Fort Nieuw-Amsterdam is a fort in Suriname built from 1734 to 1747 at the confluence of the Suriname and Commewijne rivers. It is open to the public as an open-air museum .
65-529: The necessity of improving the fortifications of the colony of Suriname was underscored when French buccaneers under the leadership of Jacques Cassard attacked the colony in 1712. Fort Sommelsdijk , which was situated further upstream the Commewijne River at its confluence with the Cottica River was fortified for this purpose in 1715, but it was clear something more substantial needed to be done to defend
130-623: A constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands . The status quo of Dutch sovereignty over Surinam, and English sovereignty over New Netherland , which it had conquered in 1664, was kept in the Treaty of Breda of 31 July 1667, and again confirmed in the Treaty of Westminster of 1674. After the other Dutch colonies in the Guianas , i.e., Berbice , Essequibo , Demerara , and Pomeroon , were lost to
195-728: A College of General Government (Dutch: College van Algemeen Bestuur ) which was to assist the Governor in the everyday government of the colony, and which was the precursor to the Cabinet of Ministers. The new constitution took effect in July 1948. In 1868 the Dutch government created the Netherlands Armed Forces in Suriname (TRIS) which served as the Dutch colonial army in Suriname. This meant that like
260-592: A Dutch Brazil, but could not hold them due to a strong Portuguese resistance. Company ships continued privateering in the Caribbean, as well seizing vital land resources, particularly salt pans. The company's general lack of success saw their shares plummet and the Dutch and The Spanish renewed truce talks in 1633. In 1629, the GWC gave permission to a number of investors in New Netherlands to found patroonships , enabled by
325-582: A Dutch fortress was built in Mouree (present day Ghana), along the Dutch Gold Coast . Trade with the Caribbean, for salt, sugar and tobacco, was hampered by Spain and delayed because of peace negotiations. Spain offered peace on condition that the Dutch Republic would withdraw from trading with Asia and America. Spain refused to sign the peace treaty if a West Indian Company would be established. At this time,
390-515: A basis of equality. In 1975, Suriname left the Kingdom of the Netherlands to become the independent country of Suriname . From 1683, the colony was governed by the Society of Suriname , a company composed of three equal shareholders, being the city of Amsterdam , the family Van Aerssen van Sommelsdijck , and the Dutch West India Company . Although the organization and administration was of
455-616: A boat to the Netherlands. The Dutch Prime Minister Colijn stated in the Lower House in 1935: However, the situation had improved somewhat on the eve of the Second World War. Partly due to the importance of Surinamese aluminium for the allied war effort, United States troops were stationed in Surinam under an agreement with the Dutch government in exile on 23 November 1941. Under the provisions of
520-401: A consequence of the abolition of slave trade. Without supply of slaves, many plantations were merged to increase efficiency. Slavery was eventually abolished on 1 July 1863, a date now celebrated as the public holiday of Ketikoti , although slaves were only released after a ten-year transitory period in 1873. This spurred the immigration of indentured labourers from British India , after
585-523: A treaty to that effect had been signed between the Netherlands and the United Kingdom in 1870. Apart from immigration from British India, Javanese workers from the Dutch East Indies were also contracted to work on plantations in Surinam. At the same time, a largely unsuccessful attempt to colonize Surinam with impoverished farmers from the Netherlands was started as well. In the 20th century,
650-413: A wet dock inside the fort. After the independence of Suriname , a monument was erected in the fort. Buddingh', Hans (1999). Geschiedenis van Suriname . Utrecht: Het Spectrum. 5°53′17″N 55°05′30″W / 5.88806°N 55.09167°W / 5.88806; -55.09167 Surinam (Dutch colony) Surinam ( Dutch : Suriname ), also unofficially known as Dutch Guiana ,
715-569: Is now known as the Hudson River in his quest for the Northwest Passage to Asia. However, he failed to find a passage. Consequently, in 1615, Isaac Le Maire and Samuel Blommaert , assisted by others, focused on finding a south-westerly route around South America's Tierra del Fuego archipelago in order to circumvent the monopoly of the VOC. One of the first sailors who focused on trade with Africa
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#1733094553972780-621: The Atlantic Charter of August 1941, the Dutch government in exile promised to end the colonial relations between the Netherlands and its overseas possessions, promising them far-reaching autonomy and self-rule. This was eventually accomplished by the proclamation of the Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands on 15 December 1954, which constituted a Kingdom in which the Netherlands, the Netherlands Antilles , and Suriname participated on
845-468: The Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions which was ratified by the Dutch States General on 7 June 1629. The patroonships were created to help populate the colony, by providing investors grants providing land for approximately 50 people "upwards of 15 years old", per grant, mainly in the region of New Netherland. Patroon investors could expand the size of their land grants as large as 4 miles, "along
910-696: The Danish West India Company , an undercover Dutch enterprise, was founded. (In 1660 the Royal African Company was founded, led by the Duke of York .) In 1662, the GWC obtained several asiento subcontracts with the Spanish Crown , under which the Dutch were allowed to deliver 24,000 enslaved Africans. The GWC made Curaçao a centre of the Atlantic slave trade , bringing slaves from West Africa to
975-557: The Dutch East India Company (VOC) was founded in 1602, some traders in Amsterdam did not agree with its monopolistic policies. With help from Petrus Plancius , a Dutch-Flemish astronomer, cartographer, and clergyman, they sought for a northeastern or northwestern access to Asia to circumvent the VOC monopoly. In 1609, English explorer Henry Hudson , in employment of the VOC, landed on the coast of New England and sailed up what
1040-635: The Dutch War of Independence (1568–1648) between Spain and the Dutch Republic was occurring. Grand Pensionary Johan van Oldenbarnevelt offered to suspend trade with the West Indies in exchange for the Twelve Years' Truce . He took the proposal of founding a West-India Company off table. The result was that, during a few years, the Dutch sailed under a foreign flag to South America. However, ten years later, Stadtholder Maurice of Orange , proposed to continue
1105-861: The Dutch West Indies by the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands and given jurisdiction over Dutch participation in the Atlantic slave trade , Brazil, the Caribbean, and North America. The area where the company could operate consisted of West Africa (between the Tropic of Cancer and the Cape of Good Hope ) and the Americas, which included the Pacific Ocean and ended east of the Maluku Islands , according to
1170-567: The Gold Coast (now Ghana ), the Slave Coast (now Benin ), and briefly in Dutch Loango-Angola . It was a neo- feudal system , where patrons were permitted considerable powers to control the overseas colony. In the Americas, fur (North America) and sugar (South America) were the most important trade goods, while African settlements traded the enslaved (mainly destined for the plantations on
1235-501: The Holy Roman Empire , Denmark–Norway , England and other European countries. In 1649, a competing Swedish Africa Company was founded; the GWC obtained a monopoly on gold and enslaved Africans with the kingdom of Accra (present-day Ghana ). Elmina Castle was the main port. In 1654 the Dutch were thrown out of Brazil after the recapture of Recife . In 1656, the company signed the Treaty of Butre ( Dutch Gold Coast ). In 1659
1300-536: The Kingdom of the Netherlands ) governed the territory as a national colony, barring a period of British occupation between 1799 and 1802, and between 1804 and 1816. After the Batavian Republic took over in 1795, the Dutch government issued various government regulations for Suriname ( Dutch : Regeringsreglement voor Suriname ), establishing the government of the colony. In 1865, a new government regulation replaced
1365-571: The Northern Quarter ( Hoorn and Enkhuizen ), the Maas ( Rotterdam , Delft , and Dordrecht ), the region of Groningen , and one representative from the States General . Each region had its own chamber and board of directors. The validity of the charter was set at 24 years. Only in 1623 was funding arranged, after several bidders were put under pressure. The States General of the Netherlands and
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#17330945539721430-700: The Royal Netherlands East Indies Army (KNIL) in the Dutch East Indies , TRIS fell under the responsibility of the Dutch Ministry of Colonies, instead of the Dutch Ministry of Defense. The size of the TRIS army was, however, small, compared to the KNIL army for the former colony of Indonesia , it consisted of two infantry and two artillery companies. In total 636 soldiers served in the TRIS army. These soldiers were tasked with patrolling and policing duties within
1495-474: The Treaty of Tordesillas . The intended purpose of the charter was to eliminate competition, particularly Spanish or Portuguese, between the various trading posts established by the merchants. The company became instrumental in the largely ephemeral Dutch colonization of the Americas (including New Netherland ) in the seventeenth century. From 1624 to 1654, in the context of the Dutch–Portuguese War ,
1560-449: The Americas. They decided their target was Brazil. ( Recapture of Bahia ) There were conflicts between directors from different areas of The Netherlands, with Amsterdam less supportive of the company. Non-maritime cities, including Haarlem , Leiden , and Gouda , along with Enkhuizen and Hoorn were enthusiastic about seizing territory. They sent a fleet to Brazil, capturing Olinda and Pernambuco in 1630 in their initial foray to create
1625-521: The Antilles and Suriname), gold, copper and ivory. In North America, the settlers Albert Burgh , Samuel Blommaert, Samuel Godijn , Johannes de Laet had little success with populating the colony of New Netherland, and to defend themselves against local Amerindians. Only Kiliaen Van Rensselaer managed to maintain his settlement in the north along the Hudson. Blommaert secretly tried to secure his interests with
1690-518: The British in 1814, the remaining colony of Surinam was often referred to as Dutch Guiana , especially after 1831, when the British merged Berbice, Essequibo, and Demerara into British Guiana . As the term Dutch Guiana was used in the 17th and 18th centuries to refer to all Dutch colonies in the Guianas, this use of the term can be confusing ( see below ). Although the colony has always been officially known as Surinam or Suriname, in both Dutch and English,
1755-412: The Dutch colony of Surinam. Dutch West India Company The Dutch West India Company ( Dutch : Geoctrooieerde Westindische Compagnie ) was a Dutch chartered company that was founded in 1621 and went defunct in 1792. Among its founders were Reynier Pauw , Willem Usselincx (1567–1647), and Jessé de Forest (1576–1624). On 3 June 1621, it was granted a charter for a trade monopoly in
1820-551: The Dutch crown, but which did not see any involvement of Dutch parliament. In the wake of the 1922 Dutch constitutional revision, in which the term "colony" was replaced by "overseas territory", the 1865 government regulation was replaced by the Basic Law of Suriname (Dutch: Staatsregeling van Suriname ) on 1 April 1937. This Basic Law renamed the Colonial Council to Estates of Suriname (Dutch: Staten van Suriname ) and increased
1885-592: The Eguafo Kingdom along the Gold Coast, present-day Ghana. The Komenda Wars drew in significant numbers of neighbouring African kingdoms and led to the replacement of the gold trade with enslaved Africans. Calabar was the largest slave trading place in Africa. Sint Eustatius (Dutch Caribbean) became the most profitable asset of the GWC and a transit point for enslaved Africans in the transatlantic slave trade . After 1734
1950-504: The GWC could not repay its debts in 1674, the company was dissolved. But due to continued high demand for trade between West Africa and the Dutch colonies in the Americas (mainly slave trade ), a second West India Company known as the New West India Company was chartered that same year. This new company controlled the same trade area as the first but privateering was no longer an asset. All ships, fortresses, etc. were taken over by
2015-775: The GWC had five offices, called chambers ( kamers ), in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Hoorn, Middelburg and Groningen, of which the chambers in Amsterdam and Middelburg contributed most to the company. The board consisted of 19 members, known as the Heeren XIX (the Nineteen Gentlemen, as opposed to the Heeren XVII who controlled the East India company.) The institutional structure of the GWC followed the federal structure, which entailed extensive discussion for any decision, with regional representation: 8 from Amsterdam ; 4 from Zeeland , 2 each from
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2080-518: The GWC held Portuguese territory in northeast Brazil, but they were ousted from Dutch Brazil following fierce resistance. After several reversals, the GWC reorganized and a new charter was granted in 1675, largely on the strength in the Atlantic slave trade. This "new" version lasted for more than a century, until after the Fourth Anglo–Dutch War , during which it lost most of its assets. When
2145-544: The GWC was Piet Heyn's seizure of the Spanish silver fleet , which carried silver from Spanish colonies to Spain. He had also seized a consignment of sugar from Brazil and a galleon from Honduras with cacao, indigo, and other valuable goods. Privateering was its most profitable activity in the late 1620s. Despite Heyn's success at plunder, the company's directors realized that it was not a basis to build long-term profit, leading them to renew their attempts to seize Iberian territory in
2210-559: The GWC was primarily engaged in facilitating the slave trade, and only responsible for the supply of slaves until 1738. The company then began to outsource the slave trade and left it to private enterprise , especially in Middelburg, Zeeland . In 1750 Thomas Hope was elected in the board of the company, but preferred the Heren XVII after two years; he was succeeded by Nicolaas Geelvinck in 1764. In 1773, when drinking coffee and cocoa
2275-465: The GWC. Investors did not rush to put their money in the company in 1621, but the States-General urged municipalities and other institutions to invest. Explanations for the slow investment by individuals were that shareholders had "no control over the directors' policy and the handling of ordinary investors' money," that it was a "racket" to provide "cushy posts for the directors and their relatives, at
2340-563: The High and Mightie Lords the States General of the United Provinces concerning the erecting of a West-Indies Companie, Anno Dom. MDCXII . by 1623, the capital for the GWC at 2.8 million florins was not as great the VOC's original capitalization of 6.5 million, but it was still a substantial sum. The GWC had 15 ships to carry trade and plied the west African coast and Brazil. Unlike
2405-528: The Netherlands Antilles returned to Suriname because there was no more work, which exacerbated the problem. No more funds came in and more unemployed people were added. To provide work, roads were built to Domburg and Groningen, and the Meursweg was constructed. The Salvation Army set up a soup kitchen to relieve the worst of necessities. However, this was not enough, and there was a great deal of unrest among
2470-522: The Straits of Magellan. One of the promotors was Reynier Pauw , who went on to appoint two of his sons as the first managers in 1621; both Pieter and Michiel Reyniersz Pauw were in place for fifteen years. Reynier Pauw II, Cornelis Bicker , and Samuel Blommaert were appointed in 1622. The Dutch West India Company was organized similarly to the Dutch East India Company (VOC). Like the VOC,
2535-521: The VOC pledged one million guilders in the form of capital and subsidy. Although Iberian writers said that crypto-Jews or Marranos played an important role in the formation of both the VOC and the GWC, research has shown that initially they played a minor role, but expanded during the period of the Dutch in Brazil. Emigrant Calvinists from the Spanish Netherlands did make significant investments in
2600-652: The VOC, the GWC had no right to deploy military troops. When the Twelve Years' Truce in 1621 was over, the Republic had a free hand to re-wage war with Spain. A Groot Desseyn ("grand design") was devised to seize the Portuguese colonies in Africa and the Americas, so as to dominate the sugar and slave trade. When this plan failed, privateering became one of the major goals within the GWC. The arming of merchant ships with guns and soldiers to defend themselves against Spanish ships
2665-464: The area that, when governed by Lisbon, was called Portuguese Guiana . Thus, before 1814, the term Dutch Guiana described not only Suriname, but all the colonies under Dutch sovereignty in the region taken together: a set of polities, with distinct governments, whose external borders changed much over time. The economy of the Colony of Suriname depended upon people enslaved at its plantations. Slave labour
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2730-407: The colony against foreign attacks. It was eventually decided to build a new fort at the confluence of the Suriname and Commewijne rivers. When Fort Nieuw-Amsterdam was completed in 1747, Fort Sommelsdijk was downgraded to a military outpost. Between 1863 and 1967, the fort was used as a prison . It is the location of the decommissioned lightvessel Suriname-Rivier , which is permanently moored in
2795-586: The colony was limited to these three shareholders, all citizens of the Dutch Republic were free to trade with Suriname. Also, the planters were consulted in a Council of Police , which was a unique feature among the colonies of Guiana. In November 1795, the Society was nationalized by the Batavian Republic . From then on until 1954, the Batavian Republic and its legal successors (the Kingdom of Holland and
2860-511: The colony was often unofficially and semi-officially referred to as Dutch Guiana (Dutch: Nederlands Guiana ) in the 19th and 20th century, in an analogy to British Guiana and French Guiana . Historically, Suriname was only one of many Dutch colonies in the Guianas , others being Berbice , Essequibo , Demerara , and Pomeroon , which after being taken over by the United Kingdom in 1814, were united into British Guiana in 1831. The Dutch also controlled northern Brazil from 1630 to 1654, including
2925-423: The company had to operate under a permanent threat of bankruptcy. In fact, the GWC went bankrupt in 1636 and all attempts at rehabilitation were doomed to failure. In 1636, the Dutch West India Company took possession of St. Eustatius , Sint Maarten , and Saba which all fell under Dutch control. A commander was stationed on St. Eustatius to govern all three islands by 1678. Because of the ongoing war in Brazil,
2990-444: The company made losses and paid no dividend . After the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War , it became apparent that the GWC was no longer capable of defending its own colonies, as Sint Eustatius , Berbice , Essequibo , Demerara , and some forts on the Dutch Gold Coast were rapidly taken by the British. In 1791 it was decided not to renew the patent to the GWC and to dissolve the company. All stocks were sold and territories previously held by
3055-438: The expense of ordinary shareholders". The VOC directors invested money in the GWC, without consulting their shareholders, causing dissent among a number of shareholders. In order to attract foreign shareholders, the GWC offered equal standing to foreign investors with Dutch, resulting in shareholders from France, Switzerland, and Venice. A translation of the original 1621 charter appeared in English, Orders and Articles granted by
3120-399: The founding of the colony of New Sweden on behalf of Sweden on the Delaware in the south. The main focus of the GWC now went to Brazil. The West India Company managed to conquer parts of Brazil from Portugal in 1630. That same year, the colony of New Holland was founded, with a capital in Mauritsstad (present-day Recife ). In the meantime, the war demanded so many of its forces that
3185-496: The island, before selling them elsewhere in the Caribbean and Spanish Main . The influence of the GWC in Africa was threatened during the Second and Third Anglo–Dutch Wars , but English efforts to displace the Dutch from the region ultimately proved unsuccessful. The first West India Company suffered a long agony, and its end in 1674 was painless. The reason that the GWC could drag on for 27 years seems to have been its valuable West African possessions, due to its slaves. When
3250-442: The membership from 13 to 15. After the Second World War , during which the Dutch government in exile had pledged to review the relationship between the Netherlands and its colonies, the Basic Law was heavily revised. In March 1948, revisions to the Basic Law were adopted by Dutch parliament, which introduced universal suffrage for both men and women, which increased the membership of the Estates from 15 to 21, and which introduced
3315-426: The natural resources of Surinam, which include rubber , gold and bauxite , were exploited. The gold rush that followed the discovery of gold on the banks of the Lawa River spurred the construction of the Lawa Railway in 1902, although construction was halted after gold production proved disappointing. In the 1930s, the grandmother of Hennah Draaibaar discovered more than 80 kilos of gold, which made her briefly
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#17330945539723380-416: The new company. Nobody was fired, but the number of directors was reduced from 19 to 10, and the number of governors from 74 to 50. By 1679, the new GWC had slightly more than 6 million guilders which was largely supplied by the Amsterdam Chamber. In 1687, due to the Asiento possessed by Balthasar Coymans , the company paid the highest dividend. From 1694 until 1700, the GWC waged a long conflict against
3445-418: The plantations. The Amsterdam Stock Exchange crashed in 1773, which dealt a severe blow to the plantation economy that was further exacerbated by the British abolition of the slave trade in 1807. This abolition was adopted by William I of the Netherlands , who signed a royal decree in this regard in June 1814, and who concluded the Anglo-Dutch Slave Trade Treaty in May 1818. Many plantations went bankrupt as
3510-402: The population in 1931, leading to demonstrations and street riots with looting. Nationalist Anton de Kom then came to Suriname to set up a workers' organization there: he established a consultancy firm, but when he organized a demonstration against governor Johannes Kielstra , he was imprisoned. A rally to get him released led to Black Tuesday , in which 2 people were shot. De Kom was then put on
3575-400: The previous regulation of 1832, which theoretically gave Suriname some limited self-rule. The colonial elite was given the right to elect a Colonial Council (Dutch: Koloniale Raad ) which would co-govern the colony together with the Governor-General appointed by the Dutch crown . Among others, the Colonial Council was allowed to decide over the colony's budget, which was subject to approval by
3640-438: The richest woman in Surinam; the Dutch took most of the gold to the Netherlands. In 1916, the U.S. aluminium company Alcoa began mining bauxite on the banks of the Cottica River , near the village of Moengo . In 1938, the company built an aluminium smelter in Paranam . The 1930s were a difficult time for Suriname. The Great Depression created great unemployment. Surinamese guest workers in Curaçao and other islands of
3705-505: The shore or along one bank of a navigable river..." Rensselaerswyck was the most successful Dutch West India Company patroonship. The New Netherland area, which included New Amsterdam , covered parts of present-day New York, Connecticut, Delaware, and New Jersey, with Manhattan and Fort Amsterdam serving as the first capital. Other settlements were established on the Netherlands Antilles , and in South America, in Dutch Brazil, Suriname and Guyana . In Africa, posts were established on
3770-493: The situation for the GWC in 1645, at the end of the charter, was very bad. An attempt to compensate the losses of the GWC with the profits of the VOC failed because the directors of the VOC did not want to. In 1645, the main participants in the GWC were members of the Trip family . Merging the two companies was not feasible. Amsterdam was not willing to help out, because it had too much interest in peace and healthy trade relations with Portugal. This indifferent attitude of Amsterdam
3835-426: The war with Spain, but also to distract attention from Spain to the Republic. In 1619, his opponent Johan van Oldenbarnevelt was beheaded, and when in April 1621 the truce expired, the West Indian Company could be established. The West India Company received its charter from the States-General in June 1621, granting it a 24-year monopoly on trade and colonization that included the American coast between Newfoundland and
3900-424: Was Balthazar de Moucheron . The trade with Africa offered several possibilities to set up trading posts or factories , an important starting point for negotiations. It was Blommaert, however, who stated that, in 1600, eight companies sailed on the coast of Africa, competing with each other for the supply of copper, from the Kingdom of Loango . Pieter van den Broecke was employed by one of these companies. In 1612,
3965-414: Was a Dutch plantation colony in the Guianas , bordered by the equally Dutch colony of Berbice to the west, and the French colony of Cayenne to the east. It later bordered British Guiana from 1831 to 1966. Surinam was a Dutch colony from 26 February 1667, when Dutch forces captured Francis Willoughby 's English colony during the Second Anglo-Dutch War , until 15 December 1954, when Surinam became
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#17330945539724030-505: Was mostly supplied by the Dutch West India Company from its trading posts in West Africa, to produce their crops. Sugar , cotton , and indigo were the main goods exported from the colony to the Netherlands until the early 18th century, when coffee became the single most important export product of Surinam. Planters' treatment of the slaves was notoriously bad. The historian C.R. Boxer wrote that "man's inhumanity to man just about reached its limits in Surinam", and many slaves escaped
4095-564: Was of great importance. On almost all ships in 1623, 40 to 50 soldiers were stationed, possibly to assist in the hijacking of enemy ships. It is unclear whether the first expedition was the expedition by Jacques l'Hermite to the coast of Chile, Peru and Bolivia, set up by Stadtholder Maurice with the support of the States General and the VOC. The company was initially a dismal failure, in terms of its expensive early projects, and its directors shifted emphasis from conquest of territory to pursue plunder of shipping. The most spectacular success for
4160-424: Was popular almost everywhere, the family Van Aerssen van Sommelsdijck sold its property in the colony of Surinam . The GWC participated in a bigger share together with the Society of Suriname . Many planters in Surinam and the Caribbean came into financial trouble because of the mortgages ( Crisis of 1772 ); the demand for slaves dropped. In 1775, the last slave ship entered the port of Willemstad . From 1780 on
4225-499: Was the main cause of the slow, half-hearted policy, which would eventually lead to losing the colony. In 1647, the company made a restart using 1.5 million guilders, capital of the VOC. The States General took responsibility for the warfare in Brazil. Due to the Peace of Westphalia , the attacks on Spanish shipping were forbidden to the GWC. The Portuguese succeeded in the recapture of Angola . Many merchants from Amsterdam and Zeeland decided to work with marine and merchants from
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