Invasion of Surinam (1667) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Invasion of Surinam (1667) |
|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Second Anglo-Dutch War | |||||||
|
|||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Dutch Republic |
 England |
||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
 Abraham Crijnssen |
William Byam |
||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 7 Ships | 200 english man great number of black slaves |
||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| unknown | unknown | ||||||
The Invasion of Surinam was a quick battle in February 1667. It happened during the Second Anglo-Dutch War. The Dutch, led by Abraham Crijnssen, attacked the English colony of Surinam. They managed to capture it with very little fighting.
Why the Dutch Attacked Surinam
The Dutch Republic and England were fighting in the Second Anglo-Dutch War. This war was mostly about trade and control of colonies around the world. To gain an advantage, the Dutch decided to attack English colonies.
One of their targets was Surinam, a colony in South America. The Dutch sent a group of ships and soldiers. This group was led by Admiral Abraham Crijnssen. His mission was to take control of Surinam from the English.
The Attack Begins
Admiral Crijnssen and his ships arrived at the mouth of the Suriname River on February 25, 1667. This river was the main way to get to the English settlement.
As soon as they arrived, the Dutch ships began firing their cannons. They aimed at the English defenses in Surinam. This was a strong message to the English that the Dutch were serious about taking over.
English Surrender
After the Dutch started bombarding the area, the English governor, William Byam, decided to give up. There was only a very short fight before he surrendered. The English colonists living there had to agree to certain terms.
One of the terms was that they had to pay a large amount of sugar. This was 100,000 pounds of sugar! It was like a payment for the Dutch to take over peacefully.
Life Under New Rule
After the surrender, the English colonists had a choice. They could either leave Surinam or promise to be loyal to the Dutch. Most of them chose to stay and become loyal to the Dutch.
Many English colonists were not happy with how strict the English rulers had been. Admiral Crijnssen offered them a different way. He promised that he wanted to build up the colony, not destroy it.
As part of these changes, Crijnssen renamed some important places. The main town, Paramaribo, became Nieuw-Middelburg. The fort, which was called Fort Willoughby, was renamed Fort Zeelandia.
To send the huge amount of sugar back to the Netherlands, Crijnssen used a ship called the Aardenburg. This ship carried the sugar to Zealand, a Dutch province.
