Editing Jonestown (section)

===Selection and establishment of Guyanese land===
[[File:Jonestown cottages 2.jpg|thumb|Jonestown Cottages]]
In the fall of 1973, after critical newspaper articles by [[Lester Kinsolving]] and the defection of eight Temple members, Jones and Temple attorney Timothy Stoen prepared an "immediate action" contingency plan for responding to a police or media crackdown.<ref name="reiterman237">{{Harvnb|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|p=237}}</ref> The plan listed various options, including fleeing to Canada or to a "Caribbean missionary post" such as Barbados or Trinidad.<ref name="reiterman237"/> For its Caribbean missionary post, the Temple quickly chose Guyana, conducting research on its economy and [[extradition]] treaties with the United States.<ref name="reiterman237"/> In October 1973, the directors of the Temple passed a resolution to establish an agricultural mission there.<ref name="reiterman237"/>

The Temple chose Guyana, in part, because of the group's own socialist politics, which were moving further to the [[political left|left]] during the selection process.<ref name="reiterman237"/><ref name="paranoia">[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,919897-1,00.html ''Paranoia And Delusions''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100910041607/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,919897-1,00.html|date=September 10, 2010}}, ''Time'', December 11, 1978</ref> Former Temple member Tim Carter stated that the reasons for choosing Guyana were the Temple's view of a perceived dominance of racism and multinational corporations in the U.S. government.<ref name="carter">{{cite web |last=Carter |first=Tim. |url=http://www.opb.org/radio/archives/2007/04/there_was_no_ch_1.php |title=Interview on Oregon Public Broadcasting Radio (Clip#3)|date=9 April 2007|publisher=OPB Radio |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070426045331/http://www.opb.org/radio/archives/2007/04/there_was_no_ch_1.php |archive-date=April 26, 2007}}</ref> According to Carter, the Temple concluded that Guyana, an English-speaking, socialist country with a government including prominent black leaders, would afford black Temple members a peaceful place to live.<ref name="carter"/>

Later, [[Prime Minister of Guyana|Guyanese Prime Minister]] [[Forbes Burnham]] stated that Jones may have "wanted to use [[cooperative]]s as the basis for the establishment of socialism, and maybe his idea of setting up a [[commune (intentional community)|commune]] meshed with that."<ref name="paranoia"/> Jones thought that Guyana was small, poor and independent enough for him to easily obtain influence and official protection.<ref name="reiterman237"/> He proved skillful in presenting the Guyanese government the benefits of allowing the Temple to establish a settlement in the country. One of the main tactics was to speak of the advantages of their American presence near Guyana's [[Guyana–Venezuela territorial dispute|disputed border]] with Venezuela; this idea seemed promising to the Burnham government, who feared a military incursion by Venezuela.<ref>Poster 2019</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Poster|first1=Alexander|title=Jonestown: An International Story of Diplomacy, Detente, and Neglect, 1973–1978|journal=Diplomatic History|date=2019|volume=43|issue=2|page=307|url=http://web.a.ebscohost.com|access-date=13 April 2020}}</ref><ref>''Seconds From Disaster'', "Jonestown Cult Suicide", aired 5 November 2012</ref>

In 1974, after traveling to an area of northwestern Guyana with Guyanese officials, Jones and the Temple negotiated a lease of over {{convert|3,800|acres|ha}} of land in the jungle located {{convert|150|mi|km}} west of the Guyanese capital of [[Georgetown, Guyana|Georgetown]].<ref name="pbs">[https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/jonestown/timeline/timeline2.html ''Timeline: The Life and Death of Jim Jones''.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090219184320/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/jonestown/timeline/timeline2.html|date=19 February 2009}} PBS.org. Retrieved 9 April 2007.</ref> In 1976, Guyana approved the lease (retroactive to April 1974).<ref name="raven340"/> The site, located near the disputed border with Venezuela, was isolated and had soil of low fertility.<ref name="raven340">{{Harvnb|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|p=275}}</ref> The nearest body of water was {{convert|7|mi|km|spell=on}} away by muddy roads.<ref name="raven340"/>