Christopher Columbus sighted the coast of the area formerly known as Guiana (Berbice) in 1498, but it was unattractive to later Spanish and Portuguese explorers because of the limited presence of gold. The first successful European settlement was established in 1651 by British Lord Willoughby coming from Barbados. He welcomed people from unsuccessful West Indian and other South American colonies who brought capital and skills to the new settlement. Notable among these were Sephardic Jews from Brazil, who, in 1665, erected the first synagogue in the Western Hemisphere. The colony prospered as a plantation economy-cocoa, coffee, sugar, and cotton-based on slave labor from Africa.
By terms of the Treaty of Breda (1667), the Netherlands acquired Suriname from Great Britain in exchange for Dutch rights in Nieuw Amsterdam (Manhattan, New York) and the Gold Coast in Africa. The 18th and early 19th centuries saw Suriname in economic and political turmoil stemming from Indian and slave uprisings and Dutch preoccupation with its East Indian territories. Also during this period, as a result of the Napoleonic wars and treaties, sovereignty of the country was passed among England, France, and the Netherlands. The Netherlands finally regained control of Suriname under the Treaty of Vienna of 1815. When slavery was abolished in 1863, Suriname, facing a labor shortage, brought contract workers from China, India, and Java.
In 1952, an amendment to the Dutch constitution stipulated that relations between the Netherlands, the Netherlands Antilles, and Suriname should be laid down in a charter and should be recognized as constitutional law. With the signing of the charter on December 15, 1954, the reconstruction of the Kingdom of the Netherlands was completed, making Suriname an autonomous part of the Kingdom and granting it equality with the Netherlands and the Netherlands Antilles. This relationship continued until Suriname's independence on November 25, 1975.
The newly independent nation functioned as a parliamentary democracy until February 25, 1980, when a military coup by a group of noncommissioned officers overthrew the government. On August 13, 1980, the Parliament was dissolved and the constitution suspended. A six-member Policy Center-three civilians and three military-headed by an appointed civilian president was established to rule the country by decree. In February 1982, the military forced the president's resignation. A new government headed by a civilian Prime Minister, Henri Neijhorst, was appointed in March 1982. The supreme executive body remained the Policy Center, this time headed by Army Commander Lt. Col. Desire Bouterse.
During 1982 there was growing public pressure for an end to military rule and for a return to civilian government. In December 1982, 15 opposition leaders, including prominent journalists, lawyers, and a trade union leader, were killed without trial while in government custody, prompting the Netherlands and the United States to suspend economic and military assistance to Suriname. The Nijhorst cabinet resigned and was replaced by a military-appointed civilian cabinet headed by Liagat Ali Errol Alibux. Labor unrest in December 1983 and January 1984 led to the replacement of the Alibux government by an interim cabinet with limited mandate nominated by Commander Bouterse and leaders of organized business and labor. This cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Wim Udenhout, includes representatives of the military, labor unions, and the business community and was tasked with developing new "democratic structures" and resolving Suriname's economic problems. It is scheduled to be replaced not later than December 31, 1984.
The Policy Center was abolished and a Supreme Council (Topberaad) composed of top representatives of military, labor, and business was established in April 1984 to give policy direction to the government. Commander Bouterse is chairman of the Supreme Council. He and the military maintain absolute power over the decisionmaking process.
Source: U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Public Affairs, October 1984.