Marowijne is a district of Suriname, located on the north-east coast. Marowijne's

capital city A capital city or capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, department, or other subnational entity, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city that physically encompasses t ...

is Albina, with other towns including

Moengo Moengo () is a town in Suriname, located in the Marowijne district, between Paramaribo and the border town Albina on the Cottica River. Moengo is also a resort (municipality) in the district of Marowijne. Moengo was the capital of Marowijne Distr ...

and Wanhatti. The district borders the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

to the north,

French Guiana French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic coast of South America in the Guianas. ...

to the east, the Surinamese district of Sipaliwini to the south, and the Surinamese districts of Commewijne and Para to the west. Marowijne's

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

is 18,294 and the district has an

area Area is the quantity that expresses the extent of a region on the plane or on a curved surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape or planar lamina, while '' surface area'' refers to the area of an ope ...

of 4,627 km².

History

Marowijne is also home to many Maroon '' palenques.'' The Maroons are descendants of slaves who escaped from their

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

masters centuries ago, particularly slaves who escaped from Suriname's huge

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

s during the 18th century. They established autonomy for their interior settlements by a 1760 peace treaty with the Netherlands, which was unable to conquer them. Albina was founded on 13 December 1845 by August Kappler, and was named after his wife. Albina is located near the border with

. It is the main city, and the largest area which is not tribal. During the early 20th century,

bauxite Bauxite is a sedimentary rock with a relatively high aluminium content. It is the world's main source of aluminium and gallium. Bauxite consists mostly of the aluminium minerals gibbsite (Al(OH)3), boehmite (γ-AlO(OH)) and diaspore (α-AlO ...

was discovered in Marowijne district, leading to a boom in

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic ...

that significantly enriched the entire country. The bauxite industry resulted in the growth of

which is as of 2020, the largest town in the district. On 22 July 1986, the Surinamese Interior War started. That night, the Jungle Commando led by

Ronnie Brunswijk Ronnie Brunswijk (; born 7 March 1961) is a Surinamese politician, businessman, footballer, convicted drug trafficker, former rebel leader, and the current Vice President of Suriname. Brunswijk served in the early 1980s as the personal bodyguard ...

, captured the check post near Stolkertsijver, and opened fire on the army barracks in Albina. The civil war which followed led to the massacre of Moiwana where 35 civilians including women and children were killed by the National Army led by

Dési Bouterse Desiré Delano "Dési" Bouterse (; born 13 October 1945) is a Surinamese military officer, politician, convicted murderer and drug trafficker who served as President of Suriname from 2010 to 2020. From 1980 to 1987, he was Suriname's ''de fact ...

, and large scale destruction in Albina and Moengo. The civil war also resulted in a refugee crisis into

. The district also has a large

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mor ...

industry and is the location of ocean front resorts in

Galibi The Kalina, also known as the Caribs or mainland Caribs and by several other names, are an indigenous people native to the northern coastal areas of South America. Today, the Kalina live largely in villages on the rivers and coasts of Venezuela, ...

, which is inhabited by an

indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

population. The main road for Marowijne is the East-West Link. The distance between Paramaribo and Albina is about .

Health care

Four health cares centre are located in the District, and there is a regional medical centre in Albina which qualifies as a minor hospital, however specialised health care has to be performed in

Paramaribo Paramaribo (; ; nicknamed Par'bo) is the capital and largest city of Suriname, located on the banks of the Suriname River in the Paramaribo District. Paramaribo has a population of roughly 241,000 people (2012 census), almost half of Suriname' ...

or French Guiana. In corporation with the

French Development Agency The French Development Agency (french: Agence française de développement, AFD) is a public financial institution that implements the policy defined by the French Government. It works to fight poverty and promote sustainable development. This pub ...

and the Inter-American Development Bank a hospital is under construction in Albina.

Resorts

Marowijne is divided into six resorts (''ressorten''): * Albina (integral part of Suriname) *

(indigenous area) *

(Maroon autonomous area) * Moengotapoe (Maroon autonomous area) * Patamacca (Maroon autonomous area) * Wanhatti (Maroon autonomous area)

Villages

* Alfonsdorp * Bigiston * Christiaankondre * Langamankondre * Lantiwei * Moiwana * Ovia Olo * Pikin Santi * Pinatjaimi * Ricanau Mofo *

Tamarin The tamarins are squirrel-sized New World monkeys from the family Callitrichidae in the genus ''Saguinus''. They are the first offshoot in the Callitrichidae tree, and therefore are the sister group of a clade formed by the lion tamarins, Goe ...

References

External links

District Marowijne at Suriname.nu
(in Dutch) {{Coord, 5, 46, 14, N, 54, 19, 29, W, region:SR-MA_type:adm1st, display=title Districts of Suriname