colony · South America
Essequibo
Origins
Dutch traders from Zeeland established a post on the Essequibo river around 1616, at the fort of Kyk-over-al on an island near the meeting of the Essequibo, Mazaruni and Cuyuni rivers. From 1621 the colony was run by the Zeeland chamber of the Dutch West India Company.
Rule and society
Early Essequibo traded with indigenous peoples for dyes and hardwoods, but sugar plantations worked by enslaved Africans gradually took over. The seat of government moved to Fort Zeelandia on Fort Island in the 18th century. Commander Laurens Storm van 's Gravesande, from 1743, opened the neighbouring Demerara river to settlement, which soon outgrew Essequibo, and many British planters settled there. Relations with indigenous peoples relied on gifts and alliances.
Decline and legacy
The colony changed hands several times during wars, and Britain occupied it from 1796. It was united with Demerara in 1812 as Demerara-Essequibo, formally ceded to Britain in 1814, and merged into British Guiana in 1831. Venezuela still claims the region west of the Essequibo.
Lineage
On the connections map
Open the full map →Connections (3)
- Essequibo was a colony of Dutch Empire1616 CE – 1814 CE
- Essequibo was a colony of Dutch Republic1616 CE – 1795 CE
- Demerara split from Essequibo1745 CE
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Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Essequibo. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/essequibo
- MLA
- “Essequibo.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/essequibo. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Essequibo.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/essequibo.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Essequibo’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/essequibo (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻