59-583: The Tapanahony River (sometimes called Tapanahoni ) is a major river in the south eastern part of Suriname , South America. The river originates in the Southern part of the Eilerts de Haan Mountains , near the border with Brazil . It joins the Marowijne River at a place called Stoelmanseiland . Upstream, there are many villages inhabited by Indian Tiriyó people , while further downstream villages are inhabited by
118-501: A British fleet sailing to meet Lord Willoughby in Barbados , which at the time was the seat of English colonial government in the region, again spelled the name of the colony Surinam . A 1663 royal charter said the region around the river was "called Serrinam also Surrinam". As a result of the Surrinam spelling, 19th-century British sources offered the folk etymology Surryham , saying it
177-489: A change in the political structure have resulted in breakaway states. Mongolia and Finland , for example, gained their independence during the revolutions occurring in China (1911) and Russia (1917) respectively. Causes for a country or province wishing to seek independence are many, but most can be summed up as a feeling of inequality compared to the dominant power. The means can extend from intended peaceful demonstrations as in
236-440: A crucial point of discussion. The rights to nationality and self-determination allow clarification. The right of self-determination allows self-governance , as for example in the case of indigenous peoples , but is not a right of secession, except in extreme cases of oppression as a remedy from the oppression. Therefore, the right to secession is generally determined by the legislation of sovereign states and independence by
295-639: A five-year term. In the elections held on Tuesday 25 May 2010, the Megacombinatie won 23 of the National Assembly seats, followed by Nationale Front with 20 seats. A much smaller number, important for coalition-building, went to the "A-combinatie" and to the Volksalliantie. The parties held negotiations to form coalitions. Elections were held on 25 May 2015, and the National Assembly again elected Dési Bouterse as president. The president of Suriname
354-469: A larger government for its protection as an autonomous region. During the 20th century wave of decolonization colonies gained rights to independence through documents such as the 1960 Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples , but this right remained mostly applicable only to unfree territorial entities, such as colonies. How much these rights apply to all people has been
413-653: A second meeting toward this goal on 3–4 March 2011, in Dover, Barbados. Their representatives reviewed issues of agriculture, trade, investment, as well as international transport. In the late 2000s, Suriname intensified development cooperation with other developing countries. China's South-South cooperation with Suriname has included a number of large-scale infrastructure projects, including port rehabilitation and road construction. Brazil signed agreements to cooperate with Suriname in education, health, agriculture, and energy production. The Armed Forces of Suriname have three branches:
472-569: A state, which as such may remain unaltered. For example, the Mexican Revolution (1910) chiefly refers to a multi-factional conflict that eventually led to a new constitution ; it has rarely been used to refer to the armed struggle (1821) against Spain. However, some wars of independence have been described as revolutions, such as the ones in the United States (1783) and Indonesia (1949), while some revolutions that were specifically about
531-563: Is Paramaribo , which is home to roughly half the population. Suriname was inhabited as early as the fourth millennium BC by various indigenous peoples , including the Arawaks , Caribs , and Wayana . Europeans arrived and contested the area in the 16th century, with the Dutch controlling much of the country's current territory by the late 17th century. Under Dutch rule , Suriname was a lucrative plantation colony focused mostly on sugar ; its economy
590-626: Is "pale-skinned negroes"), and in Dutch as Marrons . The Maroons gradually developed several independent tribes through a process of ethnogenesis , as they were made up of slaves from different African ethnicities. These tribes include the Saramaka , Paramaka , Ndyuka or Aukan, Kwinti , Aluku or Boni, and Matawai . The Maroons often raided plantations to recruit new members from the slaves and capture women, as well as to acquire weapons, food, and supplies. They sometimes killed planters and their families in
649-634: Is a country in northern South America , sometimes considered part of the Caribbean and the West Indies . Suriname is a developing country with a medium level of human development ; its economy is heavily dependent on its abundant natural resources, namely bauxite , gold , petroleum , and agricultural products . Suriname is a member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the United Nations , and
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#1732852429021708-410: Is elected for a five-year term by a two-thirds majority of the National Assembly. If at least two-thirds of the National Assembly cannot agree to vote for one presidential candidate, a People's Assembly is formed from all National Assembly delegates and regional and municipal representatives who were elected by popular vote in the most recent national election. The president may be elected by a majority of
767-648: Is headed by the High Court of Justice of Suriname (Supreme Court). This court supervises the magistrate courts. Members are appointed for life by the president in consultation with the National Assembly, the State Advisory Council, and the National Order of Private Attorneys. Due to Suriname's Dutch colonial history, Suriname had a long-standing special relationship with the Netherlands. In 1999, Dési Bouterse
826-603: Is the status of a dependent territory or colony . The commemoration of the independence day of a country or nation celebrates when a country is free from all forms of colonialism ; free to build a country or nation without any interference from other nations. Whether the attainment of independence is different from revolution has long been contested, and has often been debated over the question of violence as legitimate means to achieving sovereignty. In general, revolutions aim only to redistribute power with or without an element of emancipation, such as in democratization within
885-554: The 1977 elections , in which Arron won a further term, and the discontent was such that a large portion of the population fled to the Netherlands, joining the already significant Surinamese community there. On 25 February 1980, a military coup overthrew Arron's government. It was initiated by a group of 16 sergeants, led by Dési Bouterse . Opponents of the military regime attempted counter-coups in April 1980, August 1980, 15 March 1981, and again on 12 March 1982. The first counter attempt
944-575: The Netherlands Antilles and the Netherlands. In this construction, the Netherlands retained control of its defense and foreign affairs. In 1974, the local government, led by the National Party of Suriname (NPS) (whose membership was largely Creole , meaning ethnically African or mixed African-European), started negotiations with the Dutch government leading towards full independence; in contrast to Indonesia 's earlier war for independence from
1003-615: The Netherlands government-in-exile , the United States sent 2,000 soldiers to Suriname to protect the bauxite mines to support the Allies' war effort. In 1942, the Dutch government-in-exile began to review the relations between the Netherlands and its colonies in terms of the post-war period. In 1954, Suriname became one of the constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands , along with
1062-724: The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation . Situated slightly north of the equator , over 90% of its territory is covered by rainforests , the highest proportion of forest cover in the world . Suriname is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north, French Guiana to the east, Guyana to the west, and Brazil to the south. It is the smallest country in South America by both population and territory, with around 612,985 inhabitants in an area of approximately 163,820 square kilometers (63,251 square miles). The capital and largest city
1121-617: The Second Anglo-Dutch War , the Dutch decided to keep the nascent plantation colony of Surinam they had gained from the English. In return the English kept New Amsterdam , the main city of the former colony of New Netherland in North America on the mid-Atlantic coast. The British renamed it New York , after the Duke of York who would later become King James II of England . In 1683,
1180-580: The Society of Suriname was founded by the city of Amsterdam , the Van Aerssen van Sommelsdijck family, and the Dutch West India Company . The society was chartered to manage and defend the colony. The planters of the colony relied heavily on African slaves to cultivate, harvest and process the commodity crops of coffee, cocoa, sugar cane and cotton plantations along the rivers. Planters' treatment of
1239-714: The Surinaamse Krijgsmacht (SKM):, Surinamese Armed Forces. After the 1980 overthrow of the government, the SKM was rebranded as the Nationaal Leger (NL), National Army. In 1965, the Dutch and Americans used Suriname's Coronie site for multiple Nike Apache sounding rocket launches. Independence Independence is a condition of a nation , country , or state , in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government , and usually sovereignty , over its territory. The opposite of independence
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#17328524290211298-633: The Amerindian Wayana and Maroon Ndyuka people . This article related to a river in Suriname is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Suriname Suriname ( / ˈ s ʊər ɪ n æ m , - n ɑː m / SOOR -in- A(H)M , Dutch: [syːriˈnaːmə] , Sranan Tongo: [sraˈnãŋ] ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( Dutch : Republiek Suriname [reːpyˈblik syːriˈnaːmə] ),
1357-726: The Army, the Air Force, and the Navy. The president of the Republic is the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces ( Opperbevelhebber van de Strijdkrachten ). The president is assisted by the minister of defence. Beneath the president and minister of defence is the commander of the armed forces ( Bevelhebber van de Strijdkrachten ). The military branches and regional military commands report to
1416-554: The British, who then ruled the area). In addition, during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, small numbers of laborers, mostly men, were recruited from China and the Middle East. Although Suriname's population remains relatively small, because of this complex colonization and exploitation, it is one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse countries in the world. During World War II , on 23 November 1941, under an agreement with
1475-455: The Dutch. Suriname is highly diverse, with no ethnic group forming a majority; proportionally, its Muslim and Hindu populations are some of the largest in the Americas. Most people live along the northern coast, centered around Paramaribo, making Suriname one of the least densely populated countries on Earth . The name Suriname may derive from an indigenous people called Surinen , who inhabited
1534-561: The Maroons sovereign status and trade rights in their inland territories, giving them autonomy. From 1861 to 1863, with the American Civil War underway, and enslaved people escaping to Northern territory controlled by the Union , United States President Abraham Lincoln and his administration looked abroad for places to relocate people who were freed from enslavement and who wanted to leave
1593-626: The NPS) as Prime Minister. In the years leading up to independence, nearly one-third of the population of Suriname emigrated to the Netherlands, amidst concern that the new country would fare worse under independence than it had as a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Surinamese politics did degenerate into ethnic polarisation and corruption soon after independence, with the NPS using Dutch aid money for partisan purposes. Its leaders were accused of fraud in
1652-424: The Netherlands, the path toward Suriname's independence had been an initiative of the then left-wing Dutch government . Independence was granted on 25 November 1975. A large part of Suriname's economy for the first decade following independence was fueled by foreign aid provided by the Dutch government. The first President of the country was Johan Ferrier , the former governor, with Henck Arron (the then leader of
1711-512: The Netherlands. Suriname's culture and society strongly reflect the legacy of Dutch colonial rule. It is the only sovereign nation outside Europe where Dutch is the official and prevailing language of government, business, media, and education; an estimated 60% of the population speaks Dutch as a native language. Sranan Tongo , an English-based creole language , is a widely used lingua franca . Most Surinamese are descendants of slaves and indentured labourers brought from Africa and Asia by
1770-473: The People's Assembly called for the special election. As head of government, the president appoints a sixteen-minister cabinet. A vice president is normally elected for a five-year term at the same time as the president, by a simple majority in the National Assembly or People's Assembly. There is no constitutional provision for removal or replacement of the president, except in the case of resignation. The judiciary
1829-539: The Second Voyage to Guiana of passing a river called " Shurinama " as he travelled along the coast. In 1598, a fleet of three Dutch ships visiting the Wild Coast mention passing the river " Surinamo ". In 1617, a Dutch notary spelled the name of the river on which a Dutch trading post had existed three years earlier as " Surrenant ". British settlers, who in 1630 founded the first European colony at Marshall's Creek along
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1888-601: The Suriname River, spelled the name " Surinam "; this would long remain the standard spelling in English. The Dutch navigator David Pietersz. de Vries wrote of travelling up the " Sername " river in 1634 until he encountered the English colony there; the terminal vowel remained in future Dutch spellings and pronunciations. The river was called Soronama in a 1640 Spanish manuscript entitled "General Description of All His Majesty's Dominions in America". In 1653, instructions given to
1947-519: The U.S. Department of Defense. Suriname has been a member of The Forum of Small States (FOSS) since the group's founding in 1992. European Union relations and cooperation with Suriname are carried out both on a bilateral and a regional basis. There are ongoing EU- Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and EU- CARIFORUM dialogues. Suriname is party to the Cotonou Agreement ,
2006-527: The United States. It opened negotiations with the Dutch government regarding African American emigration to and colonization of the Dutch colony of Suriname . Nothing came of the idea, which was dropped after 1864. The Netherlands abolished slavery in Suriname in 1863, under a gradual process that required slaves to work on plantations for 10 transition years for minimal pay, which was considered as partial compensation for their masters. After that transition period expired in 1873, most freedmen largely abandoned
2065-587: The area at the time of European contact. The suffix -ame, common in Surinamese river and place names (see also the Coppename River ), may come from aima or eima , meaning river or creek mouth, in Lokono , an Arawak language spoken in the country. The earliest European sources give variants of "Suriname" as the name of the river on which colonies were eventually founded. Lawrence Kemys wrote in his Relation of
2124-467: The capacity to be a state. Sometimes, a state wishing to achieve independence from a dominating power will issue a declaration of independence ; the earliest surviving example is Scotland 's Declaration of Arbroath in 1320, with the most recent examples being Azawad 's declaration of independence in 2012 and Catalan declaration of independence in 2017. Declaring independence and attaining it, however, are quite different. A well-known successful example
2183-517: The capital Paramaribo. Protesters accused the government of President Chan Santokhi of corruption. They stormed the National Assembly, demanding the government to resign. However, the government condemned the protests. The Republic of Suriname is a representative democratic republic, based on the Constitution of 1987 . The legislative branch of government consists of a 51-member unicameral National Assembly , simultaneously and popularly elected for
2242-571: The case of India (1947), to a violent war as in the case of Algeria (1962). In some cases, a country may also have declared independence, but may only be partially recognized by other countries; such as Kosovo (2008), whose independence Serbia , from which Kosovo has seceded, has not formally recognized . Autonomy refers to a kind of independence which has been granted by an overseeing authority that itself still retains ultimate authority over that territory (see Devolution ). A protectorate refers to an autonomous region that depends upon
2301-577: The commander. After the creation of the Statute of the Kingdom of the Netherlands , the Royal Netherlands Army was entrusted with the defense of Suriname, while the defense of the Netherlands Antilles was the responsibility of the Royal Netherlands Navy . The army set up a separate Troepenmacht in Suriname (Forces in Suriname, TRIS). Upon independence in 1975, this force was turned into
2360-522: The country's English name was changed from "Surinam" to "Suriname" in January 1978, but "Surinam" can still be found in English, such as Surinam Airways and the Surinam toad . The older English name is reflected in the English pronunciation, / ˈ sj ʊər ɪ n æ m , - n ɑː m / . In Dutch , the official language of Suriname, the pronunciation is [ˌsyːriˈnaːmə] , with a schwa terminal vowel and
2419-484: The forefathers") at the mouth of the Marowijne River . While the larger Arawak and Carib tribes lived along the coast and savanna, smaller groups of indigenous people lived in the inland rainforest, such as the Akurio , Trió , Warao , and Wayana . Beginning in the 16th century, French , Spanish and English explorers visited the area. A century later, Dutch and English settlers established plantation colonies along
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2478-478: The late 1980s. National elections were held in 1987. The National Assembly adopted a new constitution that allowed Bouterse to remain in charge of the army. Dissatisfied with the government, Bouterse summarily dismissed the ministers in 1990, by telephone. This event became popularly known as the "Telephone Coup". His power began to wane after the 1991 elections. At the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul , Suriname became
2537-545: The main stress on the third syllable. Indigenous settlement of Suriname dates back to 3,000 BC. The largest tribes were the Arawak , a nomadic coastal tribe that lived from hunting and fishing. They were the first inhabitants in the area. The Carib also settled in the area and conquered the Arawak by using their superior sailing ships. They settled in Galibi ( Kupali Yumï , meaning "tree of
2596-515: The many rivers in the fertile Guiana plains. The earliest documented colony in Guiana was an English settlement named Marshall's Creek along the Suriname River. After that, there was another short-lived English colony called Surinam that lasted from 1650 to 1667. Disputes arose between the Dutch and the English for control of this territory. In 1667, during negotiations leading to the Treaty of Breda after
2655-422: The next three days , along with Rambocus and Jiwansingh Sheombar (who was also involved in the fourth counter-coup attempt). The brutal civil war between the Suriname army and Maroons loyal to rebel leader Ronnie Brunswijk , begun in 1986, continued and its effects further weakened Bouterse's position during the 1990s. Due to the civil war, more than 10,000 Surinamese, mostly Maroons, fled to French Guiana in
2714-715: The partnership agreement among the members of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States and the European Union. On 17 February 2005, the leaders of Barbados and Suriname signed the "Agreement for the deepening of bilateral cooperation between the Government of Barbados and the Government of the Republic of Suriname." On 23–24 April 2009, both nations formed a Joint Commission in Paramaribo , Suriname, to improve relations and to expand into various areas of cooperation. They held
2773-408: The plantations where they had worked for several generations in favor of the capital city, Paramaribo . Some of them were able to purchase the plantations they worked on, especially in the district of Para and Coronie. Their descendants still live on those grounds today. Several plantation owners did not pay their former enslaved workers the pay they owed them for the ten years following 1863. They paid
2832-564: The president. Bouterse was elected as president of Suriname in 2010. The Netherlands in July 2014 dropped Suriname as a member of its development program. Since 1991, the United States has maintained positive relations with Suriname. The two countries work together through the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI) and the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). Suriname also receives military funding from
2891-466: The raids. Colonists built defenses, which were significant enough that they were shown on 18th-century maps. The colonists also mounted armed campaigns against the Maroons, who generally escaped through the rainforest, which they knew much better than the colonists did. To end hostilities, in the 18th century, the European colonial authorities signed several peace treaties with different tribes. They granted
2950-692: The slaves was notoriously brutal even by the standards of the time —historian C. R. Boxer wrote that "man's inhumanity to man just about reached its limits in Surinam" —and many slaves escaped the plantations. In November 1795, the Society was nationalized by the Batavian Republic and from then on the Batavian Republic and its legal successors (the Kingdom of Holland and the Kingdom of the Netherlands) governed
3009-472: The smallest independent South American state to win its first ever Olympic medal as Anthony Nesty won gold in the 100-metre butterfly . The first half of 1999 was marked by non-violent national protests against poor general economic and social conditions. By mid-year, the Netherlands tried Bouterse in absentia on drug-smuggling charges. He was convicted and sentenced to prison but remained in Suriname. On 19 July 2010, Bouterse returned to power when he
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#17328524290213068-499: The territory as a national colony – barring two periods of British occupation, between 1799 and 1802, and between 1804 and 1816. With the help of the native South Americans living in the adjoining rain forests, runaway slaves established a new and unique culture in the interior that was highly successful in its own right. They were known collectively in English as Maroons , in French as Nèg'Marrons (literally meaning "brown negroes", that
3127-474: The workers with the property rights of the ground of the plantation in order to escape their debt to the workers. As a plantation colony, Suriname had an economy dependent on labor-intensive commodity crops. To make up for a shortage of labor, the Dutch recruited and transported contract or indentured laborers from the Dutch East Indies (modern Indonesia) and India (the latter through an arrangement with
3186-486: Was convicted and sentenced in absentia in the Netherlands to 11 years of imprisonment for drug trafficking. He was the main suspect in the court case concerning the December murders, the 1982 assassination of opponents of military rule in Fort Zeelandia , Paramaribo. He served as president between 2010 and 2020. These two cases still strain relations between the Netherlands and Suriname. The Dutch government stated during that time that it would maintain limited contact with
3245-498: Was convicted by a Surinamese court on 29 November 2019 and given a 20-year sentence for his role in the 1982 killings. After winning the 2020 elections , Chan Santokhi was the sole nomination for president of Suriname . On 13 July, Santokhi was elected president by acclamation in an uncontested election . He was inaugurated on 16 July in a ceremony without public attendance due to the COVID-19 pandemic . In February 2023, there were heavy protests against rising living costs in
3304-445: Was driven by African slave labour until the abolition of slavery in 1863, after which indentured servants were recruited mostly from British India and the Dutch East Indies . In 1954, Suriname became a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands . On 25 November 1975, it became independent following negotiations with the Dutch government. Suriname continues to maintain close diplomatic, economic, and cultural ties with
3363-417: Was elected as the president of Suriname. Before his election in 2010, he, along with 24 others, had been charged with the murders of 15 prominent dissidents in the December murders . However, in 2012, two months before the verdict in the trial, the National Assembly extended its amnesty law and provided Bouterse and the others with amnesty of these charges. He was reelected on 14 July 2015. However, Bouterse
3422-520: Was led by Fred Ormskerk , the second by Marxist-Leninists , the third by Wilfred Hawker , and the fourth by Surendre Rambocus . Hawker escaped from prison during the fourth counter-coup attempt, but he was captured and summarily executed. Between 2 am and 5 am on 7 December 1982, the military, under Bouterse's leadership, rounded up 13 prominent citizens who had criticized the military dictatorship and held them at Fort Zeelandia in Paramaribo. The dictatorship had all these men executed over
3481-423: Was the name given to the Suriname River by Lord Willoughby in the 1660s in honour of the Duke of Norfolk and Earl of Surrey when an English colony was established under a grant from King Charles II . This folk etymology can be found repeated in later English-language sources. When the territory was taken over by the Dutch, it became part of a group of colonies known as Dutch Guiana . The official spelling of
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