Historical Organization
Society of Suriname
Society of Suriname
Details
Organization Timeline
The charter for the Society of Suriname sets a new colonial regime
📅 23 September 1682The charter dated 23 September 1682 formalized a company shared by the Dutch West India Company, Amsterdam, and the Van Aerssen van Sommelsdijck family. It organized plantation expansion and rule in a...
Peace treaty ends the war, but its terms remain uncertain
📅 1686The attached PDF describes 1686 as a turning point and reports that a peace treaty was concluded. The treaty itself was not found among the archival documents discussed; its exact date, terms and...
Governor Crommelin warns that only peace can save the colony
📅 14 February 1754In a letter dated 14 February 1754, Governor Wigbold Crommelin acknowledged that colonial forces could not defeat the Maroons and argued that peace was necessary to prevent the colony’s collapse....
Governor Crommelin warns that peace with Maroons may be necessary
📅 14 February 1754In a letter to the Society of Suriname, Governor Jan Jacob Mauricius Crommelin argued that colonial troops could not defeat Maroon communities and that peace might save the colony. Maroon...
The Tempati uprising begins on a plantation
📅 22 February 1757Enslaved people at the La Paix timber plantation rose against enslavement. The revolt spread through the Tempati region, with hundreds fleeing plantations and joining Maroon communities. This was an...
Colonial report on the Tempati uprising seeks to reassure investors
📅 1 April 1757A report dated 1 April 1757 described the Tempati uprising and warned that news sent to the Netherlands should not needlessly alarm investors. The colony’s rulers faced a contradiction: the revolt...
Colonial officials report the Tempati revolt but seek to calm investors
📅 1 April 1757A report to the Society of Suriname described the revolt and cautioned against alarming investors. The archive exposes how colonial authorities managed information about resistance to protect...
Former officials describe the danger of the Tempati revolt
📅 6 June 1757In a letter dated 6 June 1757, former colonial officials warned of a worst-case outcome if the uprising was not suppressed. Their fears included loss of property and the possibility that Europeans...
Former officials warn of catastrophe if the Tempati revolt continues
📅 6 June 1757A group of former colonial officials warned the Society of Suriname about the revolt’s scale and the danger to settler property. Their private alarm contrasted with public attempts to reassure...
Colonial authorities respond to Boston Band’s peace letters
📅 2 June 1758The Society’s representative Francois Dandiran replied to Boston Band, a leader who advocated negotiation between Ndyuka Maroons and colonial officials. Boston’s literacy, diplomacy, and political...
Crommelin renews his plea for peace with the Ndyuka
📅 11 September 1759In a letter dated 11 September 1759, Governor Crommelin again argued that peace with the Ndyuka was necessary to save the colony. The campaign to force Maroon communities back under plantation...
Governor Crommelin again urges peace with Maroon communities
📅 11 September 1759Crommelin wrote that only peace could prevent the colony’s ruin. His appeal followed decades of failed military campaigns and acknowledged Maroon power. The letter documents the strategic position won...
A Ndyuka spokesperson explains the reasons for Maroon attacks
📅 6 January 1760At a peace negotiation, an unnamed Ndyuka speaker defended Maroon attacks against plantations. The statement reframes the violence as resistance to enslavement and colonial aggression. The surviving...
Boston Band negotiates peace with colonial representatives
📅 20 February 1760A record dated 20 February 1760 documents Boston Band’s role in negotiations with Dutch colonial representatives. Boston, a formerly enslaved man who had become a leader among the Ndyuka, advocated...
Boston Band negotiates peace on behalf of the Ndyuka
📅 20 February 1760Boston Band sent a letter to Governor Crommelin about a peace agreement. His role shows Maroon diplomacy, literacy, and leadership in negotiations with the colonial government. The Ndyuka sought...
Ndyuka and Dutch authorities sign a peace treaty
📅 10 October 1760On 10 October 1760, Ndyuka leaders and Dutch colonial authorities signed a treaty recognizing Ndyuka freedom and autonomy. The agreement promised supplies, but also required Ndyuka to ally with the...
The Ndyuka and the colonial government sign a peace treaty
📅 10 October 1760The treaty recognized the Ndyuka as a political community and established formal relations with the colonial government. Ndyuka resistance compelled the Dutch to negotiate rather than achieve military...
Paramaribo marks the Ndyuka peace agreement
📅 20 October 1760Colonial authorities and residents in Paramaribo celebrated the treaty with the Ndyuka. The celebration recognized a negotiated end to a costly conflict, though the treaty remained shaped by...
Boston Band writes about people escaping plantation slavery
📅 2 April 1761A letter dated 2 April 1761 records Boston Band addressing the issue of people fleeing slavery on plantations. The Ndyuka treaty required the return of some escapees, placing Boston and other...
Crommelin complains that the Ndyuka treaty is not being observed
📅 29 December 1761In a letter dated 29 December 1761, Governor Crommelin complained about compliance with the 1760 peace treaty. The complaint shows that treaty relations remained contested and that the colonial...
Governor Crommelin complains about enforcement of the Ndyuka treaty
📅 29 December 1761Crommelin complained to Boston Band that too few escaped enslaved people had been returned. This correspondence shows the conflict between the treaty’s recognition of Ndyuka autonomy and the...
Saamaka peace mission reaches a successful stage
📅 5 February 1762A colonial archival record dated 5 February 1762 marks a successful phase in a peace mission to the Saamaka. The negotiations followed decades of conflict and an earlier failed attempt at peace....
A peace mission reaches the Saamaka
📅 5 February 1762A diplomatic mission succeeded in opening negotiations with Saamaka communities. The colonial government sought peace after repeated military failures; Saamaka leaders used the opportunity to...
Saamaka and Dutch authorities sign a peace treaty
📅 19 September 1762On 19 September 1762, Saamaka leaders and Dutch colonial authorities signed a peace treaty. The agreement recognized the Saamaka as a distinct free community, establishing a negotiated boundary...
The Saamaka and Dutch colonial government sign a treaty
📅 19 September 1762The agreement formalized peace between the Saamaka and the colonial state. As with the Ndyuka agreement, the treaty followed Maroon resistance and was negotiated by political actors who had secured...
Captain Oorsinga reports the difficult approach to Fort Buku
📅 4 May 1772A colonial officer reported that the Aluku stronghold at Buku was protected by marshland and a concealed path. The fort’s location and defenses helped Maroon communities withstand VOC-style colonial...
Baron’s forces raid Poelwijk plantation
📅 30 June 1772A witness account records Baron’s raid on Poelwijk. Baron and Boni’s Aluku forces attacked plantations and freed enslaved people, undermining the labor regime and colonial authority. The account comes...
Aluku fighters resist the colonial assault on Fort Buku
📅 20 September 1772The Battle of Buku formed part of the Boni wars. Dutch forces eventually entered and destroyed the fortified settlement, but the Aluku had used its swamp setting and defenses to resist capture. This...
Colonel Fourgeoud receives orders to fight Boni and Baron
📅 22 March 1776The Society of Suriname instructed Colonel Fourgeoud to protect the colony from Boni and Baron. The order expanded a militarized campaign against Aluku communities. Colonial authorities recruited free...
A colonial interrogation preserves Boni’s words
📅 25 April 1776A record of an interrogation contains a statement attributed to Boni. The source was created by colonial officials after a person connected to Boni’s community was captured. It offers evidence of...
Boni is killed during the continuing struggle for Aluku freedom
📅 3 March 1793A Society of Suriname record reports Boni’s death. Boni had led a prolonged war against plantation slavery and colonial military power. His death did not erase Aluku resistance or political life;...