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Hub AI
Afro-Surinamese AI simulator
(@Afro-Surinamese_simulator)
Hub AI
Afro-Surinamese AI simulator
(@Afro-Surinamese_simulator)
Afro-Surinamese
Afro-Surinamese are the inhabitants of Suriname of mostly West African and Central African ancestry. They are descended from enslaved Africans brought to work on sugar plantations. Many of them escaped the plantations and formed independent settlements together, becoming known as Maroons. They maintained vestiges of African culture and language. They are usually split into two ethnic subgroups (Creoles and Maroons).
Most of the enslaved people imported to Suriname came from West Central Africa (circa 61,500 slaves, 27% of the total number), Gold Coast (Ghana) (circa 46,000, 21% of the total), Windward Coast (circa 45,000, 20%), and Bight of Benin (more than 32,000, 14% of the total). Thousands of enslaved people also arrived from Bight of Biafra (circa 11,000, 5.0% of the total) and Sierra Leone (circa 3,600, 1.6% of the total). The total number of enslaved people was estimated at 220,000.
The Akans from the central Ghana were, officially, the predominant ethnic group of slaves in Suriname. However, in practice, enslaved people from Loango, purchased in Cabinda, Angola, were the largest group of slaves in Suriname since 1670; they surpassed the number on the Gold Coast in almost all periods. Enslaved people including the Ewe (who live in southern Ghana, Togo and Benin), Igbo (from Nigeria), Yoruba (from Benin) and Kongo (who live in the Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Angola), all left their cultural footprints in Suriname.
The Dutch were involved in the slave trade during the early colonial years. They sought office space for their plantations. The space they received was when the British in the Treaty of Breda (1667) gave land on the northern coast of South America, ceded to them in exchange for New York. Suriname became a slave colony. Slaves were rapidly shipped from Africa to Suriname to work on coffee, cocoa, and sugar plantations for the Dutch and other Europeans.
Because they remained strictly separated from the white population, the slaves developed their own culture with a strong West African influence. They had their own religion, Winti, and their own language, Sranan Tongo. They also used this as a subtle form of resistance. For example, many slave songs had a critical undertone. However, the planters did not realize this because they often had a poor understanding of Sranan Tongo.
Slavery was officially abolished in Suriname on July 1, 1863 by the Emancipation Act. 32,911 slaves were released. Slave owners received compensation of 300 guilders per freed slave. The slaves themselves received no compensation. Although slavery was abolished, those freed did not immediately receive full freedom. They were obliged to continue working as contract workers in their district for another ten years on the basis of annual contracts. This is called the period of "state supervision", during which the released people came under the supervision of a district commissioner of the government. Various restrictions were imposed during this period, which meant that slavery was partly continued.
Largely descended from former enslaved Africans. Many Creoles are of mixed African and European descent. The term comes from the related Portuguese word crioulo.
The culture of the Creoles is a fusion of different cultures consisting that of the European slave owners (mainly the Dutch, English and Jews), and that of the various Western and Central African tribes. The native language of the Creoles is Sranan Tongo, because slaves were historically forbidden to learn and speak Dutch.
Afro-Surinamese
Afro-Surinamese are the inhabitants of Suriname of mostly West African and Central African ancestry. They are descended from enslaved Africans brought to work on sugar plantations. Many of them escaped the plantations and formed independent settlements together, becoming known as Maroons. They maintained vestiges of African culture and language. They are usually split into two ethnic subgroups (Creoles and Maroons).
Most of the enslaved people imported to Suriname came from West Central Africa (circa 61,500 slaves, 27% of the total number), Gold Coast (Ghana) (circa 46,000, 21% of the total), Windward Coast (circa 45,000, 20%), and Bight of Benin (more than 32,000, 14% of the total). Thousands of enslaved people also arrived from Bight of Biafra (circa 11,000, 5.0% of the total) and Sierra Leone (circa 3,600, 1.6% of the total). The total number of enslaved people was estimated at 220,000.
The Akans from the central Ghana were, officially, the predominant ethnic group of slaves in Suriname. However, in practice, enslaved people from Loango, purchased in Cabinda, Angola, were the largest group of slaves in Suriname since 1670; they surpassed the number on the Gold Coast in almost all periods. Enslaved people including the Ewe (who live in southern Ghana, Togo and Benin), Igbo (from Nigeria), Yoruba (from Benin) and Kongo (who live in the Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Angola), all left their cultural footprints in Suriname.
The Dutch were involved in the slave trade during the early colonial years. They sought office space for their plantations. The space they received was when the British in the Treaty of Breda (1667) gave land on the northern coast of South America, ceded to them in exchange for New York. Suriname became a slave colony. Slaves were rapidly shipped from Africa to Suriname to work on coffee, cocoa, and sugar plantations for the Dutch and other Europeans.
Because they remained strictly separated from the white population, the slaves developed their own culture with a strong West African influence. They had their own religion, Winti, and their own language, Sranan Tongo. They also used this as a subtle form of resistance. For example, many slave songs had a critical undertone. However, the planters did not realize this because they often had a poor understanding of Sranan Tongo.
Slavery was officially abolished in Suriname on July 1, 1863 by the Emancipation Act. 32,911 slaves were released. Slave owners received compensation of 300 guilders per freed slave. The slaves themselves received no compensation. Although slavery was abolished, those freed did not immediately receive full freedom. They were obliged to continue working as contract workers in their district for another ten years on the basis of annual contracts. This is called the period of "state supervision", during which the released people came under the supervision of a district commissioner of the government. Various restrictions were imposed during this period, which meant that slavery was partly continued.
Largely descended from former enslaved Africans. Many Creoles are of mixed African and European descent. The term comes from the related Portuguese word crioulo.
The culture of the Creoles is a fusion of different cultures consisting that of the European slave owners (mainly the Dutch, English and Jews), and that of the various Western and Central African tribes. The native language of the Creoles is Sranan Tongo, because slaves were historically forbidden to learn and speak Dutch.