Guyana Through History: Who Ruled Its Lands
The land of today's Guyana appears on 39 historical border maps from 500 BC to today. Over that time it was held, in whole or in part, by 5 different states, among them Guyana, Viceroyalty of New Granada, Venezuela, British Guiana, Lokono (Arawak).
GuyanaExplore the history of Guyana in the interactive map
Who ruled the land of Guyana, map by map
Share of sample points inside today's borders held by each state on each map. Areas with no organised state on the map are left out.
| Map | Main states on this land |
|---|---|
| 1492 | Lokono (Arawak) 15% |
| 1783 | Viceroyalty of New Granada 100% |
| 1800 | Viceroyalty of New Granada 100% |
| 1815 | Viceroyalty of New Granada 100% |
| 1880 | Venezuela 63% · British Guiana 38% |
| 1900 | Venezuela 63% · British Guiana 38% |
| 1914 | Guyana 100% |
| 1920 | Guyana 100% |
| 1930 | Guyana 100% |
| 1938 | Guyana 100% |
| 1945 | Guyana 100% |
| 1960 | Guyana 100% |
| 1994 | Guyana 100% |
| 2010 | Guyana 100% |
Questions
Which empires and states ruled the territory of Guyana?
On the border maps from 500 BC to today, the largest shares of the territory of modern Guyana belonged to Guyana, Viceroyalty of New Granada, Venezuela, British Guiana, Lokono (Arawak).
What was Guyana part of in 1900?
On the border map for 1900, most of the territory of today's Guyana lay within Venezuela.
Further reading
Last updated 9 November 2026. Sources: border data from historical-basemaps, land and rivers from Natural Earth; texts written for Chronica Maps from standard reference works. How we make the maps.