Torarica
| Torarica | ||
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Coordinates: 5 ° 32 ′ N , 55 ° 3 ′ W Torarica on the map of Suriname
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| Basic data | ||
| Country | Suriname | |
| District | Para | |
| Detailed data | ||
| Waters | Suriname | |
| Time zone | UTC −3 | |
Torarica ( also Thorarica ) was the capital of Suriname from 1651 to 1667, during the English colonization .
It was created under the reign of Lord Francis Willoughby of Parham on the left bank of Suriname about 75 km upstream in a large bay, north of the mouth of the Separipabo, in what is now the Para district .
The location of the capital offered relative protection from possible enemy attacks from outside; Torarica was an entrance gate to the plantations , which extended to the later iodine savannah . Mainly tobacco and sugar cane were planted . In its heyday, Torarica consisted of around 100 houses, a church and a government building, the so-called Parhamhouse .
The name Torarica probably has its origin in the Arawak language: Toraha-hari-raka (in German: place where the white man lives).
The Zeelanders called the place Zandpunt; Abraham Crijnssen made Paramaribo the capital after conquering the country in 1667 .
Torarica still existed around the middle of the 18th century , but had already fallen into serious disrepair. Today the city has completely disappeared. The Overbridge holiday park was created in this area. The name of the old capital lives on in the name of one of the largest hotels in Paramaribo.
literature
- CFA Bruijning and J. Voorhoeve (red.): Encyclopedie van Suriname , Elsevier , Amsterdam a. Brussel 1977, ISBN 90-10-01842-3 , p. 612.
- John H. de Bye: Torarica. De oude hoofdstad van Suriname , Walburg Pers, Zutphen 2017, ISBN 9789462490741 .