Editing Paramaribo (section)

== History ==
[[File:Tropenmuseum Royal Tropical Institute Objectnumber 3728-375 Litho voorstellende een marktgezicht.jpg|thumb|left|1830s [[lithograph]] of the market]]

The name Paramaribo is probably a corruption of the name of a native village, spelled Parmurbo in the earliest Dutch sources.<ref name="settlement">{{cite web|url=https://www.dbnl.org/tekst/_bij005191401_01/_bij005191401_01_0007.php|title=Bijdragen en Mededeelingen van het Historisch Genootschap. Deel 35|date=1914|access-date=29 May 2020|website=Digital Library for Dutch Literature|language=nl}}</ref> This was the location of the first Dutch settlement, a trading post established by Nicolaes Baliestel and Dirck Claeszoon van Sanen in 1613.<ref name="settlement"/> English and French traders also tried to establish settlements in Suriname, including a French post established in 1644 near present-day Paramaribo.

All earlier settlements were abandoned some time before the arrival of English settlers in 1650 to found [[Surinam (English colony)|Surinam]]. They were sent by the English governor of Barbados, Lord [[Francis Willoughby, 5th Baron Willoughby of Parham]], and established a town on the site of Paramaribo (though probably south of the current town center). The town was protected by a fort, called [[Fort Zeelandia (Paramaribo)|Fort Willoughby]]. In 1662, Governor Willoughby was granted the settlement and surrounding lands (extending into Suriname's interior) by King Charles II. Around 1665 the village of Paramaribo was expanded and quickly outranked the earlier settlement of [[Torarica]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.suriname.nu/301ges/aparbo02.html|title=Paramaribo Suriname 2|access-date=29 May 2020|language=nl|website=Suriname.nu}}</ref>

In 1667, during the [[Second Anglo-Dutch War]], Paramaribo was conquered by a squadron of ships under [[Abraham Crijnssen]]. The [[Treaty of Breda (1667)|Treaty of Breda]] in 1667 confirmed Paramaribo as the leading town of the now Dutch colony of Suriname. The fort protecting Paramaribo was renamed Fort Zeelandia in honor of the Dutch province that had financed Crijnssen's fleet. (The town was also renamed New Middelburg but the name did not catch on with the inhabitants).

[[File:Vente d'esclaves au Suriname en 1831.jpg|thumb|[[Slavery in Suriname|Slave]] auction in Paramaribo, in 1831]]

The population of Paramaribo has always been very diverse. Among the first British settlers were many [[Jews]]<ref name="WDL">{{cite web |url = http://www.wdl.org/en/item/524/ |title = Extract of the Dutch Map Representing the Colony of Surinam |website = [[World Digital Library]] |date = 1777 |access-date = 2013-07-13 }}</ref> and one of the oldest [[synagogue]]s in the [[Americas]], the [[Neveh Shalom Synagogue]], is found in Paramaribo.<ref name=TFox>{{cite news|last=Fox|first=Tamar|title=Discovering Suriname's Jewish past - and present|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/18/AR2011021804253.html|department=Travel|newspaper=Washington Post|access-date=13 July 2013|date=18 February 2011}}</ref> The population of the town was greatly increased after 1873, when former enslaved people (who had been freed in 1863) were allowed to stop working for their former masters and leave the sugar plantations.

Paramaribo has remained the capital of Suriname, from its colonial days through the independence of Suriname in 1975 to the present day. The old town has suffered many devastating fires over the years, notably in January 1821 (which destroyed over 400 buildings) and September 1832 (which destroyed nearly 50 buildings).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.suriname.nu/301ges/aparbo05.html|title=Paramaribo Suriname|access-date=29 May 2020|language=nl|website=Suriname.nu}}</ref> The slaves [[Kodjo (slave)|Kodjo]], Mentor, and Present were found guilty of [[arson]], and burnt alive.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://deleesclubvanalles.nl/boek/oog-in-oog-met-paramaribo/ |title=Oog in oog met Paramaribo|website=De Lees Club van Alles|access-date=10 March 2021|language=nl}}</ref>

In May 1972, the [[Paramaribo Zoo]] opened.<ref name="dagblad">{{cite news|url=https://www.dbsuriname.com/2020/04/22/dieren-in-dierentuinen-dieren-worden-niet-meer-gehouden-voor-slechts-het-plezier-van-de-mens/ |title=Dieren in dierentuinen "Dieren worden niet meer gehouden voor slechts het plezier van de mens" |website=Dagblad Suriname|access-date=16 March 2021|language=nl}}</ref> In 1987, an administrative reorganization took place in Suriname and the city was divided into 12 administrative [[Resorts of Suriname|resorts]] (jurisdictions).