Suriname
Flag
Flag of
Suriname
Suriname was
settled by English and French traders during the mid-17th century, but
became the colony of Dutch Guyana in 1667, when it was ceded to Holland
in exchange for New Amsterdam (modern New York) under the terms of the
Treaty of Breda. A plantation economy having subsequently been
established based on the labor provided by African slaves, when slavery
was abolished in 1863, indentured immigrants from China, Java and India
were brought to the colony, creating an ethnic diversity that accounts
for Suriname's modern multicultural society.
In 1975, when Suriname gained its independence from the Netherlands, it
adopted its current national Suriname flag, which replaced the flag that
had been flown since 1959, a few years after Suriname had achieved
internal self-government. (The earlier flag consisted of a white field on
which five stars in the colors white, black, brown, yellow and red were
arranged, the colors signifying Suriname's ethnic diversity.)
The flag of Suriname that was adopted in 1975, which was based on designs
sent in by the public, was envisaged as combining the colors of the three
main political parties into a design that would symbolize Suriname's
unity and progress. As a result, the flag's green, white and red
respectively symbolize fertility, justice and freedom, while the single,
central, golden star is the emblem of national unity.
