’t afraid to remind officials they were responsible for a quarter of the colonies revenue. This made sense considering the Portuguese long history producing sherry in Portugal.
In the midst of the Portuguese rise we have a handful of riots resulting from street sermons called the “Angel Gabriel Riots”. In 1856 James Sayers Orr, nicknamed Angel Gabriel, was detained for inciting riots where many Portuguese properties were destroyed and burned and many were injured by groups of Africans enraged over Orr’s arrest. His sermons spoke against the Catholic Church which angered many Portuguese. The same year the government paid $250,000 to those who suffered damages to their property.
Finally, in 1862 Sacred Heart Church becomes first Catholic Church in Guyana. It was built by and for the Portuguese and helped spread Catholicism throughout the colony. The beautiful building was burned down December 25th, 2004 and took nearly 11 years to rebuild, reopening on December 6th, 2015.
References
-"A Brief History of the Portuguese in Guyana - Stabroek News." Stabroek News. N.p., 04 May 2010. Web. 21 Apr. 2016. <http://www.stabroeknews.com/2010/archives/05/04/a-brief-history-of-the-portuguese-in-guyana/>.
-"58. THE "ANGEL GABRIEL" RIOTS OF 1856." 58. THE "ANGEL GABRIEL" RIOTS OF 1856. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2016. <http://www.guyana.org/features/guyanastory/chapter58.html>.
-"47. THE ARRIVAL OF THE PORTUGUESE." 47. THE ARRIVAL OF THE PORTUGUESE. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2016. <http://www.guyana.org/features/guyanastory/chapter47.html>.
-Guyana - Vegetation, 1973 Map. Digital image. Mappery. University of Texas, 13 Apr. 2010. Web. 2 Apr. 2016. <http://www.mappery.com/Guyana-Vegetation-1973-Map>.
-MacDonald, Colin. The Angel Gabriel. Digital image. The Tree of a Son of Skye. N.p., 2 June 2014. Web. 21 Apr. 2016. <https://sonofskye.wordpress.com/2014/06/02/john-sayers-orr-greenocks-anti-catholic-riots/>.
-Santos, Ryan Dos. Rebuilt Sacred Heart Church. Digital image. Instagram. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2016. <https://www.instagram.com/p/bwO2ITPfYb/>.
-Sascha. Rum bottles. Digital image. Cocktails Old Fashioned. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Apr. 2016. <http://www.cocktailsoldfashioned.de/2011/02/demerara-distillers-limited-guyana-rum/>.
-Uribe, Rufino. Digital image. Sugarcane. Wikipedia, n.d. Web. 4 Apr. 2016. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugarcane>.