Portuguese Surinamese

Last updated
Portuguese Surinamese people
Regions with significant populations
Paramaribo, Wanica
Languages
Dutch  · Sranan Tongo  · Portuguese  · English
Religion
Christianity
(Roman Catholicism)
Related ethnic groups
White Surinamese  · Portuguese Guyanese  · Portuguese Trinidadian and Tobagonian  · Portuguese diaspora

Portuguese Surinamese people are Surinamese citizens of Portuguese ancestry.

History

In 1853, the first Portuguese people arrived from the Portuguese island of Madeira, having been sponsored by a coalition of planters and by the colonial government. They were actually on their way to British Guiana, where the planters also sought alternative sources of labour after the abolition of slavery, but ended up in Suriname. A total of 500 Madeirans came as indentured workers to Suriname. At the end of their contract, they left the fields and sought an existence in the market. In later years, more immigrants from Madeira and British Guiana came to Suriname, however, no longer as indentured laborers but as free immigrants. [1]

Portuguese Sephardic Jews had settled between the 15th and 16th centuries before the Dutch arrived. The first Portuguese Jews came from the Netherlands, Portugal and Italy to settle in the old capital Torarica.

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Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, sometimes considered part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. Situated slightly north of the equator, over 90% of its territory is covered by rainforests, the highest proportion of forest cover in the world. Suriname is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north, French Guiana to the east, Guyana to the west, and Brazil to the south. It is the smallest country in South America by both population and territory, with around 612,985 inhabitants in an area of approximately 163,820 square kilometers. The capital and largest city is Paramaribo, which is home to roughly half the population.

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Chinese Surinamese people are Surinamese residents of ethnic Han Chinese origin. The earliest migrants came in the 19th century as indentured laborers; there was another wave of migration in the 1950s and 1960s. There were 7,885 Chinese in Suriname at the 2012 census, constituting 1.5% of the total population. They constitute the largest component of the 'other' ethnic category, which makes up 2.3% of the population as per the CIA World Factbook. The majority of the Chinese Surinamese consider Hakka of Guangdong as their ancestral homes. There is a small minority of Heshan, Jiangmen origin Cantonese and Hakkas as well.

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References

  1. "Madeireze Surinamers". Waterkant.net. 30 June 2013.