(By Alex Wayne)It’s a unique little village that holds an interesting historical background. Over the years however, it has evolved from an undeveloped community where inhabitants were struggling to meet the necessities of life, to a now modern village with high potential for economic and ultimate social development.Poultry farmer, Shawn Baynes (closest to camera) and an employee tend to one of his many pigs.Victoria Village, located on the Atlantic coast of Guyana, some 18 miles east of Georgetown, was the first village in Guyana bought by the combined resources of Africans who had recently won their freedom from slavery.The community was initially established as a plantation called Northbrook, in November 1839. Eighty-three ex-slaves from five nearby estates (Douchfour,Cheap Authentic Jerseys, Ann’s Grove, Hope, Paradise and Enmore) pooled their resources and bought Plantation Northbrook for 30,000 guilders or $10,283.63. Each of the 83 owned one plot of land. After its purchase the village was renamed Victoria, presumably in honour of England’s Queen Victoria, although some suggest it may have been named as such in honour of the freed slaves’ victory.It is credited with one of the first codes of local government in Guyana, established in 1845. The village grew up to become one of the leading exporters of products made from coconuts and cassava.The first church built there, a Congregational church, named after Wilberforce, the abolitionist, was erected in 1845. A memorial tablet was placed in the church honoring William Africa Baptiste, known as ‘Boss Africa’, who became accepted as the Father of the village. Baptiste, who died in 1881, was the first village schoolmaster.This historical masterpiece has always been prided by villagers who are now lamenting the fact that its traditional wooden and shingle structure was torn down several years ago by a former village council that promised to have it refurbished in concrete.This,Wholesale Jerseys China, sadly, did not materialize, and all that stands,China Jerseys, as a reminder of this once much prized monument, is a very incomplete concrete structure that has been ignored for years.In May 1845, six years after the village was purchased, the owners agreed to a number of regulations for the proper management of the estate, which is among the first attempts at a code of Local Government in Guyana.The people in the village showed a great desire for church worship and used to travel as far as Le Ressouvenir, 11 miles to the west, to attend services conducted by the Reverend John Smith. At the same time, some of them were also taught to read and write.The keen desire for church worship resulted in the construction of church buildings. The first church was built by the Congregationalists in 1845 and named Wilberforce, after abolitionist who was prominent among those striving for the liberation of slaves.Other churches followed suit and soon the Wesleyans, Plymouth Brethren, Lutheran, Catholic, Methodist and Anglicans were numbered among those functional.‘Boss Africa’, despite his literary limitations, was the first schoolmaster of the village when he was appointed to the Wilberforce church that conducted school in the building with a government-aided programme.He eventually passed away in 1881 at the age of 92 and is immortalized by a tablet in his memory in the Wilberforce Church.The cultural standards of the village improved, chiefly influenced by the churches and the schools. Associations were formed with the aim of holding debates and suppressing indulgence in alcohol. The Cove and John sugar plantation and Belfield coconut estates boosted employment and thus, the economy.A fishing industry was started by the group and the catch brought to the village through the canal dividing Victoria from Cove and John.Victoria Village earned the reputation of being a most peaceful place in which to live.And it had a right to be peaceful because enshrined in its articles of understanding were a host of do’s and don’ts which no doubt led to the enormous moral success of the village. The committee of management, which was soon founded,Jerseys NFL Cheap, did not only plan the development of the village, but also looked over the works carried out by residents who were the shareholders.Such measures implemented by the overseers were sometimes said to be harsher than that on the estates, but it had the desired effect. All shareholders and their families had to work their plots and certain crops had to be planted so that the village would have enough food.Each habitat was required to cooperate in cleaning and digging trenches to drain the land. They were also asked to construct dams and roads and to repair them when it became necessary.Discipline seems to have