Region:  Suriname

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Historical Overview

  • 1611: two Dutch traders found a small trading post on the “Wild Coast” near present-day Paramaribo. The French build a wooden fort there; the English take it over as Fort Willoughby
  • 1662: the Dutch take the fort, rename it Fort Zeelandia
  • 1667: the Dutch retain Suriname in the Treaty of Breda
  • 1674: Suriname is formally ceded to the Netherlands in the Treaty of Westminster
  • 1863: slavery is abolished in Suriname, full emancipation effective 1873
  • 1954: limited self-governance
  • 1975: full independence