Guyana is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana has been a former colony of the Dutch and for over 200 years of the British. It is the only state of the Commonwealth of Nations on mainland South America, and it is also a member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), which has its secretariat headquarters in Guyana's capital, Georgetown. Guyana is also one of the few Caribbean countries which are not islands. Guyana achieved independence from the United Kingdom on 26 May 1966 and became a Republic on 23 February 1970.