The Dutch began their colonisation of the Guianas, the coastal region between the Orinoco and Amazon rivers in South America, in the late 16th century.

After the Napoleonic Wars in 1814, Britain gained control of the three colonies (Demerara, Berbice, and Essequibo) west of the Courantyne River, which became British Guiana and then modern Guyana.

In 1598, a fleet of three Dutch ships visiting the Wild Coast mention passing the river "Surinamo" a year after the English had done the same.

[1] The next year saw the first cartographic reference to the region: a 1599 map drawing on the account of this voyage, drawn by Flemish geographer Jodocus Hondius.

Pernambuco and settlements farther west, including Portuguese Guiana, now the Brazilian state of Amapá, was under Dutch control from 1630 to 1654.

After the Napoleonic Wars in 1814, Britain gained control of the three colonies (Demerara, Berbice, and Essequibo) west of the Courantyne River.