Georgetown, Guyana
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City of Georgetown Georgetown |
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| Capital city | |||||
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 City of Georgetown
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| Coordinates: 6°48′N 58°10′W / 6.800°N 58.167°WCoordinates: 6°48′N 58°10′W / 6.800°N 58.167°W | |||||
| Country |
 Guyana
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| Region | Demerara-Mahaica | ||||
| Established | 1781 | ||||
| Named | 29 April 1812 | ||||
| Government | |||||
| • Type | Mayor-Council | ||||
| • Mayor | Hamilton Greene | ||||
| Area | |||||
| • Water | 10 sq mi (30 km2) | ||||
| • Urban | 20 sq mi (50 km2) | ||||
| • Metro | 57 sq mi (150 km2) | ||||
| Elevation | 0 ft (0 m) | ||||
| Population (2012) | |||||
| • Capital city | 131,395 | ||||
| Time zone | UTC-4 | ||||
| Area code(s) | 231, 233, 225, 226, 227 | ||||
Georgetown is the capital of Guyana, located in Region 4, which is also known as the Demerara-Mahaica region. It is the country's largest urban centre. 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 serves primarily as a retail and administrative centre. It also serves as a financial services centre. The city recorded a population of 118,363 in the 2012 census.
The city of Georgetown began as a small town in the 18th century. Originally, the capital of the Demerara-Essequibo colony was located on Borselen Island in the Demerara River under the administration of the Dutch. When the colony was captured by the British in 1781, Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Kingston chose the mouth of the Demerara River for the establishment of a town which was situated between Plantations Werk-en-rust and Vlissengen.
It was the French who made it a capital city when they colonized it in 1782. The French called the capital Longchamps. When the town was restored to the Dutch in 1784, it was renamed Stabroek after Nicolaas Geelvinck, Lord of Stabroek, and President of the Dutch West India Company. Eventually the town expanded and covered the estates of Vlissengen, La Bourgade and Eve Leary to the North, and Werk-en-rust and La Repentir to the South.
It was renamed Georgetown on 29 April 1812 in honour of King George III. On 5 May 1812 an ordinance was passed to the effect that the town formerly called Stabroek, with districts extending from La Penitence to the bridges in Kingston and entering upon the road to the military camps, shall be called Georgetown.
The ordinance provided that the various districts of Georgetown shall be known by their own names. The supervision of Georgetown was to be done by a committee chosen by the Governor and Court of Policy. Estimates of expenditure were to be prepared.
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