|
|
|
 |
Surinaamse Gemeentewapens
Civic Heraldry of Surinam
|
|
National arms of SURINAM
Origin/meaning:
The official Surinam website explains the arms as follows :
"The coat of arms of Suriname consists of two Indians holding a shield.
Below the Indians and the shield you find the motto 'Justitia Pietas Fides'
which means 'Justice Faith Loyalty'. The sailing boat at the left part of
the shield symbolises the history of Suriname when slaves were taken to
Suriname from Africa. The palm at the right part of the shield stands for
the present as well for justice. The diamond in the middle symbolises a
hart. The five-point star within the diamond stands for the five continents
the inhabitants from Suriname came from".
In 1667 according to the Treaty of Breda, New Amsterdam (modern New York)
was exchanged for Suriname, which was conquered by the Zeeland navy.
In 1682 it was handed over to the GWC (Dutch West India Company). On 21 May
1683 the 'Sociëteit van Suriname' ('Society of Suriname') was
established, in which the GWC, the City of Amsterdam and Cornelis van
Aerssen van Sommelsdijck participated. The first known arms of Suriname can
be found of seals from around 1684. It consisted of the arms of the City of
Amsterdam, the GWC (a three-master, see also Curacao), and the Family of Van Aerssen, together with two lettrs S, an Indian shooting an arrow, the motto 'Justitia Pietas Fides', and two Indians as supporters.
In 1770 the shares of the Van Aerssen family were taken over by the City of
Amsterdam, so the arms of Van Aerssen were dropped.
The arms of Suriname from a document from 1796
source : www.kitlv.nl
In 1795 the 'Society of Suriname' is liquidated, and the colony is governed
by the Dutch 'Raad der Coloniën' ('Council of Colonies'). New arms are
adopted, consisting of the three-master, flying a (Dutch) flag with
'R.v.S.' for 'Raad van Suriname' ('Council of Suriname').
The colonial arms of Suriname
On 1 March 1803 the Batavian Republic abolished all previous adopted arms,
and the Dutch arms (a lion of gold with sword and bunch of arrows) with
'Suriname' underneath became the new arms of Suriname.
After the Kingdom of the Netherlands was established in 1815, the arms of
the kingdom were also valid for the colonies. Nevertheless, the arms with
the three-master can be found on bank-notes and headings of gazettes, and
also on a unofficial flag.
The modern were adopted 15 December 1959, several years after becoming
an autonomous region within the Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1954. When Suriname became independent on 25 November 1975 these arms were slightly revised
(the hair of the Indians was changed from blond to black.....) and the meaning of the symbols was changed as can be seen above.
Literature : : "Wapens en Zegels van Suriname", Mr. Johanna Felhoen Kraal, 1950.
|
|
coats of arms on-line ! 
