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 names with the longest history in the Dutch-speaking area; they form the oldest layer of the given names known in Dutch. The Germanic names were characterised by a rich diversity, as there were many possible combinations. A Germanic name is composed of two parts, the latter of which also indicates the gender of the person. A name like Adelbert or Albert is composed of ""adel"" (meaning ""noble"") and ""bert"" which is derived from ""beracht"" (meaning ""bright"" or ""shining"") hence the name means something in the order of ""Bright/Shining through noble behaviour";" the English name ""Albright"", now only seen as a