Paramaribo

Paramaribo (pop. 195,000), capital and chief port of Suriname, on the Suriname River, 17 mi (27 km) inland from the Caribbean Sea. Settled by British from Barbados in the 1630s, Paramaribo was taken over by the Dutch in 1815. Canals from that time give today's city a Dutch character. Paramaribo is an export center for bauxite, sugar, shrimp, rice, rum, molasses, and coffee.

See also: Suriname.