Suriname history Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
IMAGES RELEVANT TO THE BLUE BLOOD IS BLACK BLOOD 1100-1848 RESEARCH
This article presents a new interpretation of the famous folktale about enslaved Africans flying home, including the legend that only those who refrained from eating salt could fly back to Africa. It rejects claims that the tale is rooted... more
This article presents a new interpretation of the famous folktale about enslaved Africans flying home, including the legend that only those who refrained from eating salt could fly back to Africa. It rejects claims that the tale is rooted in Igbo culture and relates to suicide as a desperate attempt to escape from slavery. Rather, an analysis of historical documents in combination with ethnographic and linguistic research makes it possible to trace the tale back to West-Central Africa. It relates objections to eating salt to the Kikongo expression curia mungua (to eat salt), meaning baptism, and claims that the tale originated in the context of discussions among the enslaved about the consequences of a Christian baptism for one's spiritual afterlife.
Presentation about slavery in Suriname by the Surinamese author Cynthia McLeod, introduction by Jeroen Dewulf.
The Blue Blood Is Black blood Theory (1100-1848) states that Europe was ruled by a brown and black complexioned royal, noble, bourgeois en intellectual elite, but their portraits were falsified, whitened or restored: The Syndics of the... more
The Blue Blood Is Black blood Theory (1100-1848) states that Europe was ruled by a brown and black complexioned royal, noble, bourgeois en intellectual elite, but their portraits were falsified, whitened or restored: The Syndics of the Clothesmakers Guild or De Staalmeesters (1662) by Rembrandt, before and after retouch. Photo by A. Braun & co, before 1880. Willem van Beyeren by Van Mierevelt. Jaques van Aerssen by De Vries. Voltaire black and white
When in 1621 was established the Dutch West India Company, the United Provinces of the Netherlands were ready to enter in the Spanish mare clausum in the New World. Due to their traditional liberal approach to religious freedom, the Dutch... more
MA Thesis (2011)
[Subtitle had to be shortened on Academia.edu.]
France and the Netherlands were both important European colonial powers in the nineteenth century. This book, based primarily on archival research, is a contribution to the study of the relations between France and the Netherlands... more
France and the Netherlands were both important European colonial powers in the nineteenth century. This book, based primarily on archival research, is a contribution to the study of the relations between France and the Netherlands overseas in the nineteenth century. It focuses on those regions of the world where these two nations shared colonial borderlands: the island of St Martin in the Caribbean, the Gold Coast in Africa, and French Guiana and Surinam in South America. The border question in these regions is dealt with in the European context of colonial and international policy, as well as in the local context. The work addresses Franco-Dutch relations in the colonies, but also the interactions with the slaves on St Martin, the peoples of the Gold Coast (Ashanti, Agni of Sanwi, Fanti and Apollonians or Nzema), and the Maroons such as the Boni (Aluku) and the Ndyuka in the Guianese interior.
Messianism, Secrecy and Mysticism tells the history of Early American Jews, focusing on the objects of everyday life used and created by Jews, such as ritual baths, food, gravestones, portraits, furniture, as well as the synagogue. By... more
Messianism, Secrecy and Mysticism tells the history of Early American Jews, focusing on the objects of everyday life used and created by Jews, such as ritual baths, food, gravestones, portraits, furniture, as well as the synagogue. By uncovering these objects and exposing the common culture of the Jewish Atlantic world, the book provides a fresh understanding of a crucial era in Jewish and American history. It offers new insights about the origins of Jewish American messianism, helping readers better understand messianism in contemporary American society. It charts the shared culture of these Jews who lived in the port towns in the Caribbean and on both sides of the Atlantic, and author Laura Arnold Leibman argues that thinking about Judaism as an embodied religion is key to understanding their culture. Messianism, Secrecy and Mysticism makes early Jewish American history entertaining, accessible, and interesting to general readers, as well as to academic audiences. A companion website contains thousands of photographs of material culture from throughout the Jewish Atlantic world, as well as study guides for using the images.
A la fin du XVIème siècle, la rencontre entre Guyane et Européens se fit sur un malentendu. La recherche de l'Eldorado, la chimère dorée de l'Anglais Walter Raleigh, projeta la Guyane bien malgré elle dans la lumière de la conquête... more
A la fin du XVIème siècle, la rencontre entre Guyane et Européens se fit sur un malentendu. La recherche de l'Eldorado, la chimère dorée de l'Anglais Walter Raleigh, projeta la Guyane bien malgré elle dans la lumière de la conquête européenne du continent américain.
C'est dans ce contexte que se situa l'exploration en 1609 des côtes guyanaises par un autre Anglais, Robert Harcourt. A la recherche d'une porte d'entrée potentielle pour atteindre l'Eldorado, celui-ci jeta son dévolu sur le Maroni et il envoya son cousin Unton Fisher l'explorer l'année suivante. Mais le voyage se solda par un échec puisque Fisher y perdit la vie, sans avoir trouvé l'or tant convoité.
Pourtant derrière cette exploration du Maroni, subsiste le témoignage d'un périple unique comme nul autre européen n'allait le faire avant la fin du XVIIIème siècle. Surtout il apporte des éléments intéressants pour tenter de comprendre le monde amérindien de l'intérieur de la Guyane, au moment du contact avec les Européens. Derrière les observations européennes se cache en fait un espace à forte identité karib connu et parcouru bien plus grand que le simple bassin fluvial.
Il interroge aussi sur le rôle de ces Amérindiens dans ces premières explorations européennes. Au-delà des simples échanges commerciaux sur les côtes guyanaises, comment expliquer la facilité avec laquelle l'expédition de Fisher fut prise en charge, accompagnée et menée si loin à l'intérieur par les Amérindiens ? N'y avait-il pas une stratégie dissimulée de contrôler des incursions dont les buts étaient désormais mieux perçus par des populations amérindiennes en contact depuis longtemps avec ces navigateurs ? Les Amérindiens n'avaient-ils pas senti le danger de cette présence potentiellement dérangeante voir envahissante, qu'il fallait éloigner discrètement de son propre territoire ?
Ryhiner, a 500-year-old familylineage from Basel / Ryhiner, eine 500-jährige Abstammung aus Basel.
Exploring the multi-denominational colonial setting of Surinam in light of the political instability of its sovereign forms of government and its weak territorial claims, we see that Behn in Oroonoko is engaging forcefully with a critique... more
Exploring the multi-denominational colonial setting of Surinam in light of the political instability of its sovereign forms of government and its weak territorial claims, we see that Behn in Oroonoko is engaging forcefully with a critique of the Christian hypocrisy of the enslaving English, as well as with a founding of a new moral order on the grounds of humanity. Her work – like that of nonconformists Tryon, Godwyn, Baxter, and others – turns a mirror on the European enslavers.
This book deals with multilingualism, language contact, language change and convergence in the Guianas of South America, with a focus on Suriname. The Guianas are a very complex region. The national identity of the countries in the... more
This book deals with multilingualism, language contact, language change and convergence in the Guianas of South America, with a focus on Suriname. The Guianas are a very complex region. The national identity of the countries in the Guianas involves both a sense of common destiny and of multiple ethnic affiliations. We have named our volume Boundaries and bridges because it reflects at the same time the maintenance of ethnic and linguistic boundaries, through the languages involved, but also the numerous instances of cross-linguistic influence across these boundaries. It illustrates the point that in the complex multilingual and multiethnic area of the Guianas, the languages spoken have been part of an effort of groups to keep themselves apart, as boundaries, but have also undergone numerous changes in the presence of other languages, and thus form bridges. The Guianas, or any part of them, do not form a single language community, but rather a chain of interacting and intersecting communities, which have very diverse and complex relations among themselves. Hence the term multilingual ecologies in our subtitle. However, these cases of cross-linguistic influence are very diverse in nature, and involve many parts of language. They result from different contact scenarios and include maintenance, shift, and creation.
The draft paper as at 24th April which is updated from the draft made for the oral presentation session (5th April 2017 does not contain any references and text errors needed corrections). The paper is still being worked on with more... more
The draft paper as at 24th April which is updated from the draft made for the oral presentation session (5th April 2017 does not contain any references and text errors needed corrections). The paper is still being worked on with more sections being added with some aspect areas clarified in more detail. Others are being reviewed. Due to the closure of the Parliament in the UK early for the snap elections, the text is still unfinished and will be resumed for the new Parliament session with no end date set yet. The document is best viewed by a download to Microsoft Word as web browsers tend to muddle the layout. Please note that the ice sheet mass balance changes occur mainly in nearby Iceland, Jan Mayen and the Mid-Atlantic Ridge rather than Greenland itself. (High viscous, low nucleation events pushing very cool, effusive, almost 'solid' lava incursions vertically up like the Mascarene volcanism of Mauritius are rare anomalies from a misaligned hotspot influencing further afield - and therefore far less likely.)
In the nineteenth century, relatively young North American universities started to reconsider their academic identity. Discussions about what the American university should be stemmed from a need to claim authenticity and break free from... more
In the nineteenth century, relatively young North American universities started to reconsider their academic identity. Discussions about what the American university should be stemmed from a need to claim authenticity and break free from the European academic mould (Smith, 1998). The ambition that became generally accepted was aptly described by Harvard President Charles W. Eliot (1834-1926) when he said:
“‘A university must grow from seed. It cannot be transplanted from England or Germany in full leaf and bearing. When the American university appears, it will not be a copy of foreign institutions, but the slow and natural growth of American social and political habits.”’ (quoted in: Smith, 1998: 27)
In the past decades, reconsiderations of a similar nature became relevant for higher education institutions worldwide as part of processes related to decolonization. In many former colonies, universities developed the aspiration to play a key role in the emancipation of society by being intellectual engines behind decolonization processes and by employing critical pedagogy in support of transforming communities. This discourse –- that I will briefly refer to as postcolonialism –- does not seem to have obtained or sustained a prominent place in today’s Dutch Caribbean national universities, nor in their development histories.
This article is part of a research project on knowledge, discourse and ideology in the Dutch Caribbean. In this essay I study what choices with regard to the development of higher education were made in the past, and which visions are currently employed by the national universities of Aruba, Curaçao, St. Maarten and Suriname. First, I look at the origins of the government-supported Dutch Caribbean universities in the 1960s and 1970s, to better understand the historical context, ambitions and choices. Next, I present a brief analysis of the visions for education as found in current and recent policy documents and publications. Based on these historical and situational insights, this article argues the need for these universities to profoundly define their cultural identity and ambitions. It sets out the operational consequences as well as the strategic benefits this will have for curriculum development and capacity planning.
Onder invloed van debatten uit het buitenland ontstond in Suriname tussen 1900 en 1930 een culturele emancipatiebeweging onder de zwarte bevolking. Aan de hand van onderzoek naar de Surinaamse tak van de internationale, panafrikanistische... more
Onder invloed van debatten uit het buitenland ontstond in Suriname tussen 1900 en 1930 een culturele emancipatiebeweging onder de zwarte bevolking. Aan de hand van onderzoek naar de Surinaamse tak van de internationale, panafrikanistische organisatie UNIA en naar toespraken gehouden op 1 juli-vieringen ter herdenking, wordt gekeken in hoeverre er sprake was van één emancipatiebeweging, waarbij Suriname in een transnationale context wordt geplaatst. De denkbeelden van emancipatoren zoals onderwijzer Comvalius, prediker Rier en straatprediker Rudolf Rijts kenden overeenkomende wortels uit het internationale panafrikanisme met een gemeenschappelijke focus op raciale trots, op religieuze uitverkorenheid en op de verbetering van de maatschappelijke positie van de Afro-Surinamers. 40 jaar na de afschaffing van de slavernij meenden zij dat ware emancipatie pas plaats zou vinden met een betere maatschappelijke positie van de zwarte bevolking. De beweging kende twee flanken: Comvalius en Rier waren op zoek naar acceptatie door de koloniale overheid, en sloegen vergeleken met panafrikanistische tijdgenoten in de Verenigde Staten en elders een gematigde toon aan. Aan de andere kant speelde de Surinaamse tak van de garveyistische beweging UNIA, een van de casussen van deze scriptie, met de 'back to Africa'-ideeën die die tijd elders in de Cariben, in de VS en in Afrika in zwang waren. De banden tussen de UNIA in Suriname en in de Verenigde Staten zullen daarbij directer blijken te zijn dan tot dusver is gebleken. Tegelijkertijd kende het bestuur achter deze beweging vele dwarsverbanden met de organisaties waar Comvalius en Rier deel van uitmaakten, waardoor er wel degelijk kan worden gesteld dat er sprake was van één beweging. De panafrikanistische ideeën in deze creoolse gemeenschap hadden een specifiek Surinaamse karakter, waarbij zowel plaats was voor internationale solidariteit met de Afrikaanse diaspora als voor loyaliteit aan het Nederlandse koningshuis en het koloniale systeem. In vergelijking met andere Caribische landen gaf de koloniale overheid van Suriname op haar beurt het panafrikanistische discours en met name de garveyistische UNIA in Suriname relatief veel ruimte. Een uitzondering vormt de strijd die in de jaren 1920 ontstond rond het gebruik van de publieke ruimte tussen de garveyistische Johan en Rudolf Rijts en de overheid. Deze broers veroorzaakten met hun straatpreken en –pamfletten onrust die de overheid met politiemacht en psychiatrische opnames probeerden in te perken. Tegelijkertijd was Rudolf Rijts tevens voorzitter van de UNIA, en is het de vraag in hoeverre er sprake was van werkelijke gekte of van dissidente stemmen waarvoor in Suriname geen plaats was.
In 1609, Robert Harcourt ordered his cousin Unton Fisher to explore the Maroni River, (a.k.a. Marowijne; the present geopolitical boundary between Suriname and French Guiana). An abbreviated summary of Fisher’s account is included in the... more
In 1609, Robert Harcourt ordered his cousin Unton Fisher to explore the Maroni River, (a.k.a. Marowijne; the present geopolitical boundary between Suriname and French Guiana). An abbreviated summary of Fisher’s account is included in the 1613 publication of Harcourt’s Relation of a Voyage to Guiana. In the 1926 edited volume of Harcourt’s Relation, Alexander Harris included as an appendix what he considered to be a copy, or fragment of a copy of “the Fisher Report.” This report contains two short “directions” provided by an indigenous informant to his home town. These routes venture through largely unexplored terrain in the south-east of Suriname, between the headwaters of the Suriname and the Maroni. This is the first time that these directions are plotted on a map. While the exact geographic placing of the named indigenous villages has not been possible, their general position urges for a reconceptualization of social and historical processes in the region; not in the last place because of the presence of several “Arwacca Townes” [Arawak settlements] along the Paloemeu, a tributary of the Tapanahoni, generally considered home to the Trio and Wayana who are both belonging to the Cariban language stock.
The philosophical novel Zuid-Zuid-West (South-Southwest, 1926) by the Dutch-Surinamese author Albert Helman (1903-1996) is famous for the sharp critique of Dutch colonial policy in its epilogue. The remaining part of this novel has... more
The philosophical novel Zuid-Zuid-West (South-Southwest, 1926) by the Dutch-Surinamese author Albert Helman (1903-1996) is famous for the sharp critique of Dutch colonial policy in its epilogue. The remaining part of this novel has traditionally received little attention. This is all the more surprising since Zuid-Zuid-West represents one of the first examples of the turn toward ‘mestizaje’ in Latin American literature. By comparing Helman’s Zuid-Zuid-West (1926) with José Vasconcelos’ prophecy of the ‘new man’ in La raza cósmica (The Cosmic Race, 1925), this article intends to highlight how these Latin American intellectuals attempted to concretize Friedrich Nietzsche’s prophecy of the ‘new man’ in the shape of the multiracial ‘mestizo’.
The majority of the population of Suriname uses elements stemming from at least two languages in everyday, informal interactions. While language contact between the languages of Suriname manifested itself chiefly through lexical borrowing... more
The majority of the population of Suriname uses elements stemming from at least two languages in everyday, informal interactions. While language contact between the languages of Suriname manifested itself chiefly through lexical borrowing in earlier times, the range of present contact phenomena also includes alternational and insertional code- switching, as well as code-mixing patterns shared across language boundaries. I analyze characteristics of the evolving mixed code that draws on Sranan and Dutch elements by looking at how it manifests itself in Sarnami, Surinamese Javanese and Sranan. I show that socio-economic changes in the past five decades with respect to urbanization, education, migration and mass media have contributed to obscuring ethno-linguistic boundaries, dramatically increased exposure to Dutch and Sranan, and driven the spread of language mixing practices into new domains. I conclude that mixing practices in Suriname are converging in a common communicative space that transcends linguistic boundaries.
Dutch Jewry was a meeting place between Jews of various origins: Marranos from Spain and Portugal, Ashkenazi refugees from Germany, and Jews from Poland and Lithuania. In the new setting and with the advancement of time and general... more
Dutch Jewry was a meeting place between Jews of various origins: Marranos from Spain and Portugal, Ashkenazi refugees from Germany, and Jews from Poland and Lithuania. In the new setting and with the advancement of time and general developments in public life of Dutch society, their religious life took on new forms. Dutch Jewish society was thus a microcosm of essential changes in Jewish history. In this volume an international group of scholars examine aspects of religious belief and practice of pre-emancipation Sephardim and Ashkenazim in Amsterdam, Curação and Surinam, ceremonial dimensions, artistic representations of religious life, the legacy of Chief Rabbi Joseph Zvi (Hirsch) Dünner, and religious life after the Shoah.
The preface to the volume, written by the editors, depicts major developments in the religious life of Dutch Jewry in the Netherlands from the beginning of the 16th century till today, and gives an overview of the articles included in the volume.
The Pamaka tribe, (“Paramakaners” in Dutch) is one of the smaller Maroon tribes living in Suriname. In the colonial annals this tribe is hardly mentioned and no peace treaty has ever been signed between them and the Colonial Government.... more
The Pamaka tribe, (“Paramakaners” in Dutch) is one of the smaller Maroon tribes living in Suriname. In the colonial annals this tribe is hardly mentioned and no peace treaty has ever been signed between them and the Colonial Government. The early history of the Pamaka is still opaque, and not very clear as yet. Three different versions of their origin have been proposed by various authors. This paper tests these versions and presents a logical alternative of Pamaka early history in the 19th Century. This alternative version is reconstructed with data from archival sources, original documents, maps and existing literature.
They already were very exited in Amsterdam when they entered the theatre in 2001, as many mature Surinamese persons are aware of the story and the hellish reputation of Maria Susanna Du Plessis. A few hundred meters away from the stage... more
They already were very exited in Amsterdam when they entered the theatre in 2001, as many mature Surinamese persons are aware of the story and the hellish reputation of Maria Susanna Du Plessis. A few hundred meters away from the stage hall, a monument to commemorate the end of slavery in the Dutch world was inaugurated, just a few days ago. So, with all the publicity and controversy in the media, the public was fired up. When I found out, a year earlier, that this person who I had heard about since childhood, really existed, I started to do a formal scientific historical research and published a study ‘Maria Susanna Du Plessis (1739-1795): Dader of slachtoffer?’ (Perpetrator or victim?)(1998) Just after 30 minutes in reading the governor’s log about the period, I saw it as the reporting of an Independence struggle. We were only told in 1963 she was a demonic baby killer and she was also accused of having cut off the breast of a beautiful young enslaved woman, who she suspected of having an affair with her husband. Du Plessis was shown presenting the breast as a dish to her husband. This second part of the story of Maria Susanna Du Plessis, about poor Alida’s breast, only became common knowledge since 1963 when a first version of the play was staged in Paramaribo, the capital of Suriname, South America, where I was born and lived till 1980. My play takes us to Suriname like other plays take us to New York for ‘A View From A Bridge,’ Moscow for ‘Cherry Garden,’ to Connecticut for ‘The Death Of A Salesman,’ or to Sweden to enjoy Ibsens ‘Hedda Gabler.’
Hoe geliefd zijn de Oranjes bij het volk van Europees Nederland en de West (Antillen en Suriname)?
The guest editors, Renzo Duin and Cheryl White, are grateful to the editorial board of "His/Her Tori, Tijdschrift voor Surinaamse geschiedenis en Cultuur" for allowing us to develop this special issue on archaeology in Suriname, and to... more
The guest editors, Renzo Duin and Cheryl White, are grateful to the editorial board of "His/Her Tori, Tijdschrift voor Surinaamse geschiedenis en Cultuur" for allowing us to develop this special issue on archaeology in Suriname, and to trust our professionalism. It has been an honor to provide a platform for archaeologists who have dedicated their lifetime on aspects of the archaeology and histories of Suriname, residents of Suriname with a long-term commitment to the archaeology and history of Suriname, as well as providing a springboard to a new generation of Surinamese archaeologists.
Reviews: NRC-Handelsblad (Dirk Vlasblom), HP-De Tijd (Bart-Jan Spruyt), Reformatorisch Dagblad (Hans Ester), Zuid-Afrika (Gerrit Schutte, Free University of Amsterdam), Werkwinkel (Pawel Zajas, University of Poznan) Mededelingen van de... more
Reviews: NRC-Handelsblad (Dirk Vlasblom), HP-De Tijd (Bart-Jan Spruyt), Reformatorisch Dagblad (Hans Ester), Zuid-Afrika (Gerrit Schutte, Free University of Amsterdam), Werkwinkel (Pawel Zajas, University of Poznan) Mededelingen van de Jacob Campo Weyermanstichting (Karel Bostoen, Leiden University), Tijdschrift voor Geschiedenis (Ineke Kessel, Afrika Studiecentrum), Bijdragen en Mededelingen betreffende de Geschiedenis der Nederlanden (Robert Ross, Leiden University).
How Amazonian Indigenous Peoples combatted emergent epidemic diseases in colonial times, and their innovative responses to epidemiological crises, has not received sufficient attention. This study outlines a clash of cultures and an... more
How Amazonian Indigenous Peoples combatted emergent epidemic diseases in colonial times, and their innovative responses to epidemiological crises, has not received sufficient attention. This study outlines a clash of cultures and an entanglement of places and people related to pandemic diseases and epidemic death in the Eastern Guiana Highlands, northern Amazonia. By means of archival and historical sources, the article provides eyewitness insight into multiple waves of highly contagious epidemics that affected Cariban-speaking communities in Eastern Guiana – Suriname, French Guiana, and Brazilian Amapá – over the past 550 years. The paper commences with some general statements on illness and healing. Hitherto unpublished journal entries by the Governor of Suriname of an outbreak of the pox during the winter of 1743-1744 set the scene, these are followed by rare nineteenth and twentieth century historical accounts, and a novel interpretation of Wayana oral history – posited to be the first account of the spread of a viral disease in Amazonia in July 1542. The paper concludes with responses to the current COVID-19 pandemic from an indigenous etiology which demonstrates indigenous historical consciousness of the social present as related to events from the past.
Using my own family as a guide, I review what genetics test can—and can’t—tell us about our lineage and then turn to a perplexing case of mistaken identity buried in part in the vaults of American Jewish Historical Society. DNA, I argue,... more
Using my own family as a guide, I review what genetics test can—and can’t—tell us about our lineage and then turn to a perplexing case of mistaken identity buried in part in the vaults of American Jewish Historical Society. DNA, I argue, can solve some questions archives alone are unlikely to reveal. When used in conjunction with archival sources, DNA evidence can unlock some of the mysteries of the past.
Recent anthropological and socio-historical research on Maroon populations suggests that Maroon communities have undergone significant social change since the 1960s spurred by processes of urbanization. However, to date very little is... more
Recent anthropological and socio-historical research on Maroon populations suggests that Maroon communities have undergone significant social change since the 1960s spurred by processes of urbanization. However, to date very little is known about how these social changes are impacting on the Maroon Creoles as there is very little sociolinguistic research being carried out in the region. The aim of this paper is to examine the sociolinguistic context of the Maroon Creoles in the light of data from two recent sociolinguistic surveys carried out in Suriname and French Guiana. The findings demonstrate that the sociolinguistic status of Maroon languages has undergone various changes. Several of them are now well represented in French Guiana and, as additional languages, are gaining speakers both in Suriname and French Guiana. While their speakers increasingly practice them together with other languages, thus displaying their multilingual repertoire, there is little indication that their survival is threatened because their speakers predominantly hold positive attitudes towards them.