BRITISH GUIANA. 51 



A few miles to the west an eminence rising above the left bank of the Maza- 

 runi-Cuyuni, a short distance above the confluence, is crowned by the extensive 

 buildings of the penal settlement, established in 18.1:3, and containing about 300 

 convicts. To prevent the prestige of the ruling race from being lowered, no 

 English criminals are confined in this establishment, which is surrounded by a 

 magnificent park, planted with fine trees of rare species. The mansion of the 

 governor, the houses of the ofiicials and turnkeys are all shaded in an exuberant 

 vegetation of tropical growth. 



The convicts are mostly employed in working the neighbouring quarries, which 

 supply Georgetown with the granite required for its quays and buildings. Some 

 of the well-conducted enjoy a moderate share of freedom, being allowed to seek 

 employment in the district as carpenters, gardeners, or woodmen. A steamer plies 

 regularly between the settlement and Georgetown, Bartica being the chief station 

 on the route. 



Below the Mazaruni confluence the Essequibo develops its broad estuary, at 

 first in an open expanse some miles wide, and lower down in numerous channels 

 winding between an archij)elago of islands, nearly all inhabited. One of these, 

 three miles from the sea, contains the still-imposing ruins of Fort Zeelandia, which 

 was erected by the Dutch in 1743 as the commercial and administrative centre 

 of their colony. Each island is rounded off in a superb dome of rich vegetation, 

 while the view is everywhere bound by a circle of arborescent growths. The 

 larger members of the archipelago are occupied by plantations surrounded by large 

 timber, and cultivated grounds stretch along the estuary north-westwards in the 

 direction of the Pomerun, north-eastwards towards Gcorgetoini, at the mouth of the 

 Demerara. 



Georgetown. — New Amsterdam. 



The old Dutch town of Stabrock, which in 1774 supplanted Zeelandia as the 

 residence of the governor, has acquired considerable importance since it has become 

 the capital of British Guiana' under the name of Georgetown. It is already the 

 largest centre of population on the stretch of seaboard between the Orinoco 

 and Amazons estuaries, and here are concentrated twice as many inhabitants as are 

 found in the whole of French Guiana. Yet, seen from the sea, Georgetown almost 

 escapes observation, little being visible except a dense mass of leafy vegetation 

 overtopped by clumps of cocoanut palms and oreodoxas. But a nearer view reveals 

 the shipping which crowds the broad Demerara estuary, with a background of 

 elegant white houses skirting the right bank of the river. 



Georgetown, which is inhabited in large majority by blacks and people of 

 colour, extends considerably over a mile along the estuary between Fort William 

 at the entrance and the group of villas dotted over the plains. Even in the 

 vicinity of the busiest thoroughfares and of the quays where are stored nearly all 

 the products of the Guianas, the houses with their verandahs of flowering 

 creepers are surrounded by shady gardens, and each dwelling has its cistern for 

 watering: the trees and flower-beds. 



