Suriname Through History: Who Ruled Its Lands
The land of today's Suriname appears on 39 historical border maps from 500 BC to today. Over that time it was held, in whole or in part, by 6 different states, among them Suriname, Dutch Guiana, British Guiana, Guiana, Lokono (Arawak).
SurinameExplore the history of Suriname in the interactive map
Who ruled the land of Suriname, map by map
Share of sample points inside today's borders held by each state on each map. Areas with no organised state on the map are left out.
| Map | Main states on this land |
|---|---|
| 1492 | Lokono (Arawak) 29% |
| 1783 | British Guiana 97% · Viceroyalty of Brazil 3% |
| 1800 | British Guiana 97% · Viceroyalty of Brazil 3% |
| 1815 | Guiana 97% · Viceroyalty of Brazil 3% |
| 1880 | Dutch Guiana 100% |
| 1900 | Dutch Guiana 100% |
| 1914 | Suriname 100% |
| 1920 | Suriname 100% |
| 1930 | Suriname 100% |
| 1938 | Suriname 100% |
| 1945 | Suriname 100% |
| 1960 | Suriname 100% |
| 1994 | Suriname 100% |
| 2010 | Suriname 100% |
Questions
Which empires and states ruled the territory of Suriname?
On the border maps from 500 BC to today, the largest shares of the territory of modern Suriname belonged to Suriname, Dutch Guiana, British Guiana, Guiana, Lokono (Arawak), Viceroyalty of Brazil.
What was Suriname part of in 1900?
On the border map for 1900, most of the territory of today's Suriname lay within Dutch Guiana.
Further reading
Last updated 9 November 2026. Sources: border data from historical-basemaps, land and rivers from Natural Earth; texts written for Chronica Maps from standard reference works. How we make the maps.