why are Guyanese people called west Indians when they are from south America ?

Answer 1

Becuase
1) their culture is more related to west indians
2) it is the only english speaking country in south america
3) that is what their culture is! that's how they want to b viewed

Alot of the responders don't understand they nature of your question because they don't know that most of the carribean is identified as west indian culture.

i.e with it;s own different music,dialects and customs!

such as calypso,soca reggae, patwa creole etc!

Answer 2

The West Indies name derives from the fact that the region was "discovered" by European explorers searching for a western passage to the Indies, unaware that there was another continent (or two, depending how you count it) in the way. When they realised this the new territory was referred to as the "West Indies" as opposed to the "East Indies". The term is of course older than the more modern descriptives of North, Central and South America. The term "stuck" as a general name for the British possessions in the Caribbean and Central/South America.

Answer 3

Confused Europeans thinking that South America was India, hence the name west Indians. A mistake that should of been corrected in the 1700s. Tradition and laziness keep this mistake alive with us today.

Answer 4

because the Guyanese have the SAME culture as other west Indians. They are a mixture of Indian, African, native and European descent like the other groups in the Caribbean. They speak the same language- English, and have very similar patois as the other groups of strong Indian influence

Answer 5

Columbus thought he found WEST PART OF INDIA. But he actually found south America, thus he named the people there West Indians

Answer 6

Because when Sir Francis Columbus invented the Trade routes, he thought he was going to India but anticlockwise.

So then when he arrived in the West Indies, of course they were not called that then,. But he thought he was in India so he called them that. Indian is also a motorcycle, of course.

Answer 7

I thought it was because when Columbus discovered America he thought he was sailing to India which is why they called them "red Indians" and "west Indians". He was, of course, incorrect and had stumbled across a large mass which until then had not been mapped.

Answer 8

cuz, their ansestors were brought to South America to do labor by Europeons. Originally they were East Indians, now west.