Matawai peopleThe Matawai (also Matuariërs) are a tribe of Surinamese Maroons. The Matawai were originally part of the Saramaka, and signed a peace agreement with the Dutch colonists in 1762. The tribe split from the Saramaka, and in 1769, they were recognized as a separate tribe. The origin of the Matawai people is unclear, but oral accounts often mention the plantations Hamburg and Uitkijk. The plantations at the Jodensavanne are a possible source as well. During the 18th century, slaves escaped from the plantations and settled in the interior.
Surinamese peopleSurinamese people are people who identify with the country of Suriname. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Surinamese, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being Surinamese. Suriname is a multiethnic and multilingual society, home to people of various ethnic, racial, religious, and national origins, with the majority of the population made up of Old World immigrants and their descendants.
French GuianaFrench Guiana (ɡiˈɑːnə or ɡiˈænə; Guyane ɡɥijan; Lagwiyann la.ɡɥi.jãn) is an overseas department of France located on the northern coast of South America in the Guianas. Bordered by Suriname to the west and Brazil to the east and south, French Guiana covers a land area of , and is inhabited by 301,099 people. French Guiana is the second-largest region of France (more than one-seventh the size of Metropolitan France) and the largest outermost region within the European Union. It has a very low population density, with only .
Dutch languageDutch (Nederlands ˈneːdərlɑnts), also known as Netherlandic or Netherlandish, is a West Germanic language spoken by about 25 million people as a first language and 5 million as a second language. It is the third most widely spoken Germanic language, after its close relatives German and English. Afrikaans is a separate but somewhat mutually intelligible daughter language spoken, to some degree, by at least 16 million people, mainly in South Africa and Namibia, evolving from the Cape Dutch dialects of Southern Africa.
SurinameSuriname (ˈsʊərᵻnæm,_-nɑːm ), officially the Republic of Suriname (Republiek Suriname reːpyˌblik ˌsyːriˈnaːmə, Ripoliku Sranan ripoliku sranaŋ), is a country in northern South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north, French Guiana to the east, Guyana to the west, and Brazil to the south. At just under , it is the smallest country in South America. It has a population of approximately , dominated by descendants from the slaves and labourers brought in from Africa and Asia by the Dutch Empire and Republic.