Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham: First Prime Minister and Second President of Guyana

This is a coin minted for Guyana. It was minted in the Period Between Independence from Britian and Formation of s New Government.

Guyana is a country on the northern coast of South America, just north of the Equator and a part of the western part of the wider region of Guiana. It is the only South American country whose official language is English.

The official name is the Co-operative Republic of Guyana. The country is mostly characterized by vast unspoiled rain forests dissected by numerous rivers, creeks and beautiful waterfalls and a very diverse ethnic population of East India / African / Native American decent.

Though physically part of South America, culturally, Guyana is more Caribbean than Latin American—demonstrated by the fact that English is the main language — and it is often considered part of the West Indies.

At the time the first Europeans arrived in the area around 1500, Guyana was inhabited by Arawak and Carib tribes of Amerindians. Although Guyana was first sighted by Christopher Columbus during his third voyage, it was not settled by Europeans until the Dutch in 1616. The British assumed control in the late 18th century and the Dutch formally ceded the area in 1814.

Many areas are made up of escaped slaves who formed communities in this country. The abolition of slavery led to black settlement of urban areas and the importation of indentured laborers to work on the sugar plantations.

Guyana achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1966 and became a republic in 1970.