The city is named for the Paramaribo tribe living at the mouth of theSuriname River; the name is fromTupi–Guaranipara "large river" +maribo "inhabitants".[4]
The name Paramaribo is probably a corruption of the name of a native village, spelled Parmurbo in the earliest Dutch sources.[5] This was the location of the first Dutch settlement, a trading post established by Nicolaes Baliestel and Dirck Claeszoon van Sanen in 1613.[5] English and French traders also tried to establish settlements in Suriname, including a French post established in 1644 near present-day Paramaribo.
All earlier settlements were abandoned some time before the arrival of English settlers in 1650 to foundSurinam. They were sent by the English governor of Barbados, LordFrancis Willoughby, 5th Baron Willoughby of Parham, and established a town on the site of Paramaribo (though probably south of the current town center). The town was protected by a fort, calledFort Willoughby. In 1662, Governor Willoughby was granted the settlement and surrounding lands (extending into Suriname's interior) by King Charles II. Around 1665 the village of Paramaribo was expanded and quickly outranked the earlier settlement ofTorarica.[6]
In 1667, during theSecond Anglo-Dutch War, Paramaribo was conquered by a squadron of ships underAbraham Crijnssen. TheTreaty of Breda in 1667 confirmed Paramaribo as the leading town of the now Dutch colony of Suriname. The fort protecting Paramaribo was renamed Fort Zeelandia in honor of the Dutch province that had financed Crijnssen's fleet. (The town was also renamed New Middelburg but the name did not catch on with the inhabitants.)
The population of Paramaribo has always been very diverse. Among the first British settlers were manyJews[7] and one of the oldestsynagogues in theAmericas, theNeveh Shalom Synagogue, is found in Paramaribo.[8] The population of the town was greatly increased after 1873, when former enslaved people (who had been freed in 1863) were allowed to stop working for their former masters and leave the sugar plantations.
Paramaribo has remained the capital of Suriname, from its colonial days through the independence of Suriname in 1975 to the present day. The old town has suffered many devastating fires over the years, notably in January 1821 (which destroyed over 400 buildings) and September 1832 (which destroyed nearly 50 buildings).[9] The slavesKodjo, Mentor, and Present were found guilty ofarson, and burnt alive.[10]
In May 1972, theParamaribo Zoo opened.[11] In 1987, an administrative reorganization took place in Suriname and the city was divided into 12 administrativeresorts (jurisdictions).
Paramaribo features atropical rainforest climate (Af), under theKöppen climate classification. Because Paramaribo is more subject to theIntertropical Convergence Zone than thetrade winds and sees notropical cyclones, its climate is classified as equatorial. The city has no truedry season; all 12 months of the year average more than 60 millimetres or 2.4 inches of rainfall, but the city does experience noticeably wetter and drier periods during the year. TheNorthern Hemisphere "autumn" (September through November) is the driest period of the year in Paramaribo, and the heaviest rainfall occurs from April to July. Common to many cities with this climate, temperatures are relatively consistent throughout the course of the year, with average high temperatures of 30 degrees Celsius and average low temperatures of 24 degrees Celsius. Paramaribo on average receives roughly 2,135 millimetres or 84 inches of rainfall each year.
Paramaribo has a population of 240,924 people (2012 census). While the population number is stagnating in recent years, many towns in the surroundingWanica District are increasing in population.[1]
The city is famed for its diverse ethnic makeup with 27% identifying asCreoles (African or mixed African-European descent), 23% asEast Indian, 18% asMultiracial, 16% asMaroons (descendants of escaped enslaved Africans), 10% asJavanese, 2% asIndigenous, 1.5% asChinese, and smaller numbers ofEuropeans (primarily of Dutch and Portuguese descent), Lebanese and Jews. In the past decades a significant number of Brazilians, Guyanese and new Chinese immigrants have settled in Paramaribo.
Paramaribo is the business and financial centre of Suriname. Even though the capital city does not produce significant goods itself, almost all revenues from the country's main export productsgold, oil,bauxite,rice, and tropicalwood are channeled through its institutions. All banks, insurance corporations and other financial and commercial companies are headquartered in Paramaribo. Around 75 percent of Suriname's GDP is consumed in Paramaribo.[citation needed]
Tourism is an increasingly important sector, with most visitors coming from the Netherlands.[14]
Administratively, Paramaribo formsits own district in Suriname. The resorts of Paramaribo district therefore correspond to boroughs of the city. There are twelve resorts in the Paramaribo district:[1]
Teachers academy (Insituut voor de Opleiding van Leraren), the country's teachers academy to prepare teachers for secondary education levels.
AlphaMax Academy is aprivateinternational school established on September 1, 1998, in Paramaribo, Republic of Suriname. The school is run by the Directors of the AlphaMax Foundation.
The Dutch colonial town established in 17th and 18th centuries was declared aUNESCO World Heritage Site in 2002.[17] The historic inner city is located along the left bank of the Suriname River. The original architecture of buildings and street plan has largely remained intact and preserved.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
