Place:Suriname

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NameSuriname
Alt namesDutch Guianasource: Webster's Geographical Dictionary (1988) p 1167-1168
Netherlands Guianasource: Webster's Geographical Dictionary (1988) p 1167
Republic of Surinamsource: Cambridge World Gazetteer (1990) p 620-621
Republic of Surinamesource: Wikipedia
Republiek Surinamesource: Britannica Book of the Year (1991) p 705; Britannica Book of the Year (1993) p 720
Sranangsource: Wikipedia
Surinamsource: Wikipedia
TypeNation
Coordinates4°N 56°W
source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names
source: Family History Library Catalog


the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Suriname or Surinam, officially known as the Republic of Suriname, is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north, French Guiana to the east, Guyana to the west, and Brazil to the south. At just under , it is the smallest sovereign state in South America.

It has a population of approximately , dominated by descendants from the slaves and laborers brought in from Africa and Asia by the Dutch Empire and Republic. Most of the people live by the country's (north) coast, in and around its capital and largest city, Paramaribo. It is also one of the least densely populated countries on Earth.

Situated slightly north of the equator, Suriname is a tropical country dominated by rainforests. Its extensive tree cover is vital to the country's efforts to mitigate climate change and maintain carbon negativity. A developing country with a relatively high level of human development, Suriname's economy is heavily dependent on its abundant natural resources, namely bauxite, gold, petroleum and agricultural products.

Suriname was inhabited as early as the fourth millennium BC by various indigenous peoples, including the Arawaks, Caribs, and Wayana. Europeans arrived in the 16th century, with the Dutch establishing control over much of the country's current territory by the late 17th century. During the Dutch colonial period, Suriname was a lucrative source of sugar, its plantation economy driven by African slave labor, and after abolition of slavery in 1863, by indentured servants from Asia, predominantly from then British India (India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh), as well as Java (Indonesia). So much so, that Indo-Surinamese, or '(Surinaams-) Hindoestanen' in Dutch, became the country's biggest ethnic group, significantly influencing Surinamese cuisine.

In 1954, Suriname became one of the constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. On 25 November 1975, it left the Kingdom to become an independent state. Contrary to the preceding war for independence of Dutch colony Indonesia, this was an initiative of the Netherlands then left-wing government. Suriname continues to maintain close diplomatic, economic, and cultural ties with it.

Suriname is considered a culturally Caribbean country, and is a member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). It is the only sovereign nation outside of Europe where Dutch is the official and prevailing language of government, business, media, and education.[1] According to research by the Dutch Language Union, Dutch is the native language of 60% of Surinamese. Sranan Tongo, an English-based creole language, is a widely used lingua franca.

Contents

How places in Suriname are organized

All places in Suriname

Further information on historical place organization in Suriname

Research Tips

Emmerling, Amsterdam 1970


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