The whole impact of the Dutch period on the subsequent social development of British Guiana is not at all seriously considered by Smith. The legacies they left in our land law, village settlement, etc., is not even discussed. Rather we have a lengthy description of the constitutional changes that began with the establishment of the chartered companies. Viewing the historical development of Guiana through the framework by which imperial power was administered is a poor way of assessing such an important period as that of the first European settlement of the country. Internal developments, changes in economic activity and the organisation of agricultural production are hardly mentioned. The factors that led to the total collapse of European settlement in 1763 are not touched upon. It is true that space may have been an important constraint to Dr. Smith, nevertheless the order of importance he establishes in analysing the material is an unproductive one for really understanding British Guiana in its period of early settlement.

The third chapter analyses the period of British rule up to 1928. In this chapter Dr. Smith takes a close hard look at the social and economic system built on slavery. Dr. Smith, quite superficially, begins his chapter by stating “the assumption of British control marked no great change in the life of the colonies.” After this he goes on to state that the constitutional arrangements of the Dutch period were maintained – presumably by way of explanation! It might have been true that the British adhered to the existing formal methods of administering power from London. But the ‘informal processes’ of control changed significantly as is to be evidenced by the quickening of activity on the plantations. The chapter itself concentrates on the plantation system without making it quite explicit that this is so because the locus of power had significantly shifted from the constitutional arrangements of the colonies vis-à-vis the metropolitan power to the way in which the social units were organised.

This chapter definitely provides the essential clue to the understanding of contemporary Guiana. As Dr. Smith argues, the system of slavery was not merely the question of “a powerful ruling group utilizing the services of an abject and fearfully oppressed slave army”. The plantation system under which slavery was practised was a complex one of social, economic and political relationships. In other words, the problem was one of how authority is established, maintained and exercised even in a situation where the elements of authority are numerically inferior.

The plantation system provided the cornerstone on which the creolisation of Guianese society began. Creoles are Guianese of European, African or mixed descent. They exclude the East Indians, Chinese and the Portuguese that were to follow later as indentured immigrants. The continuing dominance of Creole values in the society highlights the importance of our early historical roots. The facts explaining how and why the Creole value system first established during slavery could withstand the subsequent changes in the ethnic origin of the population would provide a guide as to the state of political and social integration and/ or disintegration in the community.

The Creole value system is largely one in which status is ascribed to individuals according to colour. A convenient (although not exclusive) categorisation would be white, brown and black representing the spectrum of values ranging from European to Negro. The fact that many ‘browns’ tended to identify themselves with the whites at the top is proof of the importance of colour in the ranking of persons in the slave society of Guiana. The system was of course much more differentiated than this simple categorisation, suggests. For example, among the slaves there were divisions between those of African origin and those born locally, between those who worked in the household and those who worked in the field.

Dr. Smith advances the opinion that the acceptability of the slave system was broader based than the “mere condescension to work with the driver’s hips at one’s back.” At first the slaves attempted to escape from the system, after that protest was aimed at redefining their position within the system then finally the system became generally acceptable. On this point, it appears that Dr. Smith’s analysis is not penetrating enough. The system never attained the type of general acceptability that Dr. Smith talks about. Redefining their positions was only a prelude to challenging the total system. This challenge could not come about until the limits of redefinition were exhausted. One has only to note the rise of the peasantry after emancipation in Guiana, their constructive efforts at village organisation which forms the basis of the present local government structure to appreciate their potential revolutionary content

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