Suriname

Overview

The country is on the north coast of South America between Guyana and French Guiana. It is predominantly covered in rainforest. Unfortunately the political situation has not been smooth since independence in 1975. This does not mean that it is not a suitable destination as there is not any warfare, rather, those visiting must be aware that the tourist infrastructure is not particularly developed. This will be attractive to many who might wish to see pristine forests unimpinged upon by city dwelling man.

Paramaribo, the capital, has examples of architecture from the various colonial powers which have held sway in the regions. Exploration of the interior from here depends on how adventurous the visitor is feeling. There are simple trips to see indigenous people and their traditional way of life or much more involved affairs with canoes and 4x4. Beaches are not a major attraction as many are in protected areas and are hence out of bounds. An alternative to sea swimming is in a creek. Some of these have clean but brown water which makes an interesting change. The prevalence of forest results in most journeys by boat or road involving the opportunity to see varied wildlife. Some sites of general interest include the Niew Amersterdam Fort, the Raleigh Falls and the Brownsberg Nature reserve.

History

Arawak and Carib tribes lived in the region before Columbus sighted the coast in 1498. Spain officially claimed the area in 1593 but Portuguese and Spanish explorers of the time gave the area little attention. Dutch settlement began in 1616 at the mouths of several rivers between present-day Georgetown Guyana and Cayenne French Guiana.

Suriname violent conflict between whites and native tribes and frequent uprisings by the imported slave population which was often treated with extraordinary cruelty. Barely if at all assimilated into European society many of the slaves fled to the interior where they maintained a West African culture and established the five major Bush Negro tribes in existence today: the Djuka Saramaccaner Matuwari Paramaccaner and Quinti.

Plantations steadily declined in importance as labor costs rose. Rice bananas and citrus fruits replaced the traditional crops of sugar coffee and cocoa. Exports of gold rose beginning in 1900. The Dutch Government gave little financial support to the colony.

Suriname's economy was transformed in the years following World War I when an American firm (ALCOA) began exploiting bauxite deposits in East Suriname. Bauxite processing and then alumina production began in 1941. During World War II more than 75% of U.S. bauxite imports came from Suriname.

In 1951 Suriname began to acquire a growing measure of autonomy from the Netherlands. Suriname became an autonomous part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands on December 15 1954 and gained independence on November 25 1975.

Most of Suriname's political parties took shape during the autonomy period and were overwhelmingly based...more