Talk:Guyanas

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According to the article the Guyanas or Guianas refers only to the three non-Iberian territories, which seems to be a common usage, but according to Conceptualisation and History of the Guianas:

The ‘Guianas’ is the name or term that applies collectively to that vast area that stretches “between the Amazon and the Orinoco rivers in northern South America...

I looked up this Wikipedia article for information about "Spanish Guiana" after hearing about the new Flag of Venezuela, which adds a eighth star for the former Spanish colonial province of Guayana. According to the flag article, it seems to be "roughly coterminous with the present" Bolívar State, and also formerly included parts of modern Guyana west of the Essequibo River, although it is also listed as one of the administrative regions of Venezuela including also the states of Amazonas and Delta Amacuro, in other words, all of Venezuela southwest of the Orinoco. It would also presumably include those disputed parts of Guyana west of the Essequibo. I have also seen it referred to as "Venezuelan Guiana".

There was also a Portuguese Guiana, now Brazilian Guiana, which, from what I can gather, applies to the part of Brazil north of the Amazon and east of the Rio Negro.

Although most references seem to include only three Guianas, I have found several other references in which the term includes the other two Guianas, so perhaps something should be added to the article, stating that at least sometimes "the Guyanas" includes them, or used to, and perhaps some of the other information mentioned in the above link. --Nike 11:49, 1 April 2006 (UTC)

Good call, Nike. But how about merging the two articles? They both refer to each other, and both are about a region in South America. // Big Adamsky • BA's talk page 12:38, 1 April 2006 (UTC)

I assume you mean the Guiana article, which is not referred to in this one, although I see in the history that it originally was, when this article was a disambiguation page. Anyway, I have no objection, although I'm unclear on the exact distinction between Guiana and the Guyanas. I already updated this article with the information that I originally came here to find. --Nike 13:00, 1 April 2006 (UTC)

Yes I did mean that article. My assumption is that the one in the plural refers to the three entities between Brazil and Venezuela, whereas the the other name in the singualr, simply refers to the wider region. Saying "the Guianas" sounds like "the Koreas", "the Americas" or "the Congos" to me. // Big Adamsky • BA's talk page 14:23, 1 April 2006 (UTC)
As far as I know, they could stand to be merged. "Guyana" or "The Guyanas" is just the English way of trying to spell the sound of "Guiana" which the indigenous peoples said means the "Land of many waters". The Dutch heard them pronounce-it and they thought it would best be spelled "Guiana" the British heard it and did so as "Guyana" and the Spanish "Guayana". But Guiana is what the majority of the states were called. Guyana was "British Guiana" after the British seized the 3 dutch colonies of: 1)Essequibo, 2)Berbice, and 3) Demerara. Suriname was either Surinam/Netherlands Guiana/Dutch Guiana and the French side still has Guiana in their name. CaribDigita 22:09, 26 October 2006 (UTC)

It seems that there are five Guianas:

  • Spanish => Venezuelan Guayana
  • British => Guyana
  • Dutch => Suriname
  • French => La Guyane
  • Portuguese => Brazilain Guiana (Amapá, et al.)

The Iberian colonies became parts of larger countries, which is why they no longer appear on maps as separate entities. --Nike 21:35, 1 April 2006 (UTC)

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