Suriname: Colony in exchange,years were sucked blood, and independence needs to pay a huge amount of money
With the hit of the Korean drama "Suriname", this Korean crime film masterpiece has attracted the enthusiastic attention of audiences around the world. The largest Korean drama in history has gathered a number of actors, vowing to open a new chapter in Korean crime films.
"Suriname" is set in the "Suriname" country in South America, and the plot continues the classic Korean "Shuangwen" model, telling the story of Koreans fighting drug traffickers across borders.
However, it is believed that before this, many people had not even heard of the country "Suriname". As a member of South America, Suriname has a unique geographical location with a predominantly Indian and Indonesian ethnic makeup, and the official language spoken is Dutch.
This Korean drama not only brings us a great crime drama but also gives us a unique and mysterious introduction to a South American country.
This fertile land of Suriname is a world-famous sugar, tobacco, aluminum ore and ** production area, with a 400-year colonial history, has been divided by Britain, Spain, the Netherlands, France and other countries.
Although Suriname is rich in resources, it is not in the top of South America's economic status because of its incompetence and slow domestic development. The Netherlands, as the suzerainty of Suriname, reaped huge profits from it for a long time in modern times.
However, no one could have imagined that Suriname would later become a burden that could not be shaken off, and hundreds of thousands of people depended on Dutch welfare to survive, almost dragging down the Netherlands. In the history of world colonization, Suriname is the only example of reverse exploitation of the suzerain.
Suriname is an ethnically complex country with a diverse ethnic group of Indians, Indonesians, blacks, whites, Chinese, and mixed-race brown people. This phenomenon is a unique sight in South America.
So, what kind of country is Suriname? And how does it exploit the suzerainty in reverse? In addition, what are the insurmountable obstacles to Suriname's development?
From Dutch Guiana to Suriname, the region has a long history, once home to the Indians, with more than 3,000 years of civilization. However, due to the harsh climate, the level of civilization here has not been high.
Until the arrival of European colonists in the 16th century, the local Guyanese were still living a slash-and-burn life, occasionally raising alpacas and hunting, which was all their productive activities.
Although both geographically and ethnically identical, Spanish Guiana and Portuguese Guiana are now part of Venezuela and Brazil, respectively.
Historically, several European countries have tried to exploit this mysterious land in eastern South America, Guyana. As early as the end of the 16th century, the Spaniards explored the south, but found that the rainforest and hot and humid climate were not suitable for them, so they chose to leave.
Then, in the early 17th century, the Dutch set foot in the area, and although some settlements were established, they were not developed on a large scale. It wasn't until the middle of the 17th century that the British began to really develop the area.
They traded with the local Indians, the "Sourinen tribe", and established a supply point here as a transit point for ocean voyages. However, this method of development was not welcomed by the Indians, and conflicts broke out between the two sides.
Britain and the Netherlands fought three "Anglo-Dutch Wars" in the Americas for control of the Atlantic. In this second war, the Dutch succeeded in seizing control of the British Guiana region and renamed it Dutch Guiana.
However, the British did not lose the war entirely, and in post-war negotiations they acquired a colony from the Dutch called "New Netherlands", although the area was described at the time as "dry and barren".
However, if the Dutch had foreseen the future of the "New Netherlands" at the time, they might have been frightened to the point that their legs would have gone limp, as this area would have since become New York.
The Dutch exchanged "New Netherlands" for Guyana, in fact, out of their own overseas considerations. The hot and humid climate was ideal for growing tropical crops, especially sugar cane, one of the most important commodities in the world, and the Dutch had already controlled most of it** and made a lot of profit from it.
In addition, bagasse can also be used to make rum, a spirit known as the "blood of sailors" and relied on it every day by seafarers during the Age of Discovery. In order to grow sugar cane, the Dutch acquired land from Guyana and carried out large-scale forest development.
However, in the process, the Dutch clashed with the local Indians, and the colonists took out a large number of indigenous people, resulting in a sharp decline in the local population. When forests were cut down and natives were killed, the Dutch colonists found themselves with no one to rely on to grow their crops.
Due to labor shortages, the Dutch bought black slaves from Africa in large quantities and established sugar cane plantations. However, the Dutch's brutality against slaves shocked the world and even provoked condemnation from France and England.
Slaves were often subjected to torture, such as cutting off their hands, feet, beheadings, and burning, which led to a large number of slaves fleeing to the British or French colonies, preferring to survive in the rainforest rather than work for the Dutch.
The actions of the Dutch eventually led"Negro in the woods"The formation of a new nation, these blacks fled into the rainforest, came into contact with the Indians, learned their language and culture, and eventually became an independent people.
As the number of black slaves decreased, and after the 18th century, the Dutch began to look for a new labor force from their other colony"Dutch Indochina"Indonesians, Indians, and Chinese Lingnan people were introduced.
These immigrants became the new blood of Dutch Guiana, bringing with them Buddhism, Islam, Hindu beliefs, and a complex ethnic composition.
2. The end of Dutch colonial rule in Suriname At the beginning of the 20th century, although the Netherlands was still managing Suriname and other overseas colonies, due to its own lack of strength, many interests had been gradually taken away by Britain and the United States.
Especially when Suriname's aluminium resources were discovered and settled by Alcoa, the Dutch had to make concessions and give up some of their aluminium interests. The United States was accustomed to keeping the meat in its mouth, so the Dutch found that the United States was gradually gaining power in Suriname and began to empty its rule.
The Dutch tried to resist, but the outbreak of World War II forced the Dutch to declare neutrality to avoid war. In order to avoid hostility with the United States, the Netherlands** could only acquiesce to the American presence in Suriname.
During World War I, although the European countries were divided into two opposing camps, the Netherlands, as a neutral country, was relatively peaceful. However, during World War II, Nazi Germany no longer cared about the rights and interests of neutral countries, and the Netherlands fell and was forced into exile in Britain, losing its overseas colonies, including Indonesia in Asia, which was occupied by Japan.
In South America, due to the limitations of the human and financial resources of the Netherlands, the management of Suriname actually fell into the hands of the United States, and Alcoa represented the interests of the United States.
After World War II, the Netherlands, Britain, France, Belgium and other countries all wanted to maintain their overseas colonies, but under the pressure of the United States and the Soviet Union, the colonies around the world began to set off a wave of independence.
The old big empires such as Britain and France could not compete with the United States and the Soviet Union, let alone a small country like the Netherlands. The Netherlands was occupied by Germany during the war,** and had to be sent to the fence, and after the war, when the Dutch royal family returned to Amsterdam, they immediately set about stabilizing the regime.
In 1949, the Netherlands even abandoned Indonesia, let alone Suriname. Negotiations took place between the Netherlands and the local Surinamese people, and finally in the 50s they signed a document of an autonomous nature, the Kingdom Charter.
This document has a high place in the history of mankind, and it can be said to be "an unequal treaty between colonies and overlords". The document stipulates that the Netherlands and Suriname become equal relations, with Suriname** having autonomy.
However, the Netherlands is accountable to the people of Suriname, who enjoy the same benefits as native Dutch residents. In addition, the Netherlands is responsible for Suriname's defense, infrastructure, and education, and Suriname does not have to pay taxes to the Netherlands.
By signing such "unequal treaties", the Netherlands repaid its historical exploitation of the colonial peoples.
In the history of reverse exploitation in Suriname, the people of the region have benefited greatly, at least the upper class has developed at a high speed. From the 50s to the 70s, Suriname's GDP per capita tripled, and although the local industry did not change much, the wealth was taken from the Netherlands.
After the 70s, the economic crisis in the Netherlands broke out, and the exploitation of Suriname became even more painful. At this time, some radical independence parties appeared in Suriname, and the Dutch ** was very happy and began to secretly support these independence factions to come to power, hoping that Suriname would become independent as soon as possible.
These independents are represented by the "Suriname National Party", whose members are Creoles, i.e. people of white European descent born in Suriname. They were well-educated, wealthy, and had a strong desire for independence.
In 1973, when the leader of the National Party, Henk Aaron, announced that he would lead the country to independence, the Netherlands rushed to negotiate with Aaron in the hope of brokering Suriname's independence.
The Dutch wanted to give Suriname some money so that they could live on their own instead of being dependent on the Netherlands all the time. However, Aaron (Suriname's leader) is also smart, he knows Suriname's strength, and after independence, it may face poverty, because their important resource, aluminum, is almost exhausted, and the income is in the hands of the Americans, and there is no other way to make money.
In order to prevent the Dutch from gaining further control of Suriname, Aaron put forward harsh conditions, hoping to get the Dutch to give up. He demanded a "break-up fee" of 6.5 billion guilders, which was equivalent to $2.5 billion at the time, to buy a large number of items.
That's a big number for the Dutch **, and they're scared. During the negotiations, the Netherlands** hoped that Suriname could reduce the amount of the "break-up fee", and in the end Suriname agreed to reduce it to 3.5 billion guilders, which is close to half.
The Netherlands** were very grateful for this, and they thanked Suriname** and the Jatiya Party for their tolerance and signed the agreement. Eventually, Suriname gained independence in November 1975.
Suriname: large ethnic differences, imperfect industrial system, serious cultural estrangement among major ethnic groups, lack of national cohesion, and post-independence immigration waves, resulting in domestic economic difficulties.
Suriname was unnoticed by the great powers during the Cold War, and the economic situation was grim.
In Suriname, in a turbulent time, the soldier Bouterse overthrew the incompetent Aaron ** and established the Army**. However, Bouterse's actions touched the interests of the West, sparked opposition from the United States and the Netherlands, and eventually led to a six-year-long civil war in Suriname.
The already poor country withered even more in this war. In order to survive, Suriname began to develop the drug business, and the Bouterser Army** even led the drug trafficking, bringing a large number of *** to the Netherlands.
As a result, the Netherlands became the main distribution center of drugs in Europe at the end of the 20th century, and had to spend a lot of money on drug enforcement. This development left the Dutch confused and helpless about their fate.
After the 90s, Suriname experienced a rapprochement between the army and the guerrillas, and the country returned stability, but development still lagged behind. Due to the long-term dependence on the export-oriented economy, the development of local industries is limited, and the company only collects money from multinational companies, lacking effective management of the country.
Although Suriname's per capita GDP is not low due to the export-oriented economy, the money is still poor by foreigners or *** people. After entering the 21st century, with the rise of China, more and more Chinese have come to Suriname to do business, and Suriname has ushered in new development opportunities.
Suriname is inhabited by a large number of Cantonese people, mainly Hakka. The influence of Chinese culture has led the people of Suriname to celebrate the Spring Festival, and the Spring Festival has also been listed as a legal holiday, so that the sense of belonging of Chinese in the local area has been enhanced.
Suriname** is facing economic difficulties and is actively looking for opportunities for transformation, hoping to attract external investment, develop local industries and solve employment problems. In this regard, Suriname has high hopes for China and has taken the initiative to engage with China.
With the increase in cooperation between the two countries, Suriname has also joined China's "One Belt, One Road" Maritime Silk Road initiative and has received China's tailor-made poverty alleviation strategy.
This series of initiatives is steadily progressing, and it is expected that Suriname will soon appear in front of the world with a new look. Literature and Business References: 1. "Suriname: The Epitome of Cultural Pluralism", Lloyd 2, "Suriname: The Gateway to the Caribbean", climax.