[1] In 1598 Lawrence Kemys, leading an expedition to the Guianas on behalf of Walter Raleigh, passed a river he called "Shurinama".

In 1613, a short-lived Dutch trading post had been established inside the mouth of the Suriname River, near an Amerindian village called "Parmurbo".

[2] In 1650, Lord Francis Willoughby, a Parliamentarian turned Royalist, had been appointed Governor of Barbados by the exiled King Charles II.

The governor and council administered justice and proposed measures – such as raising money for defence or building a prison – which would then be voted on by the assembly, who would meet every few months, usually in one of the larger plantation houses.

Plans had been drawn up by Parliament almost a month before Charles II's arrival at Dover, that sheriffs, mayors, constables and the like should continue in their duties in the King's name.

It remained in English hands until news of the Treaty of Breda signed in July had reached the settlement only weeks later, and that it would be returned to the Dutch.