Werk-en-rust
Ward
Werk-en-rust is located in Guyana
Werk-en-rust
Werk-en-rust
Coordinates: 6°48′21.51″N 58°9′49.26″W / 6.8059750°N 58.1636833°W / 6.8059750; -58.1636833
CountryGuyana
CityGeorgetown
Population
 (2012)[1]
 • Total3,699

Werk-en-rust, also Werken-Rust, (Work and Rest) is a ward in Georgetown, Guyana, located along the Demerara River that feeds into the Atlantic Ocean.[2]

History

It began as a plantation, and by the end of the 18th century, its size was reduced as parcels of land were sold off to saw-millers.[3] In 1798, it was a coffee plantation owned by Erve Weber & Co.[4] A cemetery was established there, people began to settle in Werk-en-rust, and it became an extension of Stabroek by 1799.[3] It is located south of Stabroek,[2][3] which began as a two-mile brick road with a row of houses on each side of the road. By 1812, Werk-en-rust was one of eight wards of a city called Germantown. The other wards were Charles Town, Cumingsburg, Kingston, Lacy Town, New Town, and Robb Town. The wards were created from the Eve Leary, Le Repentir, La Bourgade, and Vlissengen, and Werk-en-Rust plantations.[2]

Sketch of Georgetown, Demerera, British Guiana showing the town on the left, people and horses walking on the main waterfront street, and the harbour on the right, filled with ships
Georgetown, Demerara, 1888

In 1817, there were 49 female and 56 male enslaved people and was owned by the estate of a person whose name may be Ern Weeber. The estate was owned by H.J. C. Neuwieller in 1826.[4] Richard Michael Jones owned the plantation by 1832.[4] In 1832[4] and 1833, Werk-en-Rust was a coffee and plantain plantation with 35 male and 28 female slaves.[5] At some point, it was a sugar plantation.[6] By 1911, Werk-en-Rust was populated by Afro-Guyanese, Portuguese and Chinese citizens.[7]

References

  1. ^ "2012 Population by Village". Statistics Guyana. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
  2. ^ a b c Barros, Juanita De (2003-02-19). Order and Place in a Colonial City: Patterns of Struggle and Resistance in Georgetown, British Guiana,1889-1924. McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP. p. 25. ISBN 978-0-7735-2455-2.
  3. ^ a b c "Growth of Georgetown". www.guyana.org. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d "Details of Werk-en-Rust Estate". Legacies of British Slave-ownership - UCL Department of History. Retrieved 2020-02-26.
  5. ^ Great Britain Parliament House of Commons (1833). Accounts and Papers of the House of Commons. Ordered to be printed. p. 6.
  6. ^ International Summaries: A Collection of Selected Translations in Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice. Department of Justice, Law Enforcement Assistance Administration, National Institute of Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice, National Criminal Justice Reference Service. 1978. p. 128.
  7. ^ Barros, Juanita De (2003-02-19). Order and Place in a Colonial City: Patterns of Struggle and Resistance in Georgetown, British Guiana,1889-1924. McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP. p. 33. ISBN 978-0-7735-2455-2.
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