Essequibo River
Encyclopedia
River
A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...
in 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...
, and the largest river between the Orinoco and Amazon
Amazon River
The Amazon of South America is the second longest river in the world and by far the largest by waterflow with an average discharge greater than the next seven largest rivers combined...
. Rising in the Acarai Mountains
Acarai Mountains
The Acarai Mountains are a wet, forested highland region of low mountains located in the southern part of Guyana. This range lies along the common border between Guyana and Brazil. The Acarai Mountains is one of four mountain ranges in Guyana, the others being the Imataka, Kanuku and Pakaraima...
near the Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
-Guyana border
Border
Borders define geographic boundaries of political entities or legal jurisdictions, such as governments, sovereign states, federated states and other subnational entities. Some borders—such as a state's internal administrative borders, or inter-state borders within the Schengen Area—are open and...
, the Essequibo flows to the north for 1,010 km through forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
and savanna
Savanna
A savanna, or savannah, is a grassland ecosystem characterized by the trees being sufficiently small or widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to support an unbroken herbaceous layer consisting primarily of C4 grasses.Some...
into the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
.
Geography
There are countless rapids and waterfallWaterfall
A waterfall is a place where flowing water rapidly drops in elevation as it flows over a steep region or a cliff.-Formation:Waterfalls are commonly formed when a river is young. At these times the channel is often narrow and deep. When the river courses over resistant bedrock, erosion happens...
s (e. g., Kaieteur Falls
Kaieteur Falls
Kaieteur Falls is a high-volume waterfall on the Potaro River in central Guyana, Potaro-Siparuni region. It is located inKaieteur National Park. It is 226 meters high when measured from its plunge over a sandstone and conglomerate cliff to the first break...
on the Potaro river) along the route of the Essequibo, and its 20 km wide estuary
Estuary
An estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea....
is dotted with numerous small island
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
s. It enters the Atlantic 21 km from Georgetown
Georgetown, Guyana
Georgetown, estimated population 239,227 , is the capital and largest city of Guyana, located in the Demerara-Mahaica region. It is situated on the Atlantic Ocean coast at the mouth of the Demerara River and it was nicknamed 'Garden City of the Caribbean.' Georgetown is located at . The city serves...
, the capital city
Capital City
Capital City was a television show produced by Euston Films which focused on the lives of investment bankers in London living and working on the corporate trading floor for the fictional international bank Shane-Longman....
of Guyana. The river also features Murrays Fall
Murrays Fall
Murrays Fall is a waterfall on the Essequibo River, Guyana, approximately 55 km south of the confluence with the Rupununi River....
.
Its many tributaries include the Rupununi, Potaro
Potaro River
The Potaro River is a river in Guyana in northern South America.The source of the Potaro River is in the Mount Ayanganna area of the Pakaraima Mountains in the North Rupununi Savannahs...
, Mazaruni
Mazaruni River
The Mazaruni River is a river in northern Guyana, running from its source in the remote western forests of the Pakaraima Mountains to its confluence with the Cuyuni River near Bartica...
, Siparuni
Siparuni River
The Siparuni River is a river in the Potaro-Siparuni Region of Guyana. It is a tributary of the Essequibo River. Tributaries of the Siparuni River include the Takutu River , Burro-Burro River, Tipuru River and Levai Creek....
, Kiyuwini and Cuyuni
Cuyuni River
The Cuyuni River is a South American river and a tributary of the Essequibo River. It rises in the Guiana Highlands of Venezuela where it descends northward to El Dorado, and turns eastward to meander through the tropical rain forests of Guayana Esequiba...
rivers. For over 30 km from its mouth, the river's channel is divided by the large flat and fertile islands of Leguan
Leguan Island
Leguan Island is a small island situated in the delta of the Essequibo River on the coast of Guyana, South America. The island is shaped like a gull wing and is nine miles long and wide at its widest making it roughly twelve square miles in area....
(about 28 km²), Wakenaam
Wakenaam
Wakenaam is an island of about at the mouth of the Essequibo River of Guyana. It was settled at one time by the Dutch in the 18th Century; the name Wakenaam is Dutch meaning "waiting for a name". The island, like most other islands in the Essequibo River in Guyana, is characterized by green...
(about 44 km²), and Hog Island
Hog Island, Guyana
Hogg Island, the largest of the hundreds of islands in the Essequibo River in Guyana is 5 km from the river's mouth in its estuary, located at ....
(about 60 km²). Fort Island is situated off the eastern side of Hog Island. Fort Island was the seat of Government of the country during the Dutch colonial era.
The first European
European colonization of the Americas
The start of the European colonization of the Americas is typically dated to 1492. The first Europeans to reach the Americas were the Vikings during the 11th century, who established several colonies in Greenland and one short-lived settlement in present day Newfoundland...
settlement in Guyana was built by the Dutch
Dutch colonization of the Americas
Dutch trading posts and plantations in the Americas precede the much wider known colonization activities of the Dutch in Asia. Whereas the first Dutch fort in Asia was built in 1600 , the first forts and settlements on the Essequibo river in Guyana and on the Amazon date from the 1590s...
along the lower part of the Essequibo in 1615. The colonists remained on friendly terms with the Native American
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
peoples of the area, establishing riverside sugar
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
and cacao plantations.
In August 1995 there was an acid spill in the river by the Canadian mining company Cambior
Cambior
Cambior Inc. was a Canadian based international gold producer with operations, development projects and exploration activities in the Americas. Cambior’s shares traded on the Toronto and American stock exchanges under the symbol “CBJ”. Cambior’s warrants “CBJ.WT.C” traded on the TSX...
. An estimated 4 000 000 m³ of waste laced with cyanide was released into the river causing much destruction.
History
There is a very fine book written by Father Félix María de Vegamián (from the Order of Friars Minor CapuchinOrder of Friars Minor Capuchin
The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin is an Order of friars in the Catholic Church, among the chief offshoots of the Franciscans. The worldwide head of the Order, called the Minister General, is currently Father Mauro Jöhri.-Origins :...
) explaining very well the river's history and the real origin of its name, as being a word coming out from Juan de Esquivel's name. Juan de Esquivel
Juan de Esquivel
Juan de Esquivel was born in Seville, Spain and died in Jamaica in 1513. He conquered the island of Jamaica for the Spanish Crown.He accompanied Christopher Columbus in his second trip to the American continent in 1493 and participated in the conquest and colonization of the isle of La Española,...
travelled into the Esequibo beginning 16th century being Alonso de Ojeda's second and later the territory was settled by capuchin missionaries even before the Dutch settlement along the river known as Esquivel's River. However, the Independence war at Venezuela beginning the 19th century ended these missionary settlements. At this time, Britain needed to have a colony, besides Trinidad, to serve the large trade sailboats on their large travel trading route around South America.
Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
claims that the Essequibo is the true border between it and Guyana, claiming all territory west of it (Guayana Esequiba
Guayana Esequiba
Guayana Esequiba is a territory administered by Guyana but claimed by Venezuela. It includes the territory between the Cuyuni River to the west and the Essequibo River to the east...
roughly 70% of Guyanese territory). The boundary was set between Venezuela and Guyana's then colonial power, Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
in 1899 through an arbitration proceeding. A letter written by Venezuela's legal counsel, named partner Severo Mallet-Prevost of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
law firm Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle
Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle
Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP is a New York-based international law firm with 260 attorneys in 15 offices worldwide. In 2009, its declared revenues were approximately $135 million...
alleged that the Russian and British judges on the tribunal had acted improperly and granted the lion's share of the dispute territory to Britain due to a political deal between Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and the United Kingdom
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...
. As a result, Venezuela has revived its claim to the disputed territory.
In a document detailing instructions for the Dutch Postholder in Cuyuni, it was mentioned that Indians (Guyanese Amerindians) trading in Chinese slaves to sell to people who lived along the Esequibo river were to be allowed to conduct their business.
esequibo is also the name of a former Dutch colony
Colony
In politics and history, a colony is a territory under the immediate political control of a state. For colonies in antiquity, city-states would often found their own colonies. Some colonies were historically countries, while others were territories without definite statehood from their inception....
founded in 1616 and located in the region of the Esequibo River that later became part of British Guiana
British Guiana
British Guiana was the name of the British colony on the northern coast of South America, now the independent nation of Guyana.The area was originally settled by the Dutch at the start of the 17th century as the colonies of Essequibo, Demerara, and Berbice...
.