Guayana was initially inhabited by various indigenous groups and tribes prior to European colonisation with the Arawaks and the Carib being the most dominant tribes. The area was first colonised by a expedition sponsored by the Grand Duke of Tuscany Ferdinando I in 1608. After the establishment of the port town of Aquinas the land was declared as part of the Grand Duchy and was a Tuscan colony. In 1805 amid the backdrop of the French Revolutionary Wars the colony declared independence as the United Kingdom of Guayana under an elective monarchy. The kingdom subsequently became embroiled in bitter wars with its neighbours Brazil and Venezuela which saw large tacts of land being periodically exchanged until the current borders were confirmed in 1914. Guayana experienced a huge wave of immigra