Saramacca is a district of

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 ...

, in the north. Saramacca's

capital city A capital city or capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, Department (country subdivision), department, or other subnational entity, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city ...

Groningen Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of the northern part of t ...

, with other towns and cities including

Batavia Batavia may refer to: Historical places * Batavia (region), a land inhabited by the Batavian people during the Roman Empire, today part of the Netherlands * Batavia, Dutch East Indies, present-day Jakarta, the former capital of the Dutch East In ...

Kampong Baroe Kampong Baroe ( Javanese: ꦏꦩ꧀ꦥꦸꦁꦧꦫꦸ; Standard Malay: ''Kampung Baru'') is a resort in Suriname, located in the Saramacca District. Its population at the 2012 census was 2,248, the majority being Javanese, and East Indian. ...

Uitkijk Uitkijk is a village in the resort of Kampong Baroe in the Saramacca District of Suriname. The village is located on the Saramacca River. History The village started as a wood plantation, In 1778, a military outpost was established at Uitkijk, be ...

, Maho and Boskamp. Saramacca has a

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

of 17,480 and an

area Area is the quantity that expresses the extent of a region on the plane or on a curved surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape A shape or figure is a graphics, graphical representation of an obje ...

of 3,636 km².

Saramaka The Saramaka, Saamaka or Saramacca are one of six Maroon peoples (formerly called "Bush Negroes") in the Republic of Suriname and one of the Maroon peoples in French Guiana. In 2007, the Saramaka won a ruling by the Inter-American Court of Hum ...

is also the name of a group of

Maroon Maroon ( US/ UK , Australia ) is a brownish crimson color that takes its name from the French word ''marron'', or chestnut. "Marron" is also one of the French translations for "brown". According to multiple dictionaries, there are var ...

s who established communities along the

Saramacca River Saramacca River is a river in Suriname. The Arawaks named this river "Surama", and today's name "Saramacca" is probably derived from it. It originates in the Wilhelmina Mountains and flows northwards and enters the Atlantic Ocean together with th ...

having fled

slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

History

The district was founded in 1983, but the history dates back to 1790 when the first plantation was opened. Until 1936, Saramacca could only be access by

boat A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size, shape, cargo or passenger capacity, or its ability to carry boats. Small boats are typically found on inl ...

, but with the construction of a road to

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 ...

, which is now part of the East-West Link, Saramacca was removed for its isolation. In 1982, oil was discovered in Sarammacca which boosted its economy. On 13 December 2014,

Staatsolie Staatsolie, officially Staatsolie Maatschappij Suriname (), is a Surinamese oil and gold company which was established to execute the oil policy which includes exploration, drilling and processing oil. In 2014 Staatsolie expanded its business to ...

opened an

oil refinery An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where petroleum (crude oil) is transformed and refined into useful products such as gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, asphalt base, fuel oils, heating oil, kerosene, lique ...

Agriculture

The district has traditionally been the site of dozens of small, family owned

farming Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

communities, and it has only been recently that large agricultural projects have begun to emerge, primarily geared to the production of

banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...

, and peanuts. Boskamp is a fishing village.

Nature

The district is known for its

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

s, with

ornithologists __NOTOC__ This is a list of ornithologists who have articles, in alphabetical order by surname. See also :Ornithologists. A * John Abbot – US *Clinton Gilbert Abbott – US *William Louis Abbott – US * Joseph H. Acklen – US *Humayun Abdul ...

and

birdwatchers Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, by ...

coming from all over the world to study and admire Saramacca's

toucan Toucans (, ) are members of the Neotropical near passerine bird family Ramphastidae. The Ramphastidae are most closely related to the American barbets. They are brightly marked and have large, often colorful bills. The family includes five ge ...

parrot Parrots, also known as psittacines (), are birds of the roughly 398 species in 92 genera comprising the order Psittaciformes (), found mostly in tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three superfamilies: the Psittacoid ...

s and cocks-of-the-rock. Saramacca is home to three nature reserves:

Coppename Monding Nature Reserve The Coppename Monding Nature Reserve (Dutch: Natuurreservaat Coppenamemonding) is a protected area and nature reserve in Suriname. The reserve is located near the mouth of the Coppename River. The reserve measures 12,000 hectares, and has been a p ...

(12,000 hectares), Boven Coesewijne Nature Reserve (27,000 hectares) and the Special Control Area (88,400 hectares).

Resorts

Saramacca is divided into 6 resorts (''ressorten''): *

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

* Jarikaba *

* Tijgerkreek * Wayamboweg

Villages

* Boskamp *

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Kalebaskreek Kalebaskreek is an indigenous village of Kalina Amerindians in the resort of Calcutta in the Saramacca District in Suriname. History Kalebaskreek is a fishing village on the Coppename River. The village can only be reached by boat. It is locate ...

* Smithfield *

References

{{Authority control Districts of Suriname