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Chinese Surinamese people are
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 ...
se residents of ethnic Chinese origin. The earliest migrants came in the 19th century as indentured laborers; there was another wave of migration in the 1950s and 1960s. There were 7,885 Chinese in Suriname at the 2012 census, constituting 1.5% of the total population. They constitute the largest component of the 'other' ethnic category, which makes up 2.3% of the population as per the CIA World Factbook. The majority of the Chinese Surinamese consider
Hakka The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka-speaking Chinese, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas, are a southern Han Chinese subgroup whose principal settlements and ancestral homes are dispersed widely across the provinces of southern China ...
(
Dongguan Dongguan,; pinyin: alternately romanized via Cantonese as Tungkun, is a prefecture-level city in central Guangdong Province, China. An important industrial city in the Pearl River Delta, Dongguan borders the provincial capital of Guangzhou t ...
, Huiyang,
Huizhou Huizhou ( zh, c= ) is a city in east-central Guangdong Province, China, forty-three miles north of Hong Kong. Huizhou borders the provincial capital of Guangzhou to the west, Shenzhen and Dongguan to the southwest, Shaoguan to the north, Hey ...
or Bao'an,
Shenzhen Shenzhen is a prefecture-level city in the province of Guangdong, China. A Special economic zones of China, special economic zone, it is located on the east bank of the Pearl River (China), Pearl River estuary on the central coast of Guangdong ...
) of
Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...
as their ancestral homes. There is a small minority of Heshan, Jiangmen origin Cantonese and Hakkas as well. Many Chinese Surinamese are active in the retail and business community. Six percent of the Chinese in the Netherlands migrated from Suriname.


History


Indentured laborers

In 1853, planters in Suriname feared a labor shortage when
slavery Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...
was about to be abolished. They asked the government to recruit other workers from abroad. The government of
Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...
recruited a group of 18 Chinese for indentured labor in the Catharina Sophia plantation in Saramacca. Because of the high acquisition costs, it was decided to get a second group, not from Java, but from
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
instead. In 1858, 500 Chinese laborers were recruited by the Dutch consul in
Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...
. They arrived in Suriname in April, but it turned out that no one wanted to hire people to do work that slaves would do "for free". Because of this, the
contract A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typically involves consent to transfer of goods, services, money, or promise to transfer any of thos ...
with the Chinese was changed without their knowledge by
Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
Charles Pierre Schimpf, in favor of the employers. The Chinese could now be treated like slaves. When they would revolt against this, they were, without due process and contrary to existing regulations, punished by police with cane strokes, an unlawful act that was repeated again and again. An interpellation (formal request for information) to the Minister of Colonies Jan Jacob Rochussen did not help. In the 1850s and 1860s, about 2,500 Chinese people went to Suriname. Most were employed as indentured laborers on the plantations. After their contracts expired, many found opportunities in trade, mostly in food retail. Most of the male laborers were married to non-Chinese women. Those who married Chinese women, mostly married with an imported bride.


Later immigrants

Other Chinese came to Suriname as free laborers, traders and shop assistants, especially in the 1950s and 1960s. Further large numbers came in the 1990s. In 2007, there were over 70,000 Chinese in Suriname, and the
immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as Permanent residency, permanent residents. Commuting, Commuter ...
is still ongoing. The rapidly growing demand in China for wood and minerals makes Suriname very attractive to Chinese businesses. The new Chinese migrants from northern China are known in Suriname as "salt-water-Chinese". Since the 1960s, thousands of Chinese have emigrated from Suriname to the Netherlands. The Chinese held a prominent position in small and medium business for a long time, and their mostly well-educated offspring of mixed ancestry or Chinese ancestry can be found in various social sectors. Also, the Surinamese people have adopted several Chinese customs.


Languages

The original Chinese settlers were
Hakka The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka-speaking Chinese, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas, are a southern Han Chinese subgroup whose principal settlements and ancestral homes are dispersed widely across the provinces of southern China ...
from the Fuitungon region of
Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...
;Tjon Sie Fat, "They Might as Well Be Speaking Chinese," p
199
Fui5tung1on1 means three places: Huiyang,
Huizhou Huizhou ( zh, c= ) is a city in east-central Guangdong Province, China, forty-three miles north of Hong Kong. Huizhou borders the provincial capital of Guangzhou to the west, Shenzhen and Dongguan to the southwest, Shaoguan to the north, Hey ...
or Fui5jong2,
Dongguan Dongguan,; pinyin: alternately romanized via Cantonese as Tungkun, is a prefecture-level city in central Guangdong Province, China. An important industrial city in the Pearl River Delta, Dongguan borders the provincial capital of Guangzhou t ...
or tung1kon1, and Bao'an County,
Shenzhen Shenzhen is a prefecture-level city in the province of Guangdong, China. A Special economic zones of China, special economic zone, it is located on the east bank of the Pearl River (China), Pearl River estuary on the central coast of Guangdong ...
or pau3on1,Tjon, "They Might as Well Be Speaking Chinese," p
196
Hakka The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka-speaking Chinese, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas, are a southern Han Chinese subgroup whose principal settlements and ancestral homes are dispersed widely across the provinces of southern China ...
was originally present and became the "old Chinese" of Guyana. It was previously the only spoken variety of Chinese in the country.Tjon, "They Might as Well Be Speaking Chinese," p
201
Paul Brendan Tjon Sie Fat of the
University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, ) is a public university, public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Established in 1632 by municipal authorities, it is the fourth-oldest academic institution in the Netherlan ...
stated that Hakka people in Suriname do not frequently voice negative attitudes towards the fact that Hakka has a lower status than Dutch in Suriname.Tjon Sie Fat, "They Might as Well Be Speaking Chinese," p
202
In the 1970s
Cantonese Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...
was introduced into Suriname. Beginning in the 1990s new migrants from China moved to Suriname, and Putonghua, during circa 2004-2014, became the main Chinese
lingua franca A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, link language or language of wider communication (LWC), is a Natural language, language systematically used to make co ...
in the country. There are Mandarin and Cantonese television shows aired in Suriname.


Religion

Most of the Chinese Surinamese are irreligious, with significant population adhering to
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
.
Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...
and
Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
are also followed by a small number of them. However, "many...are Confucians".


Notable people

* Henk Chin A Sen 陳亞先, President and Prime Minister of Suriname, 1980-1982; Chin paternal side was Hakka Chinese and maternal side was mixed Creole * Lee-Roy Echteld, Football player, of part Chinese ancestry from his Surinamese father * Cerezo Fung a Wing, Football player * Roy Ho Ten Soeng, Mayor of Venhuizen,
North Holland North Holland (, ) is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands in the northwestern part of the country. It is located on the North Sea, north of South Holland and Utrecht (province), Utrecht, and west of Friesland and Flevola ...
, 2000-2006; First immigrant Mayor of Netherlands; First Chinese Mayor of Netherlands and Europe * Calvin Jong-a-Pin, Football player; Jong-a-Pin is of mixed ancestry * Michael P. Jong Tjien Fa 杨进华, Cabinet Minister, 2002-2010 * Guillaume Lo-A-Njoe, Artist * Etienne Shew-Atjon, Football player * Virgil van Dijk, Dutch footballer, of part Chinese ancestry from his Surinamese mother, named Hellen Chin Fo Sieeuw. * Humberto Tan, Radio and television presenter, writer * Tjin A Djie family, influential family * Renzo Tjon-A-Joe, swimmer * Varina Tjon-A-Ten, First Chinese elected to the
House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...
, 2003-2006; Tjon-A-Ten is of mixed ancestry with paternal Hakka Chinese grandfather who migrated from Guangdong to Suriname * Jair Tjon En Fa, track cyclist * Kian Fitz-Jim, Dutch footballer * Nathan Tjoe-A-On, Dutch-born Indonesian footballer * Aron Winter, Member of Netherlands national football team that won the 1988 European Football Championship. Also represented Netherlands in the European Football Championship for 1996 and 2000, and
FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...
, 1990, 1994 and 1998; Winter is of mixed ancestry and his paternal grandfather, Zhang Junqiang, is Surinamese Hakka. * Maayke Tjin-A-Lim, Dutch athlete * Mike Fung-A-Wing, Surinamese swimmer


See also

* Chinese Caribbeans * China–Suriname relations


References


Bibliography

; Articles * Tseng, F., ''De grote oversteek: het lot van de Surinaamse Chinezen'', China Nu 16 (4), 1991, 16-18. ; Books * Ankum-Houwink, J.C., ''De migratie van Chinezen naar Suriname'', (z.p. ca. 1972). * Ankum-Houwink, J.C., ''Chinese kontraktarbeiders in Suriname in de 19e eeuw'', OSO, 4 (2), 1985, 181-186. * Groenfelt, E., ''Impressies van de Chinese gemeenschap in Suriname: enkele culturele aspecten van Chinezen in Suriname'', (z.p. 1995). * Kom, Anton de, ''Wij slaven van Suriname'', 1934 * Lamur, H.E., en J.A. Vriezen, ''Chinese kontraktanten in Suriname'', OSO, 4 (2), 1985, 169-179. * Man A Hing, W.L., ''The Hakkas in Surinam'', in: The proceedings of the international conference on Hakkaology, (Hong Kong 1994), 189-195. *Tjon Sie Fat, Paul B. ''Chinese New Migrants in Suriname: The Inevitability of Ethnic Performing'' (UvA Proefschriften Series). Amsterdam University Press, September 1, 2009. , 9789056295981
Link at
Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical charac ...
. *Tjon Sie Fat, Paul B. "Old and New Chinese Organizations in Suriname" (Part IV: Chinese Migration in Other Countries: Chapter 12). In: Zhang, Jijiao and Howard Duncan. ''Migration in China and Asia: Experience and Policy'' (Volume 10 of International Perspectives on Migration).
Springer Science & Business Media Springer Science+Business Media, commonly known as Springer, is a German multinational publishing company of books, e-books and peer-reviewed journals in science, humanities, technical and medical (STM) publishing. Originally founded in 1842 in ...
, April 8, 2014. , 9789401787598. Start p
189
*Tjon Sie Fat, Paul B. "They Might as Well Be Speaking Chinese: The Changing Chinese Linguistic Situation in Suriname under New Migration." In: Carlin, Eithne B., Isabelle Léglise, Bettina Migge, and Paul B. Tjon Sie Fat. ''In and Out of Suriname: Language, Mobility and Identity'' (Caribbean Series).
Brill Publishers Brill Academic Publishers () is a Dutch international academic publisher of books, academic journals, and Bibliographic database, databases founded in 1683, making it one of the oldest publishing houses in the Netherlands. Founded in the South ...
, November 28, 2014. , 9789004280120. Start p
196
* Zijlmans, G.C. en H.A. Enser, ''De Chinezen in Suriname. een geschiedenis van immigratie en aanpassing 1853-2000'', .


External links



{{Ethnic groups in Suriname Asian diaspora in Suriname Ethnic groups in Suriname