White Surinamese or European Surinamese are
Surinamese people whose ancestry lies within the continent of
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
.
As of 2012, people of solely European descent are a small minority in
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 ...
, accounting for only 1,667 people or 0.3% of the country's population.
The largest European ethnic groups in Suriname are the Dutch and the Portuguese.
History
Before the arrival of Europeans, Suriname was home to many indigenous tribes such as
Arawak
The Arawak are a group of Indigenous peoples of northern South America and of the Caribbean. The term "Arawak" has been applied at various times to different Indigenous groups, from the Lokono of South America to the Taíno (Island Arawaks), w ...
s,
Caribs,
Kalina people
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 ...
and
Warao people
The Warao are an Indigenous Amerindian people inhabiting northeastern Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, and Suriname. Alternate common spellings of Warao are Waroa, Guarauno, Guarao, and Warrau. The term ''Warao'' translates as "the boat pe ...
.
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus (; between 25 August and 31 October 1451 – 20 May 1506) was an Italians, Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Genoa who completed Voyages of Christopher Columbus, four Spanish-based voyages across the At ...
inaugurated the presence in the region of Europeans, who enslaved the indigenous people. Subsequently, the Spanish, British, Dutch, and French attempted to establish their presence but were unsuccessful until the 1650s. Plantation owners from
Barbados
Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...
arrived with enslaved individuals to cultivate Suriname. The settlement flourished to such an extent that it attracted further European interest, leading to conflicts between the Dutch and the British over territorial claims. Following the conclusion of the second Anglo-Dutch War, the British ceded Suriname to the Dutch in 1677. Diseases such as influenza and tuberculosis, brought by the Europeans, wiped out much of the indigenous population.
See also
*
Dutch Surinamese
Dutch Surinamese () are Surinamese people of Dutch descent.
Dutch migrant settlers in search of a better life started arriving in Suriname in the 19th century with the ''boeroes'', poor farmers arriving from the Dutch provinces of Gelderlan ...
*
Portuguese Surinamese
Portuguese Surinamese people are Surinamese citizens of Portuguese ancestry.
History
In 1853, the first Portuguese people arrived from the Portuguese island of Madeira, having been sponsored by a coalition of planters and by the colonial gove ...
*
History of the Jews in Suriname
The history of the Jews in Suriname starts in 1639, as the English government allowed Spanish and Portuguese Jews from the Netherlands, Portugal and Italy to settle the region, coming to the old capital Torarica.
History
After the arrival of ...
References and footnotes
White culture in South America
{{Suriname-stub