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 name a butcher, the child would probably be called after ""Sint Joris"" (the Dutch name for "Saint George"), the patron saint of the butchers. The Dutch habit of naming newborns after another family member originates with a then-widespread superstition that the name in some way contributed to some form of reincarnation of the person the child was named after, who was usually much older. This superstition disappeared after some time, even though a certain Le Francq van Berkeij writes the following in 1776: ""bij veelen, een oud, overgeloovig denkbeeld, dat iemand weldra sterft, wanneer hij, gelijk men zegt, vernoemd is"" ("many