The Saamaka and Dutch colonial government sign a treaty

Boston 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...

The 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...

Colonial 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...

Crommelin 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...

A diplomatic mission succeeded in opening negotiations with Saamaka communities. The colonial government sought peace after repeated military failures; Saamaka leaders used the opportunity to...

Enslaved people in Berbice began a major uprising for freedom. Within a day, the rebellion had spread across plantations. Led by Coffy and other organizers, the insurgents challenged a colonial system...

Coffy and Accara sent a letter explaining that the uprising responded to the abuse and withholding of what was owed to enslaved people. Their demands were political: freedom, fair treatment, and...

The governor reported that the revolt had spread across plantations and forced colonists to flee. His dispatch records the scale of insurgent action from an administrative viewpoint. The rebellion’s...

Van Hoogenheim replied to Coffy’s proposal that the colony be divided between colonists and freedom fighters. The governor did not accept the insurgents’ claim to land and freedom, instead delaying...

Governor Van Hoogenheim chaired a council that decided to keep negotiations open only to delay while reinforcements were expected. This record exposes the colonial government’s bad faith in talks with...