The Society of Berbice (
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
: ''Sociëteit van Berbice'') was founded on 24 October 1720 by the owners of the
colony of Berbice currently in
Guyana. These owners (Arnold Dix, Pieter Schuurmans, Cornelis van Peere, and brothers Nicolaas and Hendrik van Hoorn) had acquired the colony from the French on 24 October 1714, who in turn had occupied the colony which was previously a hereditary fief in the possession of the
Van Peere family.
In 1720, the five owners of the colony founded a Society of Berbice in a similar fashion to 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 ...
, which governed the neighbouring colony, in order to raise more capital for the colony. Both brothers shared one quarter of the company, and could only cast one vote. The Society was a
public company
A public company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of stock which are intended to be freely traded on a stock exchange or in over-the-counter markets. A public (publicly traded) company can be listed on a stock exchange (l ...
listed on the
Amsterdam Stock Exchange.
In the years following, Berbice became the second most flourishing Dutch colony in the Guianas after Suriname, consisting of 12 plantations owned by the society, 93 private plantations along the
Berbice River, and 20 plantations along the
Canje River
The Canje River (sometimes referred to as Canje Creek), located in northeastern Guyana, is the main tributary of the Berbice River. It runs roughly parallel to the Atlantic Ocean coast in East Berbice-Corentyne, region 6.
The settlement of B ...
.
The colony was dealt a severe blow when a
slave uprising broke out under the leadership of
Coffy
''Coffy'' is a 1973 American blaxploitation film written and directed by Jack Hill. The story is about a black female vigilante played by Pam Grier who seeks violent revenge against a heroin dealer responsible for her sister's addiction.Gary A. ...
in February 1763.
The uprising lead to a steep population decline, abandonment and destruction of many plantations, and serious financial problems for the Society.
In 1795, after the dissolution of the
Dutch West India Company, the company decided to sell its possessions. The company remained in operation after Berbice was ceded to Great Britain.
In November 1818, their last plantations were sold to Davidson’s, Barkly & Co,
and after selling out the last investors, the company closed their offices in 1821.
[ Dutch National Archive ]
Inventaris van het archief van de Sociëteit van Berbice, (1681) 1720-1795 (1800)
/ref>
See also
* List of trading companies
Notes
References
*
* Boston Rare Maps
"The Dutch colony of Berbice in full period color"
*
*
External links
* Dutch National Archive
Inventory of the archive of the Society of Berbice (1681) 1720-1795 (1800)
{dead link, date=April 2018 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes
Chartered companies
1720 establishments in the Dutch Empire
Companies established in the 18th century
Trading companies
Dutch colonisation of the Guianas
History of Guyana
Trading companies of the Dutch Republic
Berbice