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Map of the cross-channel from the Para Creek to the Suriname River

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Map of the cross-channel from the Para Creek to the Suriname River

Reijnet, Jacobus

Title Leupe: Caart van de doorsnyding van Para Creeq tot de rivier Suriname, tusschen de gronden hierby geëxpliceert.

Shortly before 1740, serious plans were made by the colonial government of Surinam to construct a canal to link the Para Creek and the Surinam River, which was indeed completed a few years later. The primary purpose of this cut was to improve the drainage from Para Creek, where the plantations were often affected by floods. Furthermore, the planters farther up the creek would be able to transport their produce to Paramaribo with less effort. This level profile of the land in between was surveyed and drawn in 1741 by Jacobus Reijnet, a soldier from Magdeburg who worked in Surinam as a surveyor from 1732-1742, in preparation for the project.

Scale: not indicated; real distances and level differences indicated on the map in chains and inches [approximately 1 : 13,500].

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Sources and literature

Heijer, H. den, Grote Atlas van de West-Indische Compagnie = Comprehensive Atlas of the Dutch West India Company, II, de nieuwe WIC 1674-1791 = the new WIC 1674-1791 (2012)