Af far as the Europeans were concerned Surinam (often spelt Suriname) was first spotted by the Dutchman Abraham Van Peere in 1627 trying to find alternative ports and farmland away from the Caribbean islands. Similarly, an English attempt to establish a colony was attempted in 1630 by a Captain Marshall. They attempted to create tobacco plantations but the venture failed. It didn't help that ownership of the land was in question.
Two decades later, the English tried again to establish a colony when the governor of Barbados, Lord Willoughby sent an expedition under the auspices of Anthony Rowse. The demand for sugar was running at an all time high in Europe and any land that could grow sugar cane was eagerly sought after. The colony was named Willoughbyland in honour of its benefactor and protector. They built a fort (Fort Willoughby) to guard the sugar plantations and 2,000 slaves were imported to work the plantations.
The colony eked towards profitability but would suffer from the fierce competition between the English and Dutch that raged throughout the Seventeenth Century. The settlement was invaded by the Dutch in 1667 who captured the fort and renamed it Fort Zeelandia. The Treaty of Breda in 1667 formalised a series of changes in ownership of English and Dutch colonies. The English were forced to cede their valuable sugar plantations in Surinam (along with other concessions) but did at least get to keep the colony of New Netherland (New York). There was one more unsuccessful attempt by the English to reclaim their colony. However, yet another war between the two nations from 1672 to 1674 confirmed the Breda exchange with the Treaty of Westminster in 1674 - although it should be said that the English were still unhappy at ceding the valuable sugar producing lands for the relatively barren North American farmlands.
The British would reappear twice more during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars as the Royal Navy could make its presence felt on the Dutch Colonies. It was reoccupied from 1799 and 1802 and then once again from 1804 to after the end of the war in 1816.
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