White Surinamese
Ethnic group
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
White Surinamese or European Surinamese are Surinamese people whose ancestry lies within the continent of Europe.[2]
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
| Paramaribo[1] | |
| Languages | |
| Dutch, Sranan Tongo, Portuguese, English, French, German, Spanish, Polish, Yiddish, Hebrew[citation needed] | |
| Religion | |
| Christianity, Judaism, others[citation needed] | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| White Caribbean, Dutch Surinamese, Portuguese Surinamese |
As of 2012, people of solely European descent are a small minority in Suriname, accounting for only 1,667 people or 0.3% of the country's population.[3] The largest European ethnic groups in Suriname are the Dutch and the Portuguese.[4]
History
Before the arrival of Europeans, Suriname was home to many Indigenous tribes such as Arawaks, Caribs, Kalina people and Warao people.[5] Christopher Columbus inaugurated the presence in the region of Europeans, who enslaved the indigenous people.[6] Subsequently, the Spanish, British, Dutch, and French attempted to establish their presence but were unsuccessful until the 1650s. Plantation owners from Barbados arrived with enslaved individuals to cultivate Suriname. The settlement flourished to such an extent that it attracted further European interest, leading to conflicts between the Dutch and the British over territorial claims. Following the conclusion of the second Anglo-Dutch War, the British ceded Suriname to the Dutch in 1677.[7] Diseases such as influenza and tuberculosis, brought by the Europeans, wiped out much of the indigenous population.[8]
