Guyana (ⁱ/ɡaɪˈænə/ gy-an-ə), officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America and also borders the end most of the Caribbean Sea. The nation is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was 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 the only one on that part of the continent where English is an official language. It is also a member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), which has its secretariat headquarters in Guyana's capital, Georgetown. Guyana is one of the very few Caribbean nations that is not an island. Guyana achieved independence from the United Kingdom on 26 May 1966, and became a republic on 23 February 1970.