Dutch colonisation of the Guianas Dutch colonisation of the Guianas Dutch colonisation of the Guianas the coastal region between the Orinoco and Amazon rivers in South America began in the early 16th century. The Dutch originally claimed all of Guiana (also called "De wilde kust", the "Wild Coast") but following attempts to sell it first to Bavaria and then to Hanau and the loss of sections to Portugal, Britain, and France the section actually settled and controlled by the Netherlands became known as Dutch Guiana (Dutch: "Nederlands-Guiana"). The colonies of Essequibo and Demerara were controlled by the Dutch West India Company, while Berbice and Surinam
Dutch Suratte Dutch Suratte Suratte or Soeratte was a famous trading city on the north coast of what is now India, in the modern state of Gujarat, lying on the river Tapti. The city, now known as Surat, became a directorate of the Dutch East India Company in 1616. The British had established a factory in the Suratte in 1609 or 1612, after delivering a blow to the Portuguese. It is part of what is today known as Dutch India. Pieter van den Broecke established a Dutch trading post in Suratte in 1616, after previous efforts had failed in the years before.