Guyana officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana and previously known as British Guiana, is a state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana has been a former colony of the British, Dutch, French and for 200 years the Spanish. It is the only state of the Commonwealth of Nations on mainland South America, and is also a member of the Caribbean countries and also members of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), which has its secretariat headquarters in Guyana's capital, Georgetown. Guyana achieved independence from the United Kingdom on 26 May 1966 and became a Republic on 23 February 1970. Historically, the region known as "Guiana" or "Guayana" was the large shield landmass north of the Amazon River and East of the Orinoco River known as the "Land of many waters". Historic Guyana is made up of three Dutch colonies: Essequibo, Demerara and Berbice. Modern Guyana is bordered to the east by Suriname, to the south and southwest by Brazil, to the west by Venezuela, and on the north by the Atlantic Ocean.