Europeans

Jews Towards the end of the 15th century, as a result of the inquisition, a veritable slaughter took place among the Jews in Spain an Portugal and many of them were banished from these countries. In 1492, over 800.000 Jews were chased out of Spain and afterwards, in 1495, expelled from Portugal also. Most of them found their way to Italy, where they enjoyed the protection of the Pope. Another group took refuge in the newly discovered Brazil, where they founded flourishing plantations in cooperation with the Dutch who arrived there later. As the Portuguese, however, gained more power in this part of the world, the Jews again started to suffer from hostilities. In 1654 the Portuguese who in the meantime had become a dominating power in that country, denied the Jews a longer stay in Brazil and another exodus started all over again. Part of them settled in the then Dutch colony of Cayenne. Various sources give evidence that the first group of Jews already settled in Suriname as early as 1639. They came from Holland and Italy. These first Jewish colonists lived in the old capital of Suriname, Toorarica, on the left hand bank of the Suriname river, approximately 40 kilometers south of Paramaribo. They at once started to lay out a number of sugar plantations. In 1652, a new group of Jews arrived in Suriname, together with the Englishman Lord Willoughby, and settled on the svannah, situated near the Cassipora creek. This area is nowadays known as "Joden Savanne". In 1664 a third group of Jews arrived in Suriname, when the French took possession of the Dutch colony Cayenne. This group under the leadership of David Nassy fled to Suriname and joined the others at Joden Savanne. The Jews from Toorarica also moved southwards to Joden Savanne. On August 17, 1665, the British colonial government granted several very important privileges to the Jewish community in Suriname, including freedom of religion, a private civic guard and the permission to build their own churches and schools. The new law was a relief to this community, which had been persecuted all over the world because of its religious conviction. A start was made immediately with the building of some schools and a wooden synagogue at Cassipora. This synagogue was consecrated in 1671 by the "Joodse Burgerwacht Compagnie" (Jewish Civic Guard). When Abraham Crijnssen captured Suriname for the Dutch province of Zeeland in 1667, it looked for some time as if the peace of the inhabitants of Joden Savanne would be disturbed again. But the Dutch Commander left the privileges given to the Jews by the English undisturbed. Dutch In 1845 a group of Dutch farmers settled in Suriname and there are many pure descendants of this group still living there today. In 1841 three village preachers, Copijn Van den Brandhof and Betting, put up a plan to the Dutch government for starting a colony of Dutch farmers in Suriname. Conditions in The Netherlands for farmers and farm labourers were bad at that time. Low wages and, amongst other things, failure of the potato crop were the cause of this. The plan was favourably received by the Dutch government and may applications to take part in the colonisation were received. One of the initiators, the Rev. Betting, was sent to Suriname in 1843 to make arrangements for the settlement there. The conditions in Suriname was at that time less favourable. The large scale agriculture that had always formed the basis for the economy of Suriname had declined sharply and the number of plantations had dropped to 200 from the 600 that had beed in operation at the height of the plantation period. On top of this a much greater decline was expected to be caused by the imminent abolition of slavery. Establishment of an agricultural middle class might possibly be able to hold back the deterioration in Suriname. The aim of the colonists was therefore to establish a class of free farmers, partly as preparation for the gradual emancipation of the slaves. Betting came to Suriname accompanied by three colonists, who then would be the first of a large group which was to folloow later. The plantation Voorzorg on the Saramacca river, a deserted leper colony opposite the military post of Groningen, was provisionally chosen as the settlement place for the colonists. There had been an earlier attempt at colonisation at Voorzorg by free negroes but this had been a failure. After his visit to Suriname and Voorzorg, Betting advised the Dutch government against the colonisation and withdrew from the enterprise before the first colonists arrived. The Dutch government however pursued its plan and the first group of colonists arrived at Voorzorg on the 20th of June, 1845. This group consisted of 104 people under leadership of Copijn. Almost nothing had been prepared for the arrival of the colonists. There were only 13 inhabitable huts instead of the 50 houses that should have been built. At high tide the water rose to undermeath the houses because the sluice was broken. And considering that it was in the middle of the rainy season, then we can imagine to a certain extent how depressing the sight of their new settlement must have been for these colonists, the majority of whom had come from the sandy areas in the centre of The Netherlands. A few even refused to disembark and offered the captain their last penny if he would take them back to The Netherlands.