Oostelijke Polders

Oostelijke Polders is a resort in Suriname located in the Nickerie District. Its population at the 2012 census was 7,153.^[1] Villages in the resort include Glasgow, Hamptoncourtpolder, and Paradise. Oostelijke Polders is an agricultural area with a focus on rice production.^[2] Oostelijke Polder has a clinic and a school.^[3]

Oostelijke Polders
Resort
Mangrove forest in Bigi Pan Nature Reserve
Map showing the resorts of Nickerie District.   Oostelijke Polders
Country	Suriname
District	Nickerie District
Area
• Total	357 km2 (138 sq mi)
Population  (2012)
• Total	7,153
• Density	20/km2 (52/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC-3 (AST)

Bigi Pan Nature Reserve

Oostelijke Polders is home to the Bigi Pan Nature Reserve which is the third largest reserve in the country.^[3] It is located in the estuary north of the Nickerie River. The reserve has an area of 68,000 hectare of which 15,000 had been poldered for rice cultivation.^[4] The reserve is named after the lagoon in the centre.^[4]

Hertenrits

Within the Bigi Pan Nature Reserve there are five terpen (artificial mounts). They were located in the middle of the swamp, and remains from the pre-Columbian era had been discovered in the mounts.^[4] Some of the finds were 15,000 to 20,000 year old.^[5]

Hertenrits measures hectares, and was designated a protected area in 1972.^[6] There were no laws concerning culture reserves at the time, therefore it was declared a nature reserve in 1972.^[7]

Waterloo

Waterloo was a cotton plantation founded in 1819 by James Balfour which later became a sugar plantation.^[8] Waterloo would become one of the biggest plantation of Nickerie.^[9] In 1936, Waterloo was bought by Amin Sankar.^[10] The conditions were bad at the sugar estate, and the contract workers were not allowed to enter or leave the plantation without permission from the owner.^[11] In 1969,^[12] a strike was called by Eddy Bruma.^[11] Sankar fired all workers,^[13] and closed the estate.^[12] In 2020, Waterloo was taken over by the jungle.^[14]

Notable people

• Frederick James Alexander Murray (1907–1954), politician^[15]
• Dew Sharman (1965), politician and medical doctor.^[16]

References

1. Statoids.com
2. "Rijstboeren Oostelijke polders zijn graaicultuur regeerders zat". Nickerie.net (in Dutch). Retrieved 25 May 2020.
3. "STRUCTUUR ANALYSE DISTRICTEN 2009-2013" (PDF). Planning Office Suriname (in Dutch). Retrieved 22 May 2020.
4. "Waar het Bigi Pan Bijzonder Beheersgebied ligt" (in Dutch). Retrieved 22 May 2020.
5. "Beschermde gebieden". Stinasu.sr via Archive.org (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 11 July 2019. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
6. "Natuur". Suriname Weetjes (in Dutch). Retrieved 25 May 2020.
7. Ouboter, Paul E. (2001). "Directory of protected areas of Suriname". IBER. p. 5.
8. "Plantation Waterloo". Suriname Plantages (in Dutch). Retrieved 31 May 2020.
9. R.Chander. "EEN KORTE SCHETS VAN DE GESCHIEDENIS VAN NICKERIE". Nickerie.net (in Dutch). Retrieved 29 December 2021.
10. "De Gids. Almanak voor Suriname 1937". Digital Library for Dutch Literature (in Dutch). 1936. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
11. "De slag op de plantage Waterloo Dl.1". Kenneth Donk (in Dutch). Retrieved 31 May 2020.
12. "Vrij Tribune". Dagblad Suriname via Facebook (in Dutch). Retrieved 31 May 2020.
13. "Rechter Mr. van den Berg kontra Hof van Justitie in kwestie Waterloo" (in Dutch). 8 April 1969. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
14. Alison Campsie (5 March 2020). "The eerie abandoned sugar plantation and its 'maniacal' Scots slave owner". The Scotsman. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
15. "Statenlid Murray plotseling overleden". Het Nieuws via Delpher (in Dutch). 6 May 1954. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
16. "Dew Sharman: 'AZV buiten politieke invloed houden'". Dagblad Suriname via Nickerie.net (in Dutch). Retrieved 30 June 2020.

5.8587°N 56.8853°W / 5.8587; -56.8853