Guyanese in the United Kingdom
Total population | |
---|---|
20,872 Guyanese-born (2001 Census) 21,417 Guyanese-born (2011 Census) | |
Regions with significant populations | |
Amerindian, British Indians, British Chinese | |
* Please note that in 2001 only 40.4% of Afro-Caribbeans in the UK were actually born in the Caribbean, 59.6% were born elsewhere (of which 57.9% of the total ethnic groups population was born in the UK)[1] |
Citizens or residents of the United Kingdom whose origins lie in Guyana are a part of the country's British Caribbean community. Guyana was a former British colony, British Guiana, responsible for moving large numbers of Africans and Indians for labour in the sugar industry. British Guyanese are notable for their contributions to literature and music.
Demographics
Population
At the time of the
Culture and community
Literature
Guyanese immigrants have had an influence on recent
The pioneering black publishing company
Music
The music of Guyana is a mix of African, Indian, European and native elements. It is similar to the music of various other Caribbean nations, where reggae, soca and calypso prove the most popular.[7] These forms of music have worked their way into British life by the Guyanese community of the UK and even by several famous Guyanese musicians who have migrated to the UK. The influence of Caribbean music in the United Kingdom is evident in many walks of life; the work of many contemporary artists is based in the reggae and calypso styles. Eddy Grant, a Guyanese-born immigrant to the UK, helped popularise such genres as reggae through his global hits such as "Electric Avenue" and "I Don't Wanna Dance".[8] Reggae has proven the most successful sub-category of Guyanese music (and Caribbean music in general) in the UK and Grant himself is noted as saying: "in my heart, I know that Soca and Ringbang have the same potential as reggae to achieve great popularity… but there has never been any proper commitment to marketing these artists and their music. We are not Sony, and the artists on board realise it will take time. It is an upliftment process."[8] Another Guyanese-born musician who developed a successful musical careers in Great Britain is Mad Professor (Neil Fraser). Fraser established Ariwa Records in the 1980s and became a central figure in the UK dub scene as a prolific producer of dub, reggae and an originator of the "Lovers Rock" genre.
As the Guyanese community in the UK has advanced into its second and third generations, evidence of traditional Guyanese elements in the music has begun to decrease. British-born individuals of Guyanese origin have in particular become more mainstream and modernised. The most recent success story of a British singer of Guyanese origin is
Notable individuals
See also
- Black British
- British Mixed
- British African-Caribbean community
- British Indo-Caribbean community
- Guyanese Canadians
- Demographics of Guyana
- British Chinese
References
- ^ National Statistics 2006 Archived 2010-07-03 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Archivedfrom the original on 2009-06-17. Retrieved 2009-10-04.
- ^ "Estimated population resident in the United Kingdom, by foreign country of birth (Table 1.3)". Office for National Statistics. September 2009. Archived from the original on 14 November 2010. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f "Guyanese Writers in England". John Mair. Archived from the original on 2009-10-07. Retrieved 2009-07-29.
- ^ "David Dabydeen > Biography". Humboldt. Archived from the original on July 16, 2007. Retrieved 2009-07-29.
- ^ Petamber Persaud, "Bogle-L’Ouverture: A story in Black publishing" Archived 2013-07-04 at the Wayback Machine, Guyana Chronicle, 7 January 2012.
- ^ "Guyanese Music". Georgetown, Guyana. Archived from the original on 2009-08-15. Retrieved 2009-07-30.
- ^ a b "Eddy Grant". Caribbean Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 2009-09-01. Retrieved 2009-07-30.
- ^ ""Winner Leona proud to be Hackney girl". Hackney Gazette, 22 December 2006". Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 30 July 2009.
- ^ "Sky News". Archived from the original on 2009-09-12. Retrieved 2009-07-30.