General elections were held in

British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies, which resides on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first European to encounter Guiana was ...

in 1897.

Electoral system

The elections were held under the 1891 constitution, which provided for a 16-member

Court of Policy The Court of Policy was a legislative body in Dutch and British Guiana until 1928. For most of its existence it formed the Combined Court together with the six Financial Representatives. History The Court of Policy was established in 1732 by the ...

, half of which was elected. The Court included the

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

, seven government officials (the Attorney General, the Government Secretary, the Immigration Agent General and the Receiver General, together with three other appointees). The eight elected members were elected from seven constituencies;Historical information events and dates on the Parliament of Guyana from 1718 to 2006
Parliament of Guyana

Demerara Demerara ( nl, Demerary, ) is a historical region in the Guianas, on the north coast of South America, now part of the country of Guyana. It was a colony of the Dutch West India Company between 1745 and 1792 and a colony of the Dutch state f ...

East, Demerara West, Essequebo North Western, Essequebo South Eastern,

Berbice Berbice is a region along the Berbice River in Guyana, which was between 1627 and 1792 a colony of the Dutch West India Company and between 1792 to 1815 a colony of the Dutch state. After having been ceded to the United Kingdom of Great Britain a ...

, City of Georgetown (2 members) and

New Amsterdam New Amsterdam ( nl, Nieuw Amsterdam, or ) was a 17th-century Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island that served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. The initial trading ''factory'' gave rise ...

.George D Bayley (1909) ''Handbook of British Guiana, 1909: Comprising General and Statistical Information Concerning the Colony'', The Argosy, p158 In addition, six "Financial Representatives" were also elected in six single member constituencies; Demerara, Essequebo North Western, Essequebo South Eastern, Berbice, Georgetown and New Amsterdam. Together with the Court of Policy, the two groups formed the

Combined Court The Combined Court was the legislature of British Guiana until 1928. In its final form, it consisted of a sitting of the Court of Policy together with the elected Financial Representatives. History The Combined Court was established by the Dutch ...

. The franchise was restricted on the basis of a minimum income level, and women could not vote. The 1897 elections saw the introduction of the

secret ballot The secret ballot, also known as the Australian ballot, is a voting method in which a voter's identity in an election or a referendum is anonymous. This forestalls attempts to influence the voter by intimidation, blackmailing, and potential vo ...

.Nineteenth-Century British Guiana

Library of Congress Country Studies The Country Studies are works published by the Federal Research Division of the United States Library of Congress, freely available for use by researchers. No copyright is claimed on them. Therefore, they have been dedicated to the public domain a ...

Campaign

The elections saw a strong campaign to get non-white representation in the Court of Policy.Political changes (1891-1917)
Guyana.org The Progressive Association supported several candidates, including

Andrew Benjamin Brown Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in English-speaking countries. "Andrew" is frequently shortened to "Andy" or "Drew". The word is derived ...

after he was attacked by the white-owned ''The Echo'' newspaper. Brown and Patrick Dargan were both supported by

Alfred A. Thorne Alfred Athiel Thorne, LLD, MA, also known as A.A.Thorne (August 14, 1871 – April 23, 1956), was a well-regarded elected statesman, author, pioneer for educational access, and human rights advocate in British Guyana. In 1894, Dr. Thorne found ...

Results

Almost all the candidates supported by the Progressive Association were elected, including Dargan and Brown.

References

{{Guyanese elections Elections in Guyana

1897 in British Guiana Election and referendum articles with incomplete results