HISTORY

HERALDRY

Society of Suriname

Suriname Council

Colony

Autonomous Territory

Independence

Suriname Armed Forces

Suriname Police Corps

History

Suriname was claimed for the Spanish crown in 1593 but attempts to colonize it were soon abandoned.

The next Europeans who came to Suriname were Dutch traders who visited the area along with other parts of the South America’s ‘Wild Coast’. In 1630, English settlers led by Captain Marshall attempted to found a colony.

In 1650 Lord Willoughby, the governor of Barbados furnished out a vessel, to found a colony in Surinam. At his own cost he equipped a ship of 20 guns, and two smaller vessels with things necessary for the support of the plantation. Major Anthony Rowse settled there in his name. Two years later, for the better development of the colony, he went in person, fortified and furnished it with things requisite for defence and trade. ‘Willoughbyland' consisted of around 30.000 acres and a fort.

On 26 February 1667 the colony was invaded by seven Dutch ships (from the province of Zeeland), commanded by Abraham Crijnssen. Fort Willoughby was captured the next day and renamed Fort Zeelandia. On 31 July 1667, the English and Dutch signed the Treaty of Breda, in which for the time being the status quo was respected: the Dutch could keep Suriname and the British the former Dutch colony New Netherland (today’s Northeast USA), occupied by the British in 1664. Willoughbyland was renamed Dutch Guyana. This arrangement was recognized by the Treaty of Westminster of 1674, after the British had regained and again lost Suriname in 1667 and the Dutch had regained the colony of New Netherland in 1668. The colony was administered by the States of  Zealand. In 1682 it was handed over to the West India Company.

In 1683 the Society of Suriname was set up, modelled on the ideas of Jean-Baptiste Colbert to profit from the management and defence of the Dutch Republic's colony. It had three participants, with equal shares in the society’s responsibilities and profits - the city of Amsterdam, the family of Aerssen van Sommelsdijck, and the Dutch West-India Company. The family Van Aerssen sold its share in 1770 to the city of Amsterdam. In 1792 the Society came under the supervision of the Council of the Colonies of the Republic.

In 1795 Suriname was united with the colonies of Berbice, Essequibo and Demerary. In 1799 it was occupied by the British until 1802 and again from 1804 until 1814. After the defeat of Napoleon it was returned to the Dutch by the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814.

In 1816 the Dutch government resumed the administration of the colony and from then on it was under the jurisdiction of the ministry for the colonies and its successors.

In 1954, Suriname gained self-government, with the Netherlands retaining control of defence and foreign affairs.

In 1973, the local government, started negotiations with the Dutch government about independence, which was granted on November 25, 1975.

Heraldry [1]

In the early days of European settlement, when the colony was still called “Willoughbyland” the arms of the Willioughby family may have been used. These were: Azure, fretty Or.  No trace of these arms has been found in the Caribbean.

When Suriname was under Zealand rule the arms of this province were the arms for the colony.

Governor Heinsius of Suriname (1678-’80) felt the need for arms and a seal when he wrote to the States of Zealand on 24 March 1679:

“The seal would be profitable in course of time when it could be brought into circulation, but it would be necessary that Your Highnesses would send over stamped paper for this purpose, because there are no seals here, so I help myself with little papers, as enclosed herewith, instead of seals, but it pays not very much. There should also be a coat of arms here for this province.” [2]

At the same time Heinsius invented a symbol for Suriname consisting of a parrot. He intended to print this on the coinage for circulation in the colony. This however was thwarted by the Zealand States which wanted to introduce Zealand coinage there. Nevertheless some coins have been minted by Heinsius, bearing a parrot as a symbol of the colony. These coins are known as “Papegaaienpenningen”.

In the interim period of the rule of the West India Company the seal and cypher of the W.I.C. were in force.

Society of Suriname

1683.05.21 - 1795.10.30

A seal for the Society was provided for in an act of 17 August 1683:

“After the previous deliberations it has been approved and understood that by this the sum of thirty guilders will be paid to George Bourgeois, smith, to make the iron screw and stamp for the Great Seal of the Society, and to Moses Bellanger, cutter of arms for the cutting and engraving of the said seal ten silver ducats, the receipts for this will be laid out and made”. [3]

A print of this seal is on letters dated 20 and 29 March 1684. It shows the achievement of the Society as in use until 1770.

The achievement contains the achievement of Amsterdam, the seal of the West India Company and the arms of Van Aerssen. In nombril point is the cypher of the Society of Suriname consisting of two entwined “S” and in base a picture of an Arawak Indian.

Two other Arawaks support the shield.

The motto  JUSTITIA PIETAS FIDES  means:  Justice Faith Loyalty

Achievement of the Society of Suriname and the arms of its shareholders

By Bernard Picart, 1720. (Coll. Stadsarchief Amsterdam)

The arms are from:

On the left: E.v.d Bempden, Willem Buys, Will Boreel, J. Althusius, Paul v. der Veen.

On the right: Wigb. Slicher, C. Graafland, Ferd v, Collen, F. v. Sommelsdyk, Joh. Will v. Meel.

The achievement of Amsterdam, known from about the middle of the 16th century, was:

Arms: Gules, a pale Sable charged with three crosses saltire Argent.

Crown: The crown of the Emperor of the German Nation of the Holy Roman Empire.

Supporters: Two lions

The arms of  Van Aerssen were:

Arms: Quarterly: 1 & 4: Or, a fess sable and a cross saltire chequy Sable and Argent over all (Van Aerssen); 2& 3: Or, three merletts Sable; and an escutcheon Azure, a fleur-de-lys Or.

Crest: A crown on a helmet [lambrequined Sable and Or].

Achievement of the Society of Suriname 1684-1770

as on the “Placaaten van Gouverneur en Raad en Suriname”  (1760-’61).

(Algemeen Rijksarchief, Den Haag, W.I. Suriname 405)

After the Van Aertssen family had sold its share to the city of Amsterdam the arms of Van Aerssen were omitted from the achievement and a new seal was cut.

The new achievement was:

Arms: the achievement of the city of Amsterdam in chief and the arms of the West-India Company in base, separated by a ribbon with the motto IVSTITIA PIETAS FIDES and the letters S S; all with some green foliage.

Supporters: Two Arawak Indians armed with bows and quivers, the sinister one also with an arrow.

Modern print of a wooden seal of the achievement of the Society of Suriname  (1770-1795)

(Penningkabinet R.A. 83)

Seal of the Society of Suriname, 1789.

The achievement of the Society and the year 1789.

(Coll. Royal Tropical Institute, Amsterdam)

Seal of the Society of Suriname, 1794

The achievement of the Society and the year 1794.

By Courtesy of the Geldmuseum, Utrecht.

The new achievement was also engraved on the seal of the Society. A polychromized sculpture of it is in the tympanon (1780) of the Palace of the Governor / President in Paramaribo.

Suriname Council

1795.10.30-1802

By decree of 1 November 1795 the Suriname Society, together with the Direction of Berbice and the Colony Council (which administered the former possessions of the WIC), were abolished. The three administrations were replaced by a new one, the “Committee for colonial affairs and the possessions on the coasts of Guinea and America” (Committé tot de zaaken van de coloniën en de bezittingen op de kust van Guinee en America).

The seal of the Committee showed the Batavian lion, armed with a sword and supporting a shield with the words COMMITTÉ TOT DE WESTINDISCHE BEZITTINGEN, standing in a landscape between a palmtree and a sailing vessel and the attributes of Mercury on the foreground. [4]

After the abolition of the Suriname Society which had as a consequence the disappearance of the interests of Amsterdam in the colony, new arms were put into use by the Raad van Suriname (Suriname Council). These consisted of the arms of the West India Company only, with the motto JUSTITIA PIETAS FIDES in orle in chief. The arms were again supported by two Indians, like the arms of the Society of Suriname before. [5]

Seals with the new achievement are preserved in the Money Museum in Utrecht. They are:

Seal of the Suriname Council, 1795. Æ 56 mm  [6]

 (By courtesy of the Geldmuseum, Utrecht).

Arms: a sailing vessel, from the stern a flag of three stripes [red-white-blue] with the cypher RVS on the central stripe and the motto IVSTITIA PIETAS FIDES in orle.

Supporters: Two Indians armd with bows and arrows.

Seal and lesser seal of the Suriname Council, 1798.  [7]

Æ 51 mm and 33 mm respectively. By courtesy of the Geldmuseum, Utrecht

Arms & Supporters: as before. On the base: 1798.

In 1799 the British put the colony under their protection. It is said that they continued the use of the seals. This, indeed was in agreement with the British policy in the colonies as Barbados and Jamaica had been granted seals for use by their commisionaries at the Admiralty Office in the 17th century.

The Colony of Suriname

1802 - 1954

By decree of 18 February 1803 the arms on the seal were replaced by the arms of the Republic and any use of the ancient arms was declared null and void. The new seal, showing the arms of the Republic with the legend ‘Bataafsche Republiek’ and the word ‘Suriname’ in base, was introduced on 1 March of the same year. [8]

This seal was abandoned when Suriname was again occupied by the British. Again it is supposed that the British continued the use of the seals of 1795 and 1798 but no proof is given. [9] Probably the seal of the British Admiralty was used and also the British Royal achievement.

When Suriname was given back to the Netherlands in 1814, the Dutch administration was resumed in 1816. The colony came under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Commerce and Colonies (Ministerie van Koophandel en Kolonien) and its successors and as a consequence the arms of the kingdom were used.

Some confusion arises when a regulation is made in 1828 stipulating that on the seals of the notaries “there shall be engraved the arms of the colony, surrounded by the name of the sworn clerk”. No description of these ‘arms of the colony’ is given. but a decree about the seal of the colony of 1830 confirms again: “On the seal there shall be the crowned lion of the Netherlands with the legend ‘Kolonie Suriname’ in chief and the words ‘Klein Zegel’ in base”.

Nevertheless the traditional achievement was not obsolete and was, in any case by the Suriname Government, considered to be the achievement of the colony, be it that it was not officially adopted.  This is confirmed by a silver medal of 1837, today in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. This shows the full achievement of the seal of 1795 and the legend: Het Gouvernement der Kolonie Suriname.

Foto RM. Amsterdam

Silver medal of the Government of Suriname (1837).

97 Í 84 mm. Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, inv. nr. NG-NM-8989

Achievement with arms, motto and supportes as on the seal of 1795. A barrel and a crate added.

On the reverse: George, slaaf van de plantage Leasowes, penning door het Gouvernement der kolonie Suriname geschonken wegens bewezen trouw aan het wettig gezag tijdens de onrusten onder de slaven te Nickerie. (George, slave of Leasowes plantation, medal presented by the Goverment of Suriname for loyalty to the lawful authority during the revolt of the slaves at Nickerie.) 

Only a few years later, in 1865, paper money was printed on which the achievement appeared followed by many other occasions when the achievement was displayed.

A remarkable version of the achievement is on an anonymous photography, today in the Royal Tropical Institute in Amsterdam. This shows the achievement acted, the supporters being two living men dressed as Indians. The shield they support is in a late-nineteenth century style, the ship on the waves realistically painted, the motto on a bordure with some foliage in base. [10]

The Achievement of Suriname acted. ð

(Coll. Royal Tropical Institute, Amsterdam, Inv. Nr. 10020999)

A signboard with the arms of Suriname, surrounded by the motto is in the Tropenmuseum in Amsterdam:

Achievement for Suriname painted by T. van der Laars.

From: Wapens, Vlaggen en Zegels van Nederland, Amsterdam 1913.

The waves barry Argent and Azure, the supporters looking outwards, the motto on a ribbon. Afterwards the arms of this achievement were taken for the Dutch West-Indies in general. 

Until 1959 however, there was no achievement for the colony granted or recognized officially.

This was in agreement with the policy of direct rule in the colonies. No coats of arms were granted also to the other territories under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Colonies. So, nor the Netherlands East Indies nor the Netherlands Antilles were granted an achievement of their own until after the Statute of the Kingdom in 1954.

Autonomous Territory

1954.12.15 - 1975

At last  an achievement was adopted by the Government of Suriname on 8 December 1959. The decree stipulates that ‘the absence of official arms acceptable for the national feelings is considered as a gap and that it is therefore desirable to adopt such arms by public decree’ and gives a heraldic description of the achievement in the next section:

According to this decree the achievement is:

Arms: Per pale, the dexter Azure, a sailing vessel affrontée Or on a base barry wavy Argent and Azure of five pieces; the sinister Argent a palmtree on a base wavy Vert; and a diamond-shaped escutceon Vert, a five-pointed star Or.

Supporters: Two Arawak Indians armed with bows and quivers, proper, their loin-cloths Gules,

Motto: JUSTITIA PIETAS FIDES in black lettering on a ribbon Gules.

ð See illustration in the head of this essay.

Independence

1975.11.25 - present

A few days before independence it was decided that the achievement would be maintained but that the hair colour would be changed from “blond” to black. The leader of the Nationale Partij Suriname, Henck Arron declared “We have never seen blond haired Indians here”. [11]

Accordingly, the formerly henna-coloured hair of the Indians was changed in black, as can be seen on actual renderings of the achievement.

Governors and President

In the time of Dutch Rule the kings and queens of the Netherlands were the sovereigns of the Colony of Surinam. From the end of the 19th century until independence they were represented by a governor. From 1975 the head of state is a president.

Governor’s flag 1880-1954

Governor’s Flag 1954-1959

Governor’s Flag 1959-1975

President’s Flag 1975-present

Presidential Collar of President Venetiaan (2000-’10)

Sash of President Bouterse (2010-present)

Presidential Shield

Suriname Police Corps

A police force exists in Suriname from 1828. The actual Suriname Police Corps (Korps Politie Suriname) was formed by a reorganisation of the then existing Police Force in 1973. The corps is subordinated to the Minister of Justice.

The emblem of the KPS consists of a torch and two pistols in saltire, surrounded by branches of orange.

Motto: VIRIBUS AUDAX (Bold in Strength).

The arms (sleevebadge) of the corps consists of a black shield charged with the flag of Suriname in chief and the emblem in gold (for officers) or silver for the lower ranks..

The cap-badge consists of the emblem in white metal, worn on a blue cap.

Suriname Armed Forces - Nationaal Leger

The emblem of the Suriname Armed Forces consists of a circular shield charged with the initials SNL, supported by two arrows in saltire and with a motto on a ribbon below, all red.

Army

The defense of the colony of Suriname for a long time was the task of the Mariner Corps (Korps Mariniers). In the Memorandum of Defense of 1951 it was decided that the defense of the West-Indies should remain the task of the Mariners. On 15 August 1952 however, the Dutch Government decided that the Royal Dutch Army would remain in Suriname instead. In September 1952 the 103rd Company of the Dutch Commandos was sent to Suriname. After the foundation of the Armed Force in Suriname (Troepenmacht in Suriname TRIS) the 103rd Company returned home in March 1953.

On the day of the proclamation of Independence (12.11.1975) the TRIS was abolished and its tasks and assets were handed over to the Suriname Armed Forces (Surinaamse Krijgsmacht SKM).

On February 25, 1980, a group of 15 non-commissioned officers and one junior SKM officer, under the leadership of sergeant major Dési Bouterse, overthrew the Government. Subsequently the SKM was rebranded as Nationaal Leger (NL), (National Army).

Emblem of the Dutch Mariner Corps

Cap badge of the Dutch Commandos

The oldest known sleeve badge of the Suriname Army consists of the Dutch Lion and the inscription SURINAME in orange embroidery within a khaki frame. (source unknown)

The arms of the TRIS were adopted by Army Order No. 60022 of 1960. [12]. They are:

Arms: Tierced per bend sinister red, white and blue, a golden Roman sword upright surrounded by five stars red, white, black, brown and yellow connected with a black oval.

The oval-and-stars, representing the five races of Suriname, is from the national flag, adopted 8 December 1959.

Army Emblem (after 1980)

Cap Badge 1975-present

The Military Police Corps is a division of the Surinam Army

Navy

Created 1977

Emblem Navy Headquarters

Air Force

Created 1982

Air Force Emblem

Roundel