Guyana is a former British colony on the South American mainland. The area was first colonised by the Dutch. Britain assumed control following the French invasion of the Dutch Republic in 1795. The London Convention of 1814 ceded part of the Dutch possessions to Britain, which from 1831 governed them as British Guiana. The economy was based on slave plantations. Following emancipation in the 1830s, Indian indentured workers were imported to supply labour. The country’s border with Venezuela has been in dispute since the time of the latter’s independence in 1824, with Venezuela claiming ownership of parts of Guyanese territory. Guyana became independent as a Commonwealth Realm in 1966 and adopted a republican constitution in 1970. Current population, c. 795,000.