Governor acknowledges large-scale escape from slavery

The Arawaks return without carrying out the attack on the Caribs that the Dutch wanted. Colonial accounts call this unwillingness; the events also point to independent diplomacy and a relationship...

Heijnsius writes that Indigenous attacks are increasing and that many Africans are fleeing plantations. Together, Indigenous military pressure and African marronage weaken the plantation colony’s...

Colonial documents report that hundreds of Indigenous people are on the occupier’s side or are being recruited. Hira describes cooperation, rivalry and constrained choices as part of a complex war....

A journal reports that Gaminet, a Maroon, is travelling with Indigenous fighters. This points to contact and possible solidarity between communities resisting colonial rule. The archive describes...

Indigenous fighters burn a house and sugar works; the following day a provision ground is also attacked. These actions affect both colonial production and food supplies. The reports describe damage,...

Isaac Meza asks permission to take the remaining enslaved people and goods to Barbados. He says many people have been seized or have gone over to the Indigenous enemy. The letter shows Africans...

Indigenous fighters attack Acaribo with help from Africans who had escaped the plantation. Their cooperation connects resistance to colonial occupation with resistance to slavery. The colonial...

Governor Heijnsius dies. His death comes as the occupation is under pressure and colonial authorities are trying to restore military control. The struggle does not end with one governor: resistance...

The government assembles an expedition of Europeans and Indigenous allies. Its plan is to destroy villages and food stores and kill residents, forcing the resistance to surrender or leave. This is...

Several soldiers are killed and others wounded during an attack on Fort Oranje. The surviving occupiers abandon the post and return to Paramaribo with the wounded. The attack shows that fortified...