[2] The largest European ethnic groups in Suriname are the Dutch and the Portuguese.
Subsequently, the Spanish, British, Dutch, and French attempted to establish their presence but were unsuccessful until the 1650s.
Plantation owners from Barbados arrived with enslaved individuals to cultivate Suriname.
The settlement flourished to such an extent that it attracted further European interest, leading to conflicts between the Dutch and the British over territorial claims.
[4] European invaders brought diseases such influenza and tuberculosis and wiped out the indigenous population.