Surinam

The first known inhabitants of Suriname were Indians. The coasts of Suriname were discovered by the Spanish navigator Alonso de Ojeda in 1499; however, the Spanish took over the area about a century later (1593) and their dominance did not last long. Starting in 1616, the Netherlands began to establish settlements in the region, and after 1651, England. At the end of the war between these two states to seize and colonize the region, England ceded its rights in Suriname to the Netherlands in return for New Amsterdam (New York) with the Treaty of Breda (1667). Slaves, whose number reached 250,000 until the 19th century, were brought from Africa to work on the sugar cane and coffee plantations established in the 1680s, and when slavery was abolished in 1863, native workers who were forced to work for the same job were brought from India and Java; these workers eventually settled on the lands where they worked. In 1922, Suriname's status was changed from a colony to an overseas province directly affiliated with the Kingdom of the Netherlands. In 1954, this province, called Dutch Guiana, was granted internal independence, and on October 25, 1975, full independence was granted, and a parliamentary republic was established. In February 1980, the government was overthrown in a military coup and the constitution was suspended. In 1982, when the military authorities arrested and killed fifteen prominent opposition leaders, the Netherlands and the United States announced that they would cut off their aid until a civilian government was established. Elections were held in November 1987, ending military rule, and a new constitution prepared on the same day was accepted by referendum. In late 1990, the army seized power in a new coup, but due to external pressure, it was forced to hold general elections in May 1991. Since no party could get the necessary majority, a coalition government was formed and the United People's Assembly elected Ronald Venetiaan as president. The country has been governed by coalition governments ever since. In the 1996 elections, opposition leader Jules Wijdenbosch was elected president, but in the 2000 elections Ronald Venetiaan was re-elected and was elected in the 2005 elections.