Nieuw Amsterdam ( or ) is the capital of the

Commewijne District Commewijne is a district of Suriname, located on the right bank of the Suriname River. Commewijne's capital city is Nieuw Amsterdam. Tamanredjo is another major town, while Meerzorg is the most populated. The district has a population of 31,4 ...

Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...

. It is a small coastal town situated at the confluence of the

Suriname River The Suriname River (Dutch: ''Surinamerivier'') is 480 km long and flows through the country Suriname. Its sources are located in the Guiana Highlands on the border between the Wilhelmina Mountains and the Eilerts de Haan Mountains (where it i ...

and

Commewijne River Commewijne River (Sranan Tongo: ''Kawina-liba'') is a river in northern Suriname. It originates in the hills of the Commewijne District and flows northwards until it receives the meandering Cottica River from the right and then runs westward unti ...

, just across from

Paramaribo Paramaribo (; ; nicknamed Par'bo) is the capital and largest city of Suriname, located on the banks of the Suriname River in the Paramaribo District. Paramaribo has a population of roughly 241,000 people (2012 census), almost half of Suriname's ...

, the country's capital. Its population at the 2012 census was 5,650, with around 1,200 people living in the main town, most of whom are of Javanese and East Indian origin. It is the location of the historical

Fort Nieuw-Amsterdam Fort Nieuw-Amsterdam is a fort in Suriname built from 1734 to 1747 at the confluence of the Suriname and Commewijne rivers. It is open to the public as an open-air museum. History The necessity of improving the fortifications of the colony of ...

, today an open-air museum. The town of

Mariënburg Mariënburg is a former sugarcane plantation, factory and village, situated in the district of Commewijne, in northern Suriname. History In 1745, Mariënburg was founded as a sugar plantation by Maria de la Jaille. After several owner changes, ...

with former sugarcane factory is located 3 km from Nieuw Amsterdam and part of the resort.

History

In 1734, the

Society of Suriname The Society of Suriname (Dutch: ''Sociëteit van Suriname'') was a Dutch private company, modelled on the ideas of Jean-Baptiste Colbert and set up on 21 May 1683 to profit from the management and defense of the Dutch Republic's colony of Surinam ...

decided to build a fort near the confluence of the Commewijne and Suriname River to defend the Colony of Suriname and the capital

. On 8 October 1834, Nieuw-Amsterdam became the capital of the newly formed District of Upper Commewijne. Between 1843 and 1854, Nieuw Amsterdam was designated as the location where incoming ships had to

quarantine A quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people, animals and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have been ...

. In 1872, part of the fort was converted to a jail, and would remain the only jail in Suriname until 1967. In 1873 the local population started a program of independent agriculture which was encouraged by

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

van Sypesteyn who designated Nieuw Amsterdam and Domburg as suitable locations. On 17 January 1888, a decision was taken to lay the first

telephone A telephone is a telecommunications device that permits two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most efficiently the human voice, into e ...

line between Nieuw-Amsterdam and Paramaribo with branches to redoubts Leiden and Frederiksdorp, and to operate the network from Nieuw-Amsterdam, because it was expected to mainly for military purposes. With the completion of the

Jules Wijdenbosch Bridge The Jules Wijdenbosch Bridge (Dutch: ''Jules Wijdenboschbrug''), also called Suriname bridge and known locally as Bosje Brug, is a bridge over the Suriname River between the capital city Paramaribo and Meerzorg in the Commewijne District. The bri ...

on 20 May 2000, the East-West Link was further expanded to Commewijne and Marowijne. There is also ferry service from Leonsberg in Paramaribo.

Notable people

* Ramsewak Shankar (1937), former President of Suriname

Gallery

Nieuw Amsterdam3.jpg New amsterdam from air.jpg New amsterdam 03.jpg New amsterdam 04.jpg

References

External links

* {{Surinamese District Commewijne Resorts of Suriname Populated coastal places in Suriname Populated places in Commewijne District