Berlijn (

Sranan Tongo Sranan Tongo (Sranantongo, "Surinamese tongue", Sranan, Surinamese Creole) is an English-based creole language from Suriname, in South America, where it is the first or second language for 519,600 Surinamese people (approximately 80% of the popu ...

: Balen) is a village and former wood plantation in the

resort A resort (North American English) is a self-contained commercial establishment that aims to provide most of a vacationer's needs. This includes food, drink, swimming, accommodation, sports, entertainment and shopping, on the premises. A hotel ...

of Zuid in the

Para District Para is a district of northern Suriname. Para's capital city is Onverwacht, with other towns including Paranam, and Zanderij. Para has a population of 24,700 and an area of 5,393 km2. The district is the mining and forestry centre of Sur ...

Suriname Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...

. It is located on the

Para Creek Para Creek (' also Para River) is a blackwater creek in the Wanica & Para District of Suriname. It is a tributary of the Suriname River, and was home to many plantations. The area around the creek has been cultivated since the English period. Th ...

, and about from the

Johan Adolf Pengel International Airport Johan Adolf Pengel International Airport , also known as Paramaribo-Zanderij International Airport, and locally referred to simply as JAP, is an airport located in the town of Zanderij and hub for airline carrier Suriname Airways, Surinam Airway ...

Overview

On 25 February 1763, Johan Godlieb van Borrius bought 1,000 Surinamese acres (about 430 hectares) of land, and founded the wood plantation Berlijn. The plantation was located near

maroon Maroon ( , ) is a brownish crimson color that takes its name from the French word , meaning chestnut. ''Marron'' is also one of the French translations for "brown". Terms describing interchangeable shades, with overlapping RGB ranges, inc ...

territory, therefore, a military outpost was established in Berlijn. In the late 18th century, Berlijn became the largest supplier of wood in Suriname. In 1821, the plantation was bought by James Balfour who wanted to transport the slaves to his sugar plantation

Waterloo Waterloo most commonly refers to: * Battle of Waterloo, 1815 battle where Napoleon's French army was defeated by Anglo-allied and Prussian forces * Waterloo, Belgium Waterloo may also refer to: Other places Australia * Waterloo, New South Wale ...

. In

Paramaribo Paramaribo ( , , ) is the capital city, 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 p ...

, the slaves discovered their final destination, revolted, and escaped back to Berlijn. The government ruled that they could remain in Berlijn. In 1863, the slaves were emancipated, and the plantation closed. Many of the freed slaves, remained on the land. In 1912, the

Lawa Railway The Lawa Railway (Dutch language, Dutch: ''Lawaspoorweg'' or later ''Landsspoorweg'') was a single-track metre gauge railway in Suriname. It was built during the gold rush in the early 20th century, from the harbour town Paramaribo to Dam at the ...

opened with a station in Berlijn. The railway operated until 1996. In 1937, Berlijn was officially founded as a village. In 1957, a road was built from Berlijn to

Zanderij Zanderij is a village located in the northern part of Suriname, situated 50 kilometres south of the capital Paramaribo on the Southern East-West Link. The Johan Adolf Pengel International Airport is located near the village. On 7 June 1989, Sur ...

near the

. The economy is mainly based on

subsistence farming Subsistence agriculture occurs when farmers grow crops on smallholdings to meet the needs of themselves and their families. Subsistence agriculturalists target farm output for survival and for mostly local requirements. Planting decisions occ ...

, and people who work at the airport and

Cola Creek Cola Creek () is a Blackwater river, blackwater Stream, creek in Suriname's Para District. The name refers to the colour of the water, which resembles that of Coca-Cola. On weekends many tourists visit the creek from Paramaribo as it is only a sho ...

, a nearby tourist resort.

Notable people

Fred Derby Frederik Marinus Emanuel Derby (March 31, 1940 – May 19, 2001) was a Surinamese politician and trade unionist. He was the only survivor of the December murders. In the years before his death he fought for an investigation into these events, and ...

(1940–2001), trade unionist, politician, and only survivor of the

December murders The December murders (Dutch: ''Decembermoorden'') were the murders on 7, 8, and 9 December 1982, of fifteen prominent young Surinamese men who had criticized the military dictatorship then ruling Suriname. Thirteen of these men were arrested on De ...

References

Bibliography

* {{Surinamese District Para Populated places in Para District 1763 establishments in South America