Dutch colonisation of the Guianas control of the three colonies (Demerara, Berbice, and Essequibo) west of the Courantyne River. These three colonies became British Guiana. After 1815, there were five Guianas, referred to by their dominant languages: Spanish Guayana (Venezuela), British Guiana, Dutch Guiana, French Guiana, and Portuguese Guiana (Brazil). The colony that remained was part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands until 1975, when it became independent as the Republic of Suriname. Dutch Guiana covered the majority of the Guiana Shield, with its borders ranging from the Orinoco Delta in the northwest, the eastern banks of the Caroní River in the southwest, to the
British Guiana 1c magenta British Guiana 1c magenta The British Guiana 1c magenta is regarded by many philatelists as the world's most famous rare stamp. It was issued in limited numbers in British Guiana (now Guyana) in 1856, and only one specimen is now known to exist. It is the only major postage stamp ever issued that is not represented in Britain's Royal Philatelic Collection. It is imperforate, printed in black on magenta paper, and it features a sailing ship along with the colony's Latin motto ""Damus Petimus Que Vicissim"" (We give and expect in return) in the middle. Four thin lines frame the