Suriname is sandwiched on either side by Guyana and French Guiana. An Indian tribe called the Surines lived in these Guyana areas. The name Surinamese comes from them. Nowadays, various ethnic groups and cultures live together in Suriname. The Surinamese themselves say that their multicultural society has succeeded, in contrast to the forced multiculturalism in the west. In Suriname, Creoles, Hindustani, Jews, Lebanese, Javanese, Brazilians, Guyans, Chinese and Europeans live together peacefully. In Paramaribo a synagogue stands fraternally next to a mosque. NB! This article is written from the personal view of the author and may contain information that is not scientifically substantiated and/or in line with the general view.
Flag Suriname
Contents:
- Some important information
- Language in Suriname
- Commercial establishment
- The beginning of Suriname
- Plantations in Suriname
- Maroons
- Imposed independence
- After the coup
- Climate Suriname
- Some practical tips for a holiday in Suriname
- The Van Blommensteinmeer
- Kaseko jazz
- Capoeira in Suriname
- First newspaper of the Caribbean
- Chinese in Suriname
Some important information
Suriname is four times the size of the Netherlands, but only 560,000 people lived there in 2012. Nearly 350,000 Surinamese live in the Low Countries on the North Sea. This means that more than a third of Surinamese live in the Netherlands. The capital of Suriname is Paramaribo. This city is named after the Indian village of Paramaribo, which was close to the first trading establishment of the Dutch. For 301 years, Suriname was an overseas part of the Netherlands. Suriname became independent in 1975 against the will of the Surinamese people. At that time, the Netherlands was of the opinion that colonies should be a thing of the past, but did not realize that gradual independence through autonomy within the Dutch kingdom would have been a better step.
Language in Suriname
The main language in Suriname is Dutch. The country, together with the Netherlands and Belgium, is one of the three countries in the Language Union. Sranan Tongo is a lingua franca with many elements from Portuguese, English, Afrikaans and Dutch. Hindustani people speak Sarnami among themselves, a variant of Hindustani. Other population groups speak their own languages, such as the Javanese, Chinese, Maroons and Indians.
Queen Wilhelmina in front of Fort Zeelandia / Source: Pvt Pauline, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA-3.0)
Commercial establishment
In the 17th century, the English were in full force on the Caribbean coasts of South America and English war boats attacked Dutch trading establishments several times. That is why the Dutch built several forts, of which Fort Zeelandia is the best known. The Dutch could better defend the areas through a fort. The Netherlands used to have several trading branches in the north of South America, and part of what is called French Guiana was also Dutch for about four years. Before the name Suriname was used, the collection of trading posts on the northern coast of South America was called Dutch Guiana. This area included a large part of what later became known as British Guiana. The border line of Suriname was created after a land exchange with the United Kingdom. In exchange for giving British Guiana to the UK, the Netherlands received what was then called the Austrian Netherlands plus the diocese of Liège, now located in Belgium.
The beginning of Suriname
Suriname did not start as a Dutch colony. It was first an English colony. Paramaribo started as a Dutch settlement, but the English temporarily conquered it. During the Second Anglo-Dutch War in 1667, the English occupied New Netherland in what is now the US. This included Manhattan, which was then called New Amsterdam and currently this island is the vibrant heart of New York. The Dutch, in turn, in retaliation for the English attack, conquered the English colony in what is now called Suriname. A few years later the third Anglo-Dutch war was fought. In 1674, the Peace of Westminster was signed between England and the Netherlands and the division was made in such a way that the English remained in the US and the Dutch in Suriname. The few English families that were still in Suriname moved to Jamaica.
Plantation Envy and Regret / Source: Tropenmuseum, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA-3.0)
Plantations in Suriname
In 1800 there were 600 plantations in Suriname. The majority of these were in Commewijne, an area located on the western border with Guyana. Initially, a lot of sugar cane was grown. The history of sugar was partly written on the plantations in Suriname. Due to changing economic situations and market prices, a different crop was grown each time. Ultimately, many plantations closed. The plantations all had very nice names such as Peperpot, Rust en Werk, Wolfenbuttel, Nimmerdor, Vlammenburg, Goede Prijsing, Voorbaat, Beyenkorf, Leeuwenjacht, Bleyenhoop, Vrede, Present en Hoop, Schep Moed, Vlugt en Trouw, Gulden Vrijheid, Seldenrust, Goed Good luck, The Longsuffering and Claverbladt.
Maroons
The Maroons are people of African descent who, after escaping from slavery, or after the abolition of slavery in 1863, followed a lifestyle in the jungle based on African traditional principles. Maroons live throughout the Caribbean. During the slave period, they raided plantations to free other slaves. The Dutch fought with the Maroons for some time. The Maroons often captured weapons from the Dutch to make their units more powerful. The Maroons always outsmarted the Dutch by fleeing across the border to other colonial areas and setting up villages deep in the difficult to penetrate jungle. In 1760 the Dutch and the Maroons signed a peace treaty; From that time onwards the Maroons were given fundamental rights. Although people have escaped their involuntary slave labor throughout the Caribbean, the Maroons are the only ones who have upheld African culture by living in the forest and not mixing too much with the rest of the population.
Imposed independence
In the 1970s, PVDA Prime Minister Den Uyl was in power in the Netherlands. Under his premiership, Suriname was pushed towards independence. Some historians make it appear that the Surinamese wanted to be independent, but that is an incorrect representation of reality. Part of the Dutch population, especially in socialist circles, suffered from misplaced guilt regarding colonialism. The Netherlands had to and would make Suriname independent, which was seen as a misstep by all political experts in later periods. Desiré Bouterse had completed officer training in the army in the Netherlands and left for Suriname a month before independence in 1975. He did this against the general trend because 100,000 Surinamese came to the Netherlands in the months before independence. Many Surinamese did not like independence. The sudden, unwanted and imposed independence led to a politically indecisive situation in Suriname, which Desiré Bouterse took advantage of by staging a coup in 1980. A group of rebellious soldiers decided to lead the country instead of the government and founded the National Military Council of which Desiré Bouterse became the leader.
After the coup
Strangely enough, the Dutch politicians were initially happy with the coup because a strong man might be able to help Suriname. This naive attitude was quickly reversed when Desiré Bouterse had political opponents murdered and, according to some witnesses, personally murdered two people. This happened in December 1982 and is therefore called the December murders. The murders were preceded by growing unrest because the military council that had been established failed to hold elections. Leading businessmen, trade union leaders and politicians who expressed their dissatisfaction with the military rulers were imprisoned in Fort Zeelandia, after which the horrific December murders took place. According to the only survivor, Bouterse personally tortured and murdered Ciryll Daal. In Suriname, Desiré Bouterse was never punished for the December murders. During the December murders, 15 opponents of Dersiré Bouterse were murdered. This deep wound in the history of the young country still festers because Desiré Bouterse has chosen a political career; he is now president of Suriname and has abused his political power by having himself declared inviolable for crimes.
Cayman / Source: Laurence20, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA-3.0)
Climate Suriname
Suriname is located close to the equator and therefore has a tropical climate. It is always around 30 degrees. In the coldest month it cannot get colder than 20 degrees at night. In Suriname the trade winds meet. The country has no real seasons, but it does have rainy seasons in which it clearly rains more than in dry times. Suriname has both a small rainy season and a large rainy season and a small dry season and a large dry season.
- Little rainy season (KRT), first half of December to second half of January
- Short dry season (KDT), second half of January to second half of March
- Great rainy season (GRT), second half of March to first half of August
- Great Dry Season (GDT), first half of August to first half of December
Some practical tips for a holiday in Suriname
You can go on holiday in Suriname. There is a lot to see. The old Dutch colonial buildings claim a prominent place in the image of Suriname in various places. The north coast of Suriname is free of malaria, but the malaria mosquito still occurs in the interior. In Paramaribo you can simply drink water from the tap. If you want to make calls, it is advisable to take an SIM-free device out of your drawer and buy a SIM card in Suriname for 5 or 10 dollars. This way you can make local calls cheaply. Wear light clothing as it is warm there; during the day above 30 degrees. It can even reach 37 degrees. In Suriname, Surinamese dollars are used to pay and the euro is exchangeable everywhere. Some hotels accept the euro as a means of payment. The electricity grid is 110 volts, but in larger hotels there is a 220 volt connection. The most important tip is: bring your good mood!
Street in Paramaribo / Source: MH, Wikimedia Commons (CC0)
The Van Blommensteinmeer
In the 1960s, the Dutch government decided that a reservoir should be built in Suriname. Engineer Van Blommenstein was commissioned to build the lake. At the time, the reservoir served the bauxite industry; that is where the vast majority of the electricity generated went. For the construction of Lake Blommenstein or Brokopondo, people had to be moved to transmigration villages. Each person received a compensation of 6 guilders, which was not much at that time. The natural habitat of many animal and plant species has been sacrificed for the reservoir. The Suriname River flows into this lake. There are some islands in the lake; those were the mountain tops of the past. A resort has been created on some islands. The main activity consists of catching fish and sailing to other islands in a boat.
Kaseko jazz
Suri jazz or kaseko jazz is a Surinamese form of jazz, entertainment and dance music in which many wind instruments are used. Surinamese jazz is a mixture of jazz and Surinamese melodies and rhythms. According to some, it arose after the abolition of slavery. In the 1940s, the use of big bands was popular in American jazz. This had an impact on Surinamese Kaseko jazz. ‘Swing Club Paramaribo’ was famous during the Second World War. After the war the band broke up because people went to study in the Netherlands. Dutch impresarios did not have enough money to hire major American jazz artists, but they gave Surinamese English names to attract an audience. Theodoor Kantoor performed in the Netherlands as Teddy Cotton and Arthur Lodewijk Parsius became known under his stage name ‘Kid Dynamite’. He performed frequently in the Amsterdam club ‘Casablanca’.
From August 18 to 26, 2013, the Carifesta
Capoeira in Suriname
One of the examples of multiculturalism is Capoeira. Capoeira is a mixture of fighting technique, singing, dance, music, theater and acrobatics in one art form. It came over from neighboring Brazil. The berimbau is the leading instrument. A group of musicians stand in a circle and the dancers and acrobats show their skills in the middle as if they were two fighting cocks fighting to the death. However, nothing is ever achieved. There is in fact an organic connection of spirit between the musicians and dancers. Capoeira is performed by people of all backgrounds.
Flower from the jungle of Suriname / Source: Maarten Sepp, Wikimedia Commons (GFDL)
First newspaper of the Caribbean
In 59 BC, a newspaper containing state affairs was published for the first time among the ancient Romans. In 911, the world’s first newspaper was published in China. In 1536, the first written newspaper appeared in Venice, Europe. The first newspaper in the Caribbean appeared in 1772; the New Surinamese Courant. Nowadays Suriname has four daily newspapers; De West, De Ware Tijd, Dagblad Suriname and Times of Suriname. There are two Chinese-language daily newspapers, each published three times a week.
Chinese in Suriname
When slavery was abolished and in the years before, thousands of Chinese contract workers were brought to Suriname. In 1838, 25 years before the abolition of slavery, the first Chinese came to this country. They received a contract for 5 years and were then free to go wherever they wanted. The lion’s share of Chinese remained in Suriname. Some simply continued to work on the plantations, others set up their own businesses. The Chinese are known all over the world as hard workers; also in Suriname. In economic, cultural and culinary terms, the Chinese are an enrichment for Suriname. The Chinese often had a strong bond with neighbors because they ran a shop that was open almost every day. Chinese were sometimes affectionately called Omu Snesie (Uncle Chinese) . Chinese people have completely mixed with other population groups in Suriname by marrying Afro-Surinamese. Many Afro-Surinamese have a Chinese name, which shows that the Chinese influence is very great.
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- The Netherlands, small country, big deeds