Guyanese British
Encyclopedia
Guyanese in the United Kingdom are citizens or residents of the United Kingdom
whose origins lie in the South American nation of Guyana
.
there were 20,872 Guyanese-born people in the UK. In 2001, Guyana was the sixth most common
birthplace within the Americas for people in the UK and on a global scale it ranked as the 51st most common birthplace of people resident in the UK. Estimates published by the Office for National Statistics
suggest that the Guyanese-born population of the UK was 24,000 in 2009.
in the UK, significant numbers of writers and poets have made their footprint on current British culture and have became everyday household names. It is however claimed that this trend of success in the field has not continued through to the second and third-generation Guyanese Britons. The late Beryl Gilroy
was a significant figure within the Afro-Caribbean diaspora in the UK, the highly resected Guyanese-born novelsit became the first black headteacher of any school in the country. Another important literary figure of the Guyanese British community and the UK as a whole is John Agard
. Agard is probably the most famous Black British poet and he has been recognised with many awards. Pauline Melville
's relatively small output of works lead to such awards as Guardian Fiction Prize, the Macmillan Silver Pen Award and the Commonwealth Writers Prize for best first book. Wilson Harris
whose finest moment was receiving the first ever Guyana Prize for Literature, Harris like many other Guyanese writers in the UK has been heavily influenced and inspired by the culture and history of his homeland. Indo-Guyanese writer David Dabydeen
who now lives in the UK has interests that lie in the slave trading history of Guyana as well as contemorary Caribbean culture in the UK. It is however claimed that this trend of success in the field has not continued through to the second and third-generation Guyanese Britons. Other writers such as Roy Heath
and Michael Abbensetts
have also helped create a greater knowledge of Guyanese culture in the UK, and they are easily one of the most successful literary diaspora communities as a whole in recent British history.
is evident in many walks of life, many contemporary artists base their work on the reggae and calypso styles of Guyana although not a particularly recent artist Eddy Grant
, a Guyanese-born immigrant to the UK has helped popularise such genres as reggae through his global hits such as "Electric Avenue
" and "I Don't Wanna Dance
". Reggae has proven the most successful subcategory of Guyanese music (and Caribbean music in general) in the UK and Grant himself is noted as saying "in my heart, I know that Soca and Ringbang have the same potential as reggae to achieve great popularity… but there has never been any proper commitment to marketing these artists and their music. We are not Sony, and the artists on board realise it will take time. It is an upliftment process". Despite this, as the Guyanese community in the UK has advanced in to its second and third generations, evidence of traditional Guyanese elements in the music has begun to decrease. British-born individuals of Guyanese origin have in particular become more mainstream and modernised. The most recent success story of a British singer of Guyanese origin is Leona Lewis
, the Londoner whose music is largely Pop
and R&B won series three of the talent contest The X Factor
. She has attained three number one hits in the UK and it the only solo British female in over two decades to have reached the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100
. Traditional Guyanese acts and British acts influenced by such genres as reggae, soca and calypso can be found in festivals across the country, the most famous being the Notting Hill Carnival
(the world's second largest street festival).
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
whose origins lie in the South American nation of Guyana
Guyana
Guyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...
.
Population
At the time of the 2001 UK CensusUnited Kingdom Census 2001
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....
there were 20,872 Guyanese-born people in the UK. In 2001, Guyana was the sixth most common
Foreign-born population of the United Kingdom
The foreign-born population of the United Kingdom includes immigrants from a wide range of countries who are resident in the United Kingdom. In the period January 2010 to December 2010, there were 19 foreign-born groups that consisted of at least 100,000 individuals residing in the UK The...
birthplace within the Americas for people in the UK and on a global scale it ranked as the 51st most common birthplace of people resident in the UK. Estimates published by the Office for National Statistics
Office for National Statistics
The Office for National Statistics is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the Parliament of the United Kingdom.- Overview :...
suggest that the Guyanese-born population of the UK was 24,000 in 2009.
Culture and community
Literature
Guyanese immigrants have had an influence on recent literatureLiterature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
in the UK, significant numbers of writers and poets have made their footprint on current British culture and have became everyday household names. It is however claimed that this trend of success in the field has not continued through to the second and third-generation Guyanese Britons. The late Beryl Gilroy
Beryl Gilroy
Beryl Agatha Gilroy was a novelist...
was a significant figure within the Afro-Caribbean diaspora in the UK, the highly resected Guyanese-born novelsit became the first black headteacher of any school in the country. Another important literary figure of the Guyanese British community and the UK as a whole is John Agard
John Agard
John Agard is an Afro-Guyanese playwright, poet and children's writer, now living in the United Kingdom.-Background:...
. Agard is probably the most famous Black British poet and he has been recognised with many awards. Pauline Melville
Pauline Melville
Pauline Melville is a Guyanese-born writer and actress. Her mother was English, and her father Guyanese. Her first book, Shape-Shifter , a collection of short stories, won the 1991 Commonwealth Writers' Prize , and the Guardian Fiction Prize.The book consists of a number of short stories dealing...
's relatively small output of works lead to such awards as Guardian Fiction Prize, the Macmillan Silver Pen Award and the Commonwealth Writers Prize for best first book. Wilson Harris
Wilson Harris
Sir Theodore Wilson Harris is a Guyanese writer. He initially wrote poetry, but has since become a well-known novelist and essayist. His writing style is often said to be abstract and densely metaphorical, and his subject matter wide-ranging.Wilson Harris was born in New Amsterdam in what was then...
whose finest moment was receiving the first ever Guyana Prize for Literature, Harris like many other Guyanese writers in the UK has been heavily influenced and inspired by the culture and history of his homeland. Indo-Guyanese writer David Dabydeen
David Dabydeen
David Dabydeen is a Guyanese-born critic, writer and novelist.Dabydeen was born in Berbice, Guyana, his birth registered at New Amsterdam Registrar of Births as David Horace Clarence Harilal Sookram...
who now lives in the UK has interests that lie in the slave trading history of Guyana as well as contemorary Caribbean culture in the UK. It is however claimed that this trend of success in the field has not continued through to the second and third-generation Guyanese Britons. Other writers such as Roy Heath
Roy Heath
Roy A K Heath was a Guyanese writer, most noted for his "Georgetown Trilogy" of novels , consisting of From the Heat of the Day , One Generation , and Genetha...
and Michael Abbensetts
Michael Abbensetts
Michael Abbensetts is a writer who was born in British Guiana on 8 June 1938. He attended Queen's College from 1952 to 1956, then Stanstead College, Quebec, Canada, and Sir George Williams University, in Montreal ....
have also helped create a greater knowledge of Guyanese culture in the UK, and they are easily one of the most successful literary diaspora communities as a whole in recent British history.
Music
The music of Guyana is a mix of Indian, African, European and native elements, it is very similar to the music of various other Caribbean nations, where regaee music, soca and calypso prove the most popular. These forms of music have worked their way into British life by the Guyanese community of the UK and even by several famous Guyanese musicians who have migrated to the UK. The influence of Caribbean music in the United KingdomCaribbean music in the United Kingdom
- Music from Trinidad :Large-scale Caribbean migration to England began in 1948. The Empire Windrush carried almost 500 passengers from Jamaica, including Lord Kitchener, a calypso singer from Trinidad. By chance, a local newsreel company filmed him singing "London Is The Place For Me" as he got...
is evident in many walks of life, many contemporary artists base their work on the reggae and calypso styles of Guyana although not a particularly recent artist Eddy Grant
Eddy Grant
Edmond Montague "Eddy" Grant is a musician, born in Plaisance, Guyana.- Life and career :When he was still a young boy, his parents emigrated to London, UK, where he settled. He lived in Kentish Town and went to school at the Acland Burghley Secondary Modern at Tufnell Park...
, a Guyanese-born immigrant to the UK has helped popularise such genres as reggae through his global hits such as "Electric Avenue
Electric Avenue (song)
"Electric Avenue" is a song by Eddy Grant, from his 1982 album Killer on the Rampage. It was released as a single in 1982, and went on to be very popular, reaching #2 on both United States and United Kingdom singles charts...
" and "I Don't Wanna Dance
I Don't Wanna Dance (Eddy Grant song)
"I Don't Wanna Dance" was a UK number one single for three weeks in November 1982 for Eddy Grant. It was also released in the US in the fall of 1983....
". Reggae has proven the most successful subcategory of Guyanese music (and Caribbean music in general) in the UK and Grant himself is noted as saying "in my heart, I know that Soca and Ringbang have the same potential as reggae to achieve great popularity… but there has never been any proper commitment to marketing these artists and their music. We are not Sony, and the artists on board realise it will take time. It is an upliftment process". Despite this, as the Guyanese community in the UK has advanced in to its second and third generations, evidence of traditional Guyanese elements in the music has begun to decrease. British-born individuals of Guyanese origin have in particular become more mainstream and modernised. The most recent success story of a British singer of Guyanese origin is Leona Lewis
Leona Lewis
Leona Louise Lewis is a British singer and songwriter. Lewis first came to prominence in 2006 when she won the third series of the British television series The X Factor....
, the Londoner whose music is largely Pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
and R&B won series three of the talent contest The X Factor
The X Factor (UK)
The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. Created by Simon Cowell, it began in September 2004 and is contested by aspiring singers drawn from public auditions. It is the originator of the international X Factor franchise. The seven series of the show to date...
. She has attained three number one hits in the UK and it the only solo British female in over two decades to have reached the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
. Traditional Guyanese acts and British acts influenced by such genres as reggae, soca and calypso can be found in festivals across the country, the most famous being the Notting Hill Carnival
Notting Hill Carnival
The Notting Hill Carnival is an annual event which since 1964 has taken place on the streets of Notting Hill, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea , London, UK each August, over two days...
(the world's second largest street festival).
See also
- Black BritishBlack BritishBlack British is a term used to describe British people of Black African descent, especially those of Afro-Caribbean background. The term has been used from the 1950s to refer to Black people from former British colonies in the West Indies and Africa, who are residents of the United Kingdom and...
- British Mixed
- British African-Caribbean communityBritish African-Caribbean communityThe British African Caribbean communities are residents of the United Kingdom who are of West Indian background and whose ancestors were primarily indigenous to Africa...
- British Indo-Caribbean communityBritish Indo-Caribbean communityThe British Indo-Caribbean community consists of residents of the United Kingdom who are of Caribbean origin and whose ancestors were indigenous to India...
- Guyanese CanadiansGuyanese CanadiansThe following are notable Canadians of Guyanese descent:-Entertainers:*Dave Baksh - Lead Guitarist for the band Sum 41 *Deborah Cox - Singer*Simone Denny - Singer*Melanie Fiona - Singer*JDiggz - rapper...
- Demographics of GuyanaDemographics of GuyanaThis article is about the demographic features of the population of Guyana, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population....