Surinamese Colonial History: Slavery

Dutch Suriname slavery
Figure 1.--This is a drawing by Pierre Jacques Benoit, one of hundred drawings doine during his travels in Suriname during the 1830s. Photographs can be faked. Artists of course could draw what ever they wanted. Abolitionist literature often included highly senstational illustrations emphasizing violence and depravity. This of course existed, but life on plantations was not one of constant violence and ceasless toil under the lash. Here we have a more benign view of slavery. Benoit notes that the slaves had some recreational diversions; billiards was very popular (page 27). If the picture is really accurate as the author says, we can assume that in Suriname (as in Brazil), it was common for slave women to go bare breasted and slave boys, even teenagers, to be naked. This was not the case in the United States, but there are numerous accounts of visiting northerners being shocked by naked children. Source: Voyage a Surinam, cent dessins pris sur nature par l'auteur Travel in Suriname (Brussels, 1839).

The British and Dutch like other European colonizers attempted to use Native Americans as slave labor. As in other countries, the Native Americans did not prove a long-term solution and very limited European settlement took place. . Many died in captivity through mistreatment and lack of resistance to European diseases, but unlike the Caribbean islands, cthey could escape deep into the interior or bush. The Dutch played a key role in developing plantation sugar agriculture during their brief control of Brazil during the European colonial wars (17th century). Dutch planters driven out of Brazil brought that knowledge to Suriname. Labor was carried out by African slaves. The Dutch were one of the principal Europeam naval powers and extensively involved in the Atlantic slave trade. Thus there was a ready supply of captive Africans to the planters in Suriname. Slaves were lesse useful on the Netherland Antilles because agricultural land was limited. Considerable development subsequently took place in Surinsme (early 18th century). The most important was plantations focusing on sugar production. Most of the work on the plantations was done by African slaves. Modern accounts include statements like, "The treatment of these slaves was bad." Such statements are often based on assumptions rather than fact. There is no doubt that work on a slave plantation was hard. And there was no doubt that there were many abuses. And escpees into the interior show that substantial numbers rejected enslavement. But so was life in Africa where they came from. Of course no one would want to be a slave, but in assessing living conditions want needs to assess objective indicators such as food consumption and popultion growth. Sugar proved to be a fantastically profitable crop leading to the importation of more and more African slaves. Africans thus developed over time as the principal part of the population. Labor on a sugar plantation was very hard. Some African slaves like the Native Americans before them, escaped into the interior which was largely undeveloped. Such escapees were known as Maroons, but in Surinme called 'Djukas' or 'Bush Negroes'. Some would acquire weapons and attack plantations. Over time the Maroons created a kind of buffer zone between the Dutch planters, who settled land along the coast and to some extent the main rivers, and the Native American tribes deep into the interior. The Netherlands during the French Revolution was invaded by France and eventually incorporated into the French Empire. As a result, the British occupied Suriname (1799). The British abolished slavery, but made no effort to enforce that action. Nor did they move against the Dutch population. The British returned Suriname to the Dutch after Napoleon's defeat as part of the Congress of Vienna peace settlement (1816). Suriname like the other Guianas was not involved in the South American wars of liberation against the Spanish which resulted in the emancipation of the slaves. The Dutch like other European powers did not at first cooperate with British effiorts to end the slave trade. The Dutch finlled abolished slavery (1863). They were one of the last European countries to do so. The slaves in Suriname wre not immediately emancipated. Colonial authorities enforced a 10-year period of government supervision which involved contract labor. Thus they had to continue working on the plantations, but were paid. The former slaves were finally released (1873). The planters turned to other workers. They imported endentured workers from the Dutch East Indies, mostly ethnic Chinese. And they found Hindu workers in India. A young Mohandas Gandhi helped end this practice during World War I (1916). The planters then turned to the DEI again, especially largely Hindu Java. As a result, modern Suriname has perhaps the most diverse population in South America.

Native Americans

The British and Dutch like other European colonizers first attempted to use Native Americans as slave labor. As in other countries, the Native Americans did not prove a long-term solution and very limited European settlement took place. Many enslaved Native Americns died in captivity through mistreatment and lack of resistance to European diseases, but unlike the Caribbean islands with small aees, the Native Americns in the Guianas could escape deep into the interior or bush.

Atlantic Slave Trade

A new outlet for Aftrican slaves appeared in the 15th century. Portuguese explorers began voyages south along the Atlantic coast of Africa. The Portuguese were looking for a route to Asia, but as they moved south they began setting up trading posts. First the Portuguese established trading posts along the coast of West Africa, but gradually moved further south along the coast. Other European maritime powers followed suit. This was the beginning of the African slave trade. The Europeans differed from the Arabs in that they did not normally conduct raids themselves, but usually bougth slaves from Arab slave brokers and African chiefs. Europeans built trading post and forts all along the coast of West Africa. From Senegal south to Cameroons there were about 60 forts that served as trading posts for the slave trade. The Europeans exchanged rum, cloth, guns, and other trade goods for their human cargo. The slaves were transported across the Atlantic Ocean primarily to Brazil, the West Indies and the English colonies in North America. Imense fortues were made in the trade. As the demand for slaves expanded, whole areas of Africa were depopulated. Scholars estimate that 10-15 million Africans were transported to the New World. The European African slave trade began during the mercantalist era. As in Brazil and the Caribbean labor in Suriname was carried out by imported African slaves. The Dutch were one of the principal Europeam naval powers and extensively involved in the Atlantic slave trade. Thus there was a ready supply of captive Agricans to the planters in Suriname. Slaves were less useful on the Netherland Antilles because agricultural land on the islands was limited. The islands were small and the climate arid.

Sugar

Plantation sugar production in the New World began to reach substabtial levels in Brazil (early-17th century). The Dutch played a key role in developing plantation sugar agriculture in the Caribbean. The Dutsch brief controled northeastern Brazil (17th century). This was part of the Dutch-Portuguese War. The Dutch helped to break Portuguese control of the Atlantic Slave Trade. Dutch planters driven out of Brazil brought that knowledge to Suriname. Considerable development subsequently took place in Suriname (early 18th century). The most important was plantations focusing on sugar production. Demand for sugar in Europe made sugfar an emensly profitable crop. Sugar proved to be a fantastically profitable crop leading to the importation of more and more African slaves. Displaced Dutch planters from Brazil also carried sugar technology to the Caribbean,

Living Conditions

Most of the work on the plantations was done by African slaves. Modern accounts include statements like, "The treatment of these slaves was bad." Such statements are often based on assumptions rather than fact. And the abolitionist movement general a great deal of propaganda about slavery which include a mixture of fact and fiction. There is no doubt that work on a slave plantation was hard. And there was no doubt that there were many abuses. And escpees into the interior show that substantial numbers of the imported Africans rejected enslavement. But so was life in Africa where they came from. Of course no one would want to be a slave, but in acurately assessing living conditions, one needs to assess objective indicators such as infant mortality, food consumption, and popultion growth.

Djukas/Bush Negroes

Given the numbers of Africans imported as slaves, Africans developed over time as the principal part of the population. Labor on a sugar plantation was very hard. Some African slaves like the Native Americans before them, escaped into the interior which was largely undeveloped. The terminology varied. Such escapees were more commonly known as Maroons in the Americas. It developed from the Spanish word 'cimarron', meaning fugitive or runaway. The literal meaning is 'living on mountaintops' from the Spanish word 'cima' meaning top or summit. The Maroons after running away formed independent settlements in the bush south of the coastal areas controlled by the Europeans. This also occurred in the Caribbean, but with the exception of Jamaica, the Europeans hunted them down without great dufficulty. The Maroons in Surinme called 'Djukas' or 'Bush Negroes'. Some would acquire weapons and attack plantations. They developed a greater threat than the Native Americans in part from their resistance to European diseas. Unable to wipe out the Djukas, in part because of the large area of the interior, Governors Mauritius and Crommelin negotiated peace treaties with some of the tribes. Other tribes continued to stage raids. One of the most effective Maroon tribal leader was Boni (second half of the 18th century). Over time the Maroons created a kind of buffer zone between the Dutch planters, who settled land along the coast and some extent the main rivers, and the Native American tribes deeper in the interior. Eventually in both Suriname and French Guiana they joined with Native Americans or founded several independent tribes, including the Saramaka, the Paramaka, the Ndyuka (Aukan), the Kwinti, the Aluku (Boni), and the Matawai. Suriname Marions/Djukas began pressing for land rights (1990s).

The French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars (1789-1815)

The French Revolution (1789) led to to abolition of slavery in Suriname's eastren neighbor French Guiana. This along with developments in Haiti shocked the Surinamese plantation owners who were concerned about the impact on their slaves. The Netherlands during the French Revolution was invaded by France and eventually became a part of France (Bataafse Republiek). As a result, the British occupied Suriname (1799). The British abolished slavery, but made no effort to enforce that action in Suriname. Nor did they move against the Dutch population. With the exception of a brief period (1802-04) the British hekd Surimanme during the Napoleonic Wars. The British abolished the slave trade (1808) and somewhat improved the position of the Surinamese slaves. The British returned Suriname to the Dutch after Napoleon's defeat as part of the Congress of Vienna peace settlement (1816).

South American Wars of Liberation (1806-26)

Suriname like the other Guianas was not involved in the South American wars of liberation against the Spanish. These began as wars against the Spanish crown at a time that Spain occupied by France could not support the royal officials in the colonies. The Guianas were British, Dutch, and French colonies. This they were left untouched. The revolutionary wars against the Spanish resulted in the emancipation of the slaves throughout South America. The one major exception was Brazil. The impact on Suriname, however,as limited. There were no road connections or population movements with other South American countries.

Final Decades of Slavery (1816-63)

The Dutch like other European powers did not at first cooperate with British after the end of the Napoleonic Wars to end the slave trade. The abolition movement was not as strong in other European countries and many believed the British effort was a disguised attempt to weaken their economies. The British pursued a long term diplmatic effort and backed it up with the Royal Navy. Thus slavery continued for decades in Suriname, even after the British ended slavery within their Empire (1833-34). The British Royal Navy interdiction of slavers, however, meant that new shipments of slaves wee reduced and finally ended. We are not sure just when the Netherlands officially agreed to end the slave trade. The Dutch add an article to their treary with Britain affirming that vessels condemned for slave trading should be broken up before sale. We note some books published in Europe about slavery in Suriname. We do not have much information, however, about living and working conditions. We noite scenes with freed Africans, but we don't think they were extended civil rights. Not have we been able to find much information about the Dutch abolotioinist movement. Colonial officials and planters seeing that slavery was ending, decided to look for other sources of labor. They began importing workers from other areas. As they were not slaves, this was permitted. Some Dutch farmers from Groningen were brouht to Surinamne with the idea of founding small farms thus diversifying away from plantation agriculture. Tragically, half of these farmers died within a year. The plannters recruited contract labor. The first group were etnic Chinese living in the Dutch East Indies (modern Indonesia). The Chinese workers, however, left the plantations en masse after their 5-year contractual work period.

Abolition and Emancipation (1863-73)

The Dutch finlled abolished slavery (1863). This was the same year that the American Emancipation Proclamation wentinto effect during the Civiln War. They were one of the last European countries to do so. The slaves in Suriname were not immediately emancipated. Colonial authorities enforced a 10-year period of government supervision which involved contract labor. Thus the former slaves had to continue working on the plantations, but were paid. The former slaves were finally released (1873). And most left the plantations as soon as the law permitted.

Contract Labor

The Surinamese planters turned to other workers after emancipation. The planters did not want to offer high wages. And many former slaves did not want to work on the plantations. And thus after the 10-yer mandatory work period, the planters were without a work force (1873). They had earlier imported Chinese workers, but they also left theplntations s soon as their contracts were up. So the plabyers next turned to Hindu worker from India, primarilyvrecruited in the Calcutta area. They were required to work on the plantations for a set number of years. After this they could return to India or sign another work contract. Some 37,000 Hindus were recruited for work in Suriname. A young Mohandas Gandhi helped end this practice during World War I (1916). The planters then turned to the DEI again, especially largely Hindu Java. About 33,000 mostly Hindus were recruited from the DEI (1900-40). Like the other groups before them, most left the plantations as soon as their contract was fulfilled. Most started small farms. As a result, of these efforts to find plantation workers, modern Suriname has perhaps the most diverse population in South America. Gradually the importnce of the plantations declined. The number of sugar plantations fell from 80 (1863) to only 4 (1940).

Sources

"Case of the Saramaka People v. Suriname," Judgment (November 28, 2007). Inter-American Court of Human Rights (La Corte Interamericana de Derechos Humanos).







HBC






Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[Return to the Main Guianas slavery page]
[Return to the Main Surimanese colonial history page]
[Return to the Main Surimanese history page]
[Return to the Main Surimanese page]
[Return to the Main slavery in the Americas page]
[Introduction] [Activities] [Biographies] [Chronology] [Cloth and textiles] [Clothing styles] [Countries] [Topics]
[Bibliographies] [Contributions] [FAQs] [Glossaries] [Images] [Links] [Registration] [Tools]
[Boys' Clothing Home]





Created: 5:08 AM 10/1/2011
Last updated: 2:01 AM 10/1/2012