History of Suriname

The history of Suriname dates from 3000 BCE, when Native Americans first inhabited the area. Present-day Suriname was the home to many distinct indigenous cultures. The largest tribes were the Arawaks, a nomadic coastal tribe that lived from hunting and fishing, and the Caribs. The Arawaks (Kali'na) were the first inhabitants of Suriname; later, the Caribs arrived, and conquered the Arawaks using their sailing ship. They settled in Galibi (Kupali Yumï, meaning "tree of the forefathers") on the mouth of the Marowijne river. While the larger Arawak and Carib tribes lived off the coast and savanna, smaller groups of indigenous peoples lived in the rainforest inland, such as the Akurio, Trió, Wayarekule, Warrau, and Wayana.

The first Europeans who came to Suriname were Dutch traders who visited the area along with other parts of the South America's 'Wild Coast.' The first attempts to settle the area by Europeans was in 1630, when English settlers led by Captain Marshall attempted to found a colony^[1]. They cultivated crops of tobacco, but the venture failed financially and were eventually conquered by the Dutch in 1666^[1].

In 1651 a second attempt to establish an English colony was made by Lord Willoughby, the governor of Barbados^{[citation needed]}. The expedition was led by Anthony Rowse, who established a colony and called it 'Willoughbyland.' It consisted of around 500 sugar plantations and a fort (Fort Willoughby). Most of the work was done by the 2000 African slaves in the colony. There were around 1,000 whites there, soon joined by other Europeans and Brazilian Jews. The settlement was invaded by the Dutch (from the Zeeland region), led by Abraham Crijnssen, on 27 February 1667. Fort Willoughby was captured and renamed Fort Zeelandia. On 31 July 1667, the English and Dutch signed the Treaty of Breda, in which for the time being the status quo was respected: the Dutch could keep occupying Suriname and the British the formerly Dutch colony New Amsterdam (modern day New York). Willoughbyland was renamed Netherlands Guiana. This arrangement was made official in the Treaty of Westminster of 1674, after the British had regained and again lost Suriname in 1667 and the Dutch regained New Amsterdam in 1673.

 

In the first half of the 18th century, agriculture flourished in Suriname. Most of the work on the plantations was done by African slaves. The treatment of these slaves was bad, and many slaves escaped to the jungle. These Maroons (also known as "Djukas" or "Bakabusi Nengre") often returned to attack the plantations. Famous leaders of the Surinam Maroons were Alabi, Boni and Broos (Captain Broos). They formed a sort of buffer zone between the Europeans who settled along the coast and main rivers, and the unconquered Native American tribes of the inland regions. The Maroons have contributed significantly to the abolition of slavery. A contemporary description of this situation in Suriname can be found in Narrative of a Five Years Expedition Against the Revolted Negroes of Surinam by John Gabriel Stedman.

Suriname was occupied by the British in 1799, after the Netherlands were incorporated by France, and was returned to the Dutch in 1816, after the defeat of Napoleon. The Dutch abolished slavery only in 1863; although the British had already abolished it during their short rule. The slaves were, however, not released until 1873; up to that date they conducted obligatory but paid work at the plantations. In the meantime, many more workers had been imported from the Netherlands East Indies, mostly Chinese inhabitants of that colony. After 1873, many Hindu laborers where imported from India. This emigration was ended by Mohandas Gandhi in 1916. After that date, many laborers were again imported from the Netherlands East Indies, especially Java.

In the 20th century, the natural resources of Suriname, rubber, gold and bauxite were exploited. The US company Alcoa had a claim on a large area in Suriname where bauxite, from which aluminium can be made, was found.

In 1954, Suriname gained self-government, with the Netherlands retaining control of defence and foreign affairs.

In 1973, the local government, led by the NPK (a largely Creole party) started negotiations with the Dutch government about independence, which was granted at November 25, 1975. The Dutch instituted an aid programme worth US$1.5 billion to last till 1985. The first President of the country was Johan Ferrier, with Henck Arron (leader of the Surinam National Party) as Prime Minister. Roughly a third of the population emigrated to the Netherlands, fearing that the new country would not be able to survive.

In 1980, the government of Henck Arron was overthrown in a military coup led by Sergeant-Major Desi Bouterse. President Ferrier refused to recognise the new government, appointing Henk Chin A Sen (of the Nationalist Republican Party). Another coup followed five months later, with the army replacing Ferrier with Chin A Sen. These developments were largely welcomed by a population that expected the new army-installed government to put an end to corruption and improve the standard of living. This was despite the fact that the new regime banned opposition parties and became increasingly dictatorial. The Dutch initially accepted the new government, however, relations between Suriname and the Netherlands collapsed when 15 members of the political opposition were killed by the army on December 8, 1982 in Fort Zeelandia. This event is also known as the December killings (Decembermoorden in Dutch). The Dutch and Americans cut off their aid in protest at the move, leading to Bouterse looking towards countries such as Grenada, Nicaragua, Cuba and Libya for help.

In 1985, the ban on opposition parties was lifted, and work began on devising a new constitution. The following year saw the start of an anti-government rebellion of the Maroons in the interior, calling themselves the Jungle Commando and led by Ronnie Brunswijk. The Bouterse government violently tried to suppress the insurgency by burning villages and other similar means. Many Maroons fled to French Guiana.

Elections were held in November 1987, with the 3-party anti-Bouterse coalition Front For Democracy and Development winning 40 out 51 seats, and Dutch aid was resumed the following year. Friction, however, soon developed between Bouterse and Assembly President Ramsewak Shankar. Subsequently Shankar was ousted in a coup (known as the 'Telephone Coup') led by Bouterse on 24 December 1990. A military backed government was then installed, with Johann Kraag (NPS) as President.

Elections were held again on 25 May 1991. Ronald Venetiaan's New Front coalition (the old three parties combined with the Surinamese Labour Party) won 30 seats, Bouterse's National Democratic Party won 12 and the Democratic Alternative (a multi-ethnic party favouring closer links with the Netherlands) won 9 seats. 30 seats not being enough to appoint a president, an Assembly vote was organised, which was won by Venetiaan. In August 1992 a peace treaty was signed with the Jungle Commando, bringing an end to the Maroon rebellion.

Meanwhile the economy was facing serious difficulties owing to a fall in world prices for aluminium and large scale deficits. A Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) was drawn up in 1992, followed by the Multi-Year Development Programme in 1994. Despite the introduction of floating rates and a limit of imports the situation failed to improve in any significant way. This, and a number of corruption scandals, led to a significant slump in the popularity of Venetiaan's New Front.

Venetiaan's New Front won the elections held on 23 May 1996 by a slight majority. As in 1991, this was not enough for Venetiaan to be made president. Many New Front members defected to the NDP and other parties. The subsequent secret ballot secured the presidency for Jules Wijdenbosch, a former vice-president in the Bouterse era, who set about forming a coalition of the NDP and five other parties. Bouterse was accommodated in 1997 when the post of Councillor of State was created for him. Wijdenbosch dismissed him in April 1999 however. Meanwhile the Dutch in July convicted Bouterse in absentia for drug trafficking spanning a number of years. His son, Dino Bouterse, was later convicted on similar charges in 2005.

Widespread strikes occurred in 1999 over the government's handling of the economy, with strikers calling for early elections. As a result Wijdenbosch's coalition collapsed and he lost a vote of confidence in June 1999. The elections, scheduled for 2001, were brought forward to 25 May 2000. The support for Wijdenbosch plummeted to 9% of the vote, Venetiaan won with 47%. The relations with the Netherlands improved when Venetiaan took over as president. Meanwhile, in 2000, relations between Suriname and Guyana soured over disputes about the country's maritime boundary. It is thought the area could be rich in oil.

In August 2001, the Dutch provided a triple A state guarantee to enable the Surinamese government to receive a 10-year loan from the Dutch Development Bank (NTO) to the amount of Euro 137.7 million (U.S.$125 million). The loan has an interest rate of 5.18% per year and was used to consolidate floating government debts. U.S.$32 million of the loan was used to pay off foreign loans, which had been taken under unfavorable conditions by the Wijdenbosch government. The remaining 93 million of the loan was used to pay off debts at the Central Bank of Suriname. This enabled the Central Bank to strengthen its foreign currency position according to the IMF standards to the equivalency of 3 months of imports. To further help the economy the Surinamese guilder was replaced with the Surinamese dollar in 2004.

In the May 2005 elections, Venetiaan won another term in office.

• Kurlansky, Mark. 1992. A Continent of Islands: Searching for the Caribbean Destiny. Addison-Wesley Publishing. ISBN 0-201-52396-5.
• Hoefte, Rosemarijn and Peter Meel (eds.), Twentieth Century Suriname. Continuities and Discontinuities in a New World Society, Leiden 2001, KITLV
• National Review Online Secrets of Suriname: Another Reagan-administration Cold War success story

• The Amerindians of Suriname
• U.S. State Department Background Note: Suriname
• The World of Surinam
• Andre Mosis, Surinam percussion
• History of Suriname