The Brooskampers (also: Bakabusi Nengre) were a

Maroon people Maroons are descendants of Africans in the Americas and islands of the Indian Ocean who escaped from slavery, through flight or manumission, and formed their own settlements. They often mixed with Indigenous peoples, eventually evolving into ...

, descendants of runaway African slaves, living in the forested interior of

Suriname Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...

. The tribe is related to the

Saramaka The Saramaka, Saamaka or Saramacca are one of six Maroon (people), Maroon peoples (formerly called "Bush Negroes") in the Republic of Suriname and one of the Maroon peoples in French Guiana. In 2007, the Saramaka won a ruling by the Inter-Ameri ...

, and originated from Loango-Angola. The Brooskampers gained autonomy in 1863, but sold their land in 1917.

History

In the 1740s, the tribe lived in the swamps near Surnau Creek in a camp founded by Tata Kukudabi. In 1772, part of the tribe left and joined the

Aluku The Aluku are a Bushinengue ethnic group living mainly on the riverbank in Maripasoula in southwest French Guiana. The group are sometimes called Boni, referring to the 18th-century leader, Boni (guerrilla leader), Bokilifu Boni. History The ...

. In 1862, escaped slaves from plantation Rac à Rac joined the Brooskampers. This was during the preparations of the planned emancipation of the slaves, and therefore the existence of another tribe worried the government. The population of Brooskampers was estimated at about 200 people. At first the government tried to attack them, however the troops got bogged down in the swamp, and had to retreat. Church at plantation rorac

On 2 September 1863, a peace treaty was signed offering the tribe the abandoned plantations Klaverblad and Rorac. No ''

granman Granman (Ndyuka language: ''gaanman'') is the title of the paramount chief of a Maroon (people), Maroon nation in Suriname and French Guiana. The Ndyuka people, Ndyuka, Saramaka, Matawai people, Matawai, Aluku, Paramaccan people, Paramaka and Kwin ...

'' (paramount chief) was appointed instead Broos and his brother Kaliko were installed as kabitens (captains). At first they didn't trust the colonists and hid in the forest behind Klaverblad, however in 1874 the Brooskampers settled at the plantations. In 1891, a temporary church was opened by the Catholic priests who were in Bethesda on the other side of the

Suriname River The Suriname River ( Dutch: ''Surinamerivier'') is long and flows through the country of Suriname. Its sources are located in the Guiana Highlands on the border between the Wilhelmina Mountains and the Eilerts de Haan Mountains (where it is kn ...

. In 1898, a school was opened, and in 1900, a real church was finished. Klaverblad is no longer mentioned during the 20th century. The

almanac An almanac (also spelled almanack and almanach) is a regularly published listing of a set of current information about one or multiple subjects. It includes information like weather forecasting, weather forecasts, farmers' sowing, planting dates ...

of 1910, lists Klaverblad as owned by J. Braumuller. Rorac, on the other hand, is owned by Johannes Babel, the son of Broos and his successor as ''kabiten''. The plantation produced cacao, corn and rice. Road surfacing material which was purchased from the village, contained

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 (), boehmite (γ-AlO(OH)), and diaspore (α-AlO(OH) ...

. In 1917, ''kabiten'' Johannes Babel and

Alcoa Alcoa Corporation (an acronym for "Aluminum Company of America") is an American industrial corporation. It is the world's eighth-largest producer of aluminum. Alcoa conducts operations in 10 countries. Alcoa is a major producer of primary alu ...

negotiated a deal which was accepted by the tribe, the lands were sold, and the people settled in Tout-Lui-Faut near

Paramaribo Paramaribo ( , , ) is the capital city, 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's p ...

. In 1920, the last 20 inhabitants were asked to leave and given a ƒ 500,- (€2,800 in 2018) moving premium. In 2011,

ceased bauxite production at the site. Ronald Babel, one of the descendants, and other family members had restored the damaged graves at the plantation, and erected a

Winti Winti is an Afro-Surinamese traditional religion that originated in Suriname. It is a syncretization of the different African religious beliefs and practices brought in mainly by enslaved Akan, Fon and Kongo people during the Dutch slave tra ...

shrine at the site.

Notable people

Ryan Babel Ryan Guno Babel (; born 19 December 1986) is a Dutch former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. Babel began his career at Ajax in 1997, working his way up through the youth tea ...

(1986), football player

References

Bibliography

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External links

Association of Rorac Interests Broos & Kaliko
(in Dutch) {{authority control Ethnic groups in Suriname Former populated places in Suriname Meerzorg Surinamese Maroons Bauxite mining in Suriname

History

Notable people

See also

References

Bibliography

External links