This is the Scottish church in New Amsterdam (Guyana). The Scots, many of them left landless by the agricultural reforms in Scotland, were the pioneers of a new prosperity in this region (building on what the Dutch had begun). By the early 1800s they had an appreciable presence on this coast.
This is the Scottish church in New Amsterdam (Guyana). The Scots, many of them left landless by the agricultural reforms in Scotland, were the pioneers of a new prosperity in this region (building on what the Dutch had begun). By the early 1800s they had an appreciable presence on this coast. New Amsterdam had two taverns, says Georgian traveller, Dr Bancroft, ‘both of which had billiard tables’ (incidentally, it was the same price to sleep there as play billiards). Later, the town was connected to Georgetown by 60.5 miles of railway – one of the oldest in the empire. There was even a gentlemen’s club here once.
But it’s worth remembering that this prosperity was built on slavery, and that sugar money is notoriously fickle. Once the world found cheaper sources of sugar, the prosperity soon trickled away, leaving only a few relics, like this beautiful church.
