Belgium's Hidden Caribbean Colony: Suriname's Legacy

The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History · Sep 10, 2026 · 10m · transcript

While most of our previous episodes have focused on the brutal extraction of resources in the Congo Free State, this episode shifts geography to look at Belgium’s other colonial project: Suriname. We explore how a small European nation managed to hold onto a territory in the Caribbean for nearly two centuries, starting with the Society of Antwerp Merchants in the mid-17th century. We examine the complex social hierarchy that emerged from Dutch slavery laws adapted by Belgian administrators, and the unique creole language Sranan Tongo that survived despite colonial efforts to suppress it…