Editing Economy of Guyana (section)

=== European settlement and plantation workforce ===
The Dutch were the first to settle Guyana in the 1600s, engaging in trade with the Amerindians and establishing plantations. It was soon discovered that the soil and climate were ideal for growing sugar cane and slaves from Africa were brought in to work on these plantations. The colonies of the Guianas were merged and taken into the British empire. When slavery was abolished, a new wave of labour was brought from India as indentured servants. Politics was greatly controlled by powerful plantation owners. Portuguese and Chinese also came into the country as agricultural labour, but eventually settled into their own specific service industries.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Guyana - HISTORY OF THE ECONOMY|url=http://countrystudies.us/guyana/54.htm|access-date=2020-12-04|website=countrystudies.us}}</ref>