Guiana and the Shadows of Empire by Joshua R. Hyles

Author:Joshua R. Hyles
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Tags: undefined
Publisher: Lexington Books
Published: 2012-04-07T04:00:00+00:00

Oil and Water, Separate Cultures

Dutch Guiana became unique among the Guianas as a collection of disparate, independent groups sharing little real cultural exchange. The Dutch enjoyed much more economic success than the French, so their attitude toward the other cultures within the colony (and the colony itself) was not simply indifferent, but their administrative style remained so heavily focused on profitability and economics that they did not share any of the British desire for cultural homogeneity or hegemony. As long as profits came in, different ethnic communities remained separated and, essentially, self-governing.

The “mixing but not melting” emulsion of cultures in Dutch Guiana most clearly presented itself in Paramaribo. Members of all the cultures moved into the city but maintained the traditions that prevented their successful mixing in other areas. As the capital of a rapidly mechanizing agricultural colony, Paramaribo became a haven for former agricultural workers displaced by technology or freed by emancipation or manumission. When the colony consisted entirely of middling plantations, this was not the case. For example, Paramaribo accounted for less than 10,000 of the 49,000 residents of Dutch Guiana.[79] The population consisted of mainly whites, but even this demographic segment was hardly homogenous—Sephardic Jews from Brazil and the Netherlands accounted for almost a third of the 3,360 whites in the colony, while French Huguenots, Englishmen, and German settlers were nearly as numerous as the Dutch, who constituted a minority even within the European population.[80] This lack of demographic majority even in Paramaribo explains much of the Dutch posture in the coming decades—they were too few in number to be in a strong position in regard to government policy or cultural dominance. The will of the Dutch settlers simply could not be enforced, especially if it was such a low priority in The Hague.

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