English: British Guiana, 1908

Creator: Great Britain. Ordnance Survey Surveyor: Anderson, Charles Wilgress

"This map, prepared and printed in 1908 at the office of the Ordnance Survey, Southampton, United Kingdom, provides a relatively detailed view of the geography of British Guiana (present-day Guyana), one of only two British colonies on the mainland of South and Central America (the other being British Honduras). A note indicates that the portion of the map north of 5° North latitude is from a map prepared by the government surveyor of British Guiana, while the remainder of the map “has been compiled from various sources and is less reliable.” Much of the territory in the south of the country was as yet unexplored. Bordered to the west by Venezuela, to the south by Brazil, and to the east by Dutch Guiana (present-day Suriname), British Guiana was the subject of a longstanding border dispute with Venezuela, in which the United States became involved and that was settled by arbitration in 1899. The map reflects the settlement, which awarded Britain most of the disputed territory but gave Venezuela undisputed control over the Orinoco River. The map shows international borders, cities and towns, railroads, posts and forts, and physical features such as rivers, cataracts, and hills and mountains."