a river of English Guiana, in South America, which discharges its waters into the Atlantic. Long. 58. 30. W. Lat. 7. N. At its mouth it is twenty miles broad, but of difficult navigation, even for small vessels, on account of the numerous sand-banks which run in different directions across its entrance. There are three islands at the mouth of the river, and for nearly thirty miles upwards there is a succession of islands. The influence of the tide is felt for a hundred miles up the river.

settlement of Guiana, on the banks of the above-mentioned river. The country is well cultivated and flourishing, the soil being fertile in the production of coffee, cotton, cocoa, and sugar. Essequibo originally belonged to the Dutch, and was first settled in 1698; but an erroneous prejudice that the land was unfit for cultivation obstructed the progress of the colony for many years. Political struggles, and the injudicious policy of the mother country, also for a considerable time deprived the colonists of the advantages which the country presented to them. During the American war it more than once changed masters, but it was finally ceded to Great Britain at the peace of 1814, since which period it has advanced in prosperity. It is separated on the west from Demerara by the small river Berbasterri.