Editing History of Suriname (section)

=== Slavery and emancipation ===
[[File:A Surinam Planter in his Morning Drefs (Dress), by John Gabriel Stedman, 1796.jpg|thumb|left| A Dutch plantation owner and female slave from [[William Blake]]'s illustrations of the work of [[John Gabriel Stedman]], published in 1792–1794.]]
[[File:Tropenmuseum Royal Tropical Institute Objectnumber 3444-7 Begrafenis bij plantageslaven2.jpg|thumb|250px|Funeral at slave plantation, Suriname. Colored lithograph printed circa 1840–1850, digitally restored.]]
[[File:Encyclopaedie van Nederlandsch West-Indië-Surinam north-Benj004ency01ill stitched.jpg|thumb|250px|Suriname (circa 1914) in the Encyclopedia of the Dutch West Indies, by Surinamese cartographer [[Herman Benjamins]] and Dutch ethnographer [[Johannes François Snelleman|Johannes Snelleman]].]]
[[File:Maroon village, Suriname River, 1955.jpg|thumb|250px|Maroon village, [[Suriname River]], 1955]]
In South America, slavery was the norm. The native people proved to be in limited supply and consequently the [[Atlantic slave trade]] supplied the workforce for the plantations. The plantations were producing [[sugar]], [[coffee]], [[Cocoa bean|cocoa]], and [[cotton]] which were exported for the Amsterdam market. In 1713, for instance, most of the work on the 200 plantations was done by 13,000 [[Africa]]n slaves. Their treatment was horrific, and slaves periodically escaped to the jungle from the start.<ref>''The Boni Maroon Wars in Suriname'' by Wim S.M. Hoogbergen</ref><ref>Stedman, John Gabriel (1962) ''The Journal of John Gabriel Stedman, 1744–1797, soldier and author, including an authentic account of his expedition to Surinam in 1772'' Mitre Press, London, {{OCLC|924217}}</ref> These ''[[Maroon (people)|Maroons]]'' (also known as "Djukas" or "Bakabusi Nengre") attacked the plantations in order to acquire goods that were in short supply and to free enslaved women. Notable leaders of the Surinam Maroons were [[Johannes Alabi|Alabi]], [[Boni (guerrilla leader)|Boni]], Joli-coeur and [[Kapitein Broos|Broos]] (Captain Broos). In the 18th century, three of the Maroon people signed a peace treaty, similar to the peace treaty ending the [[First Maroon War]] in Jamaica, whereby they were recognised as free people and received a yearly tribute that provided them with the goods they used to "liberate" from the plantations. A contemporary description of the war between the Maroons and the plantation owners in Suriname can be found in ''Narrative of a Five Years Expedition Against the Revolted Negroes of Surinam'' by [[John Gabriel Stedman]].

Suriname was occupied by the British in 1799, after the Netherlands were incorporated by France, and was returned to the Dutch in 1816, after the defeat of [[Napoleon]]. In 1861–63, President [[Abraham Lincoln]] of the United States and his administration looked abroad for places to relocate freed slaves who wanted to leave the United States. It opened negotiations with the Dutch government regarding African-American emigration to and colonization of the Dutch colony of Suriname in South America. Nothing came of it and after 1864, the proposal was dropped.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=The Lincoln Administration's Negotiations to Colonize African Americans in Dutch Suriname|url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/583987|access-date=2021-02-07|first=Michael J. |last=Douma|journal=Civil War History|volume=61|issue=2 |date=June 2015|pages=111–37|doi=10.1353/cwh.2015.0037}}</ref> The Dutch abolished slavery only in 1863, although the British had already abolished it during their short rule. The freed slaves were, however, still required to continue their plantation work on a contract basis and were not released until 1873;<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/rijksstudio|title=Rijksstudio|website=Rijksmuseum}}</ref> up to that date they conducted obligatory but paid work at the plantations. Slaves were required to work on plantations for 10 transition years for minimal pay, which was considered as partial compensation for their masters. Besides that, the Dutch government in 1863 also compensated each slave-owner for the loss of the working force of each slave 300 Dutch florins - in 2021 worth about 3,500 euros. After 1873, most freedmen largely abandoned the plantations where they had worked for several generations in favor of the capital city, [[Paramaribo]]. In the meantime, many more workers had been imported from the [[Dutch East Indies]], mostly Chinese inhabitants of that colony, creating a [[Chinese Surinamese]] population. From 1873 to 1916, many laborers were imported from India, creating the [[Indo-Surinamese]]. After 1916, many laborers were again imported from the [[Dutch East Indies]], especially [[Java (island)|Java]], creating the [[Javanese Surinamese]].