ABSTRACT
Suriname, the former Dutch Guiana, closely resembles its neighbour, Guyana. There is a complex mosaic of ethnic variation and religious adherence. Suriname is a one-product economy, completely dominated by the bauxite industry. Suriname is a major supplier to the USA. Politically, the military are dominant and Dutch aid was frozen after a military coup in 1990. In 1680, the French and Dutch agreed on the Maroni River as the boundary between their territorial claims. The Portuguese French Treaty of 1815 and Convention of 28 August 1817 stated that the western boundary of French Guiana was the Tapanahoni River, but the Netherlands protested. In 1861, a French Dutch commission was unable to decide which river constituted the Upper Maroni and discussions lapsed until 1876. On 29 November 1888, it was agreed to submit the case to arbitration Tsar of Russia. On 30 September 1915, this was modified by agreement when a median line was substituted for the thalweg in the estuary.
