Dutch Surinamese of society. Some families still work in the agricultural sector. Dutch Surinamese Dutch Surinamese () are Surinamese people of Dutch descent. Dutch migrant settlers in search of a better life started arriving in Suriname (previously known as Dutch Guiana) in the 19th century with the "boeroes", poor farmers arriving from the Dutch provinces of Gelderland, Utrecht, and Groningen. Furthermore, the Surinamese ethnic group, the Creoles, persons of mixed African-European ancestry, are partially of Dutch descent. Many Dutch settlers left Suriname after independence in 1975, which diminished the white Dutch population. Currently there are around 1000 boeroes left in Suriname, and
French Guiana thousands of Hmong refugees from Laos to French Guiana. In 1964, French president Charles de Gaulle decided to construct a space-travel base in French Guiana. It was intended to replace the Sahara base in Algeria and stimulate economic growth in French Guiana. The department was considered particularly suitable for the purpose because it is near the equator and has extensive access to the ocean as a buffer zone. The Guiana Space Centre, located a short distance along the coast from Kourou, has grown considerably since the initial launches of the Véronique rockets. It is now part of the European space