Meerzorg
| Meerzorg | ||
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Coordinates: 5 ° 49 ′ N , 55 ° 9 ′ W Meerzorg on the map of Suriname
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| Basic data | ||
| Country | Suriname | |
| District | Commewijne | |
| Residents | 12,405 (2012) | |
| Detailed data | ||
| Waters | Suriname | |
| Time zone | UTC −3 | |
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Meerzorg ( Sranantongo : Ansoe ) is a place, resort and former plantation in Suriname , in the Commewijne district on the right bank of Suriname opposite the capital Paramaribo .
history
The Meerzorg plantation was created around 1700, initially probably as a sugar cane plantation , by Paul Amsincq. The Surinamese name Ansoe is derived from the founder's name. The first coffee in Suriname was cultivated on Meerzorg around 1720 . From 1821 at the latest, production was switched back to sugar cane. After the abolition of slavery in Suriname in 1863 and the expiry of the subsequent ten-year obligation to work for the former slaves, Hindustani and Javanese contractors were recruited as workers. Plantation management ceased around 1910.
Buccaneers
When the French privateer Jacques Cassard attacked Suriname in 1712, the Meerzorg plantation was the scene of the action. After a first attack by Cassard on the colony had failed in June 1712, he had more success in early October of the same year with a changed strategy . He drove past Paramaribo with his 3,000 soldiers on board the warships and took almost all the plantations in Suriname within a short time. Paul Amsincq and his family had fled across the river to Paramaribo that night, shortly before being captured by the buccaneers. Cassard set up his headquarters on Meerzorg.
The governorate surrendered just three weeks later. To prevent further looting of the colony by Cassard, envoys of the governor signed an agreement with the French on October 27 at Meerzorg. The value of an annual production in the colony was determined as a ransom ( pillage ). At that time this corresponded to an amount of around 620,000 Dutch guilders .
The place
Until the completion of the bridge over the Suriname in Paramaribo in 2000, Paramaribo and Meerzorg were only connected by a ferry. The place is mainly characterized by the former contract workers from Asia and by small-scale farming. With the construction of the bridge, Meerzorg also developed rapidly with many new construction projects and has 12,405 inhabitants (Census 2012).
