What caused political violence and a general strike in British Guiana between 1961 and 1964?

The political violence and general strike in British Guiana between 1961 and 1964 were primarily driven by deep-seated ethnic divisions and political polarization. Following the 1955 split of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), the nation’s political landscape became defined by race: the PPP, led by Cheddi Jagan, drew its support from the Indo-Guyanese population, while the People’s National Congress (PNC), led by Forbes Burnham, represented the Afro-Guyanese community.12

These ethnic tensions were exacerbated by the government's socialist policies and the broader Cold War context, which led the British to view Jagan’s administration with suspicion. The resulting unrest manifested as severe rioting and a prolonged general strike, which caused significant bloodshed between the two rival groups and necessitated the intervention of British troops. The instability eventually prompted the British to implement a system of proportional representation in 1964, which was intended to better reflect the voting strengths of the different ethnic groups and ultimately led to the defeat of the PPP in the 1964 elections.12