Editing History of Guyana (section)

== Pre-colonial Guyana and first contacts ==
The first people to reach Guyana made their way from Siberia, perhaps as far back as 20,000 years ago. These first inhabitants were [[nomad]]s who slowly migrated south into Central and South America. At the time of [[Christopher Columbus]]'s voyages, Guyana's inhabitants were divided into two groups, the [[Arawaks|Arawak]] along the coast and the [[Kalina people|Carib]] in the interior. One of the legacies of the indigenous peoples was the word Guiana, often used to describe the region encompassing modern Guyana as well as [[Suriname]] (former Dutch Guiana) and [[French Guiana]]. The word, which means "land of waters", is appropriate considering the area's multitude of rivers and streams.<ref name="pastworlds1997">{{cite book |editor-last1=Wyse |editor-first1=Elizabeth |editor-last2=Winkleman |editor-first2=Barry |editor-last3=Aspinwall |editor-first3=Rosemany |editor-last4=Heritage |editor-first4=Ailsa |editor-last5=Heritage |editor-first5=Andrew |editor-last6=Hunt |editor-first6=Candida |editor-last7=Landry |editor-first7=Olivia |editor-last8=Middleton |editor-first8=Paul |date=1997 |title=Past Worlds: Atlas of Archaeology |chapter=Farmers of the Amazon |url=https://archive.org/details/pastworldsatlaso1997unse |location=[[London]], [[United Kingdom]] |publisher=[[HarperCollins]] |page=224 |isbn=0-7230-1005-6}}</ref><ref name="caseofguy">{{cite journal |last1=Nte |first1=Ngboawaji Daniel |last2=Oluka |first2=Nduka Lucas |last3=Feartherstone |first3=Clairmont Roger |date=2022 |title=Small States, Statescraft and the Challenges of National Security: The Case of Guyana |url=https://jssidoi.org/ird/uploads/articles/13/Nte_Small_states_statescraft_and_the_challenges_of_national_security_the_case_of_Guyana.pdf |journal=Insights into Regional Development |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=90–91 |doi=10.9770/IRD.2022.4.1(6) |s2cid=247587603 |issn=2669-0195 |access-date=July 12, 2023}}</ref>

Historians speculate that the Arawaks and Caribs originated in the South American [[hinterland]] and migrated northward, first to the present-day Guianas and then to the [[Caribbean islands]]. The Arawak, mainly cultivators, hunters, and fishermen, migrated to the Caribbean islands before the Carib and settled throughout the region. The tranquility of Arawak society was disrupted by the arrival of the bellicose Carib from the South American interior.<ref name="caseofguy" /> The warlike behaviour of the Carib and their violent migration north made an impact. By the end of the 15th century, the Carib had displaced the Arawak throughout the islands of the [[Lesser Antilles]]. The Carib settlement of the Lesser Antilles also affected Guyana's future development. The Spanish explorers and settlers who came after Columbus found that the Arawak proved easier to conquer than the Carib, who fought hard to maintain their independence. This fierce resistance, along with a lack of gold in the Lesser Antilles, contributed to the Spanish emphasis on conquest and settlement of the [[Greater Antilles]] and the mainland. Only a weak Spanish effort was made at consolidating Spain's authority in the Lesser Antilles (with the arguable exception of [[Trinidad]]) and the Guianas.{{sfn|MacDonald|1993|pp=4}} In later decades, [[Slavery among the Indigenous peoples of the Americas|slaving]], [[Imperialism#Versus colonialism|land seizure]], and [[Analysis of Western European colonialism and colonization#Ecological impacts of colonialism|disease]] would destroy such societies, causing those who survived to have a "far less elaborate way of life".<ref name="pastworlds1997" /> Between 1400 and 1860, European slave traders would import 500,000 enslaved peoples to Guyana and Suriname, along with sugar, as part of the [[transatlantic slave trade]].{{sfn|Black|2005|pp=84-85}}