Dutch colonisation of the Guianas control of the three colonies (Demerara, Berbice, and Essequibo) west of the Courantyne River. These three colonies became British Guiana. After 1815, there were five Guianas, referred to by their dominant languages: Spanish Guayana (Venezuela), British Guiana, Dutch Guiana, French Guiana, and Portuguese Guiana (Brazil). The colony that remained was part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands until 1975, when it became independent as the Republic of Suriname. Dutch Guiana covered the majority of the Guiana Shield, with its borders ranging from the Orinoco Delta in the northwest, the eastern banks of the Caroní River in the southwest, to the
Dutch name for centuries, and the adoption of new names was limited to some Jewish citizens and some people in rural communities in the north east of the country. There is a persistent myth that some Dutch citizens, as a way of protest, chose humorous names during the forced registration. Examples often given are "Naaktgeboren" ("born naked") or "Zondervan" ("without surname"). However these names are in fact far older; "Naaktgeboren" for example is from the German "Nachgeboren" (born after the father was deceased, also one of the origins of the name "Posthumus"). Many Dutch surnames originated from different personal qualities, geographical locations,