The Guianas, sometimes called by the Spanish loan-word Guayanas (Las Guayanas) refers to a region in north-eastern South America which includes the following three territories:* French Guiana, an overseas department of France* Guyana, known as British Guiana from 1831 until 1966, after the colonies of Berbice, Essequibo, and Demerara, taken from the Netherlands in 1814, were merged into a single colony* Suriname, until 1814 a part of Dutch Guiana, together with Berbice, Essequibo and Demerara.