Surinamese Anticolonial Thought in the Twentieth Century

Debby Esmeé de Vlugt, Peter Meel

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
• Year: 2026
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9781350542044
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: 20th Century History
• Index: History

Surinamese Anticolonial Thought in the Twentieth Century offers a compelling introduction to the history of anticolonial resistance in Suriname and its diaspora. Covering the lives and ideas of seventeen influential Surinamese thinkers, this book explores how the histories, legacies, and afterlives of Dutch colonial rule were questioned, contested, and reimagined in the decades surrounding independence.
Moving beyond a narrow focus on nationalism, the authors reveal a dynamic intellectual landscape shaped by multiple – sometimes competing – visions of decolonization. While these visions were rooted in specific Surinamese conditions, they were also shaped by exchanges and entanglements within the Caribbean, Western Hemisphere, and beyond. Combined, this gave rise to a distinctly Surinamese tradition that was also deeply embedded in global currents of anticolonialism.
By bringing together both recognized and lesser-known Surinamese thinkers, this book provides the first collective study of Surinamese anticolonialism in the twentieth century. Compiled in light of the fiftieth anniversary of Surinamese independence, it offers new insights on critical perspectives that continue to resonate in the present moment.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-Title Page
• Title Page
• Table of Contents
• List of Figures
• Acknowledgments
• List of Abbreviations
• Introduction
• 1 Anton de Kom: Organic Activism, Intergenerational Reception, and the Prospects of a Decolonial Future
• 2 Otto and Hermina Huiswoud: International Communism and the Rise of Nationalism in the Surinamese Diaspora
• 3 Salikin Hardjo: Indonesian Anticolonialist in Suriname
• 4 Papa Koenders, Trefossa, Johanna Schouten-Elsenhout, Michaël Slory, and Dobru: Creole Cultural Nationalism and the Surinamese Literary Tradition
• 5 Eddy Bruma: A Lifelong Pursuit of Surinamese Independence
• 6 Nola Hatterman, Jules Chin A Foeng, and Soekidjan Irodikromo: “In an Independent Country an Art of its Own”
• 7 Cyriel Karg: Pan-Africanism and the Search for Global Racial Solidarities
• 8 Rudi Kross: Sophisticated Anticolonialism in Limbo
• 9 Anil Ramdas: “Vibrator of the White Conscience”? Cosmopolitan Anticolonialism beyond Collective Identity
• 10 Astrid Roemer: Political Postmodernity and Subversive Parables
• Epilogue
• Index
• Copyright Page