Commewijne · coffee, cotton, cacao, sugar
Rust en Werk: 430 people freed in 1863, 166 family names
Rust en Werk on the Commewijne River was laid out in 1750 by the later governor Wigbold Crommelin, and for genealogy it is one of the richest estates in the country: 430 people were freed here in 1863, under 166 family names.
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Wigbold Crommelin, governor from 1757 to 1768, laid out three plantations totalling a thousand akkers, just over 430 hectares, in 1750. In Sranan the place is named after his office: Granmangron. He deliberately chose coffee over sugar, because coffee spared him the digging of canals and trenches. Ownership ran through Pieter Constantijn Nobel and the Gülcher family; in 1863 it stood in the name of the Nobel heirs.
The crops changed often: coffee from the start, cotton added by 1793, cacao from 1820, a partial move to cotton in 1843, and from 1889 sugar under the Gülcher brothers’ Cultuurmaatschappij Rust en Werk, who brought their technique from the Dutch East Indies. Rice followed later, and between 1947 and the 1960s a failed attempt at cacao.
In 1843, 296 enslaved people were counted here. On 1 July 1863, 430 people were declared free. The emancipation list for Rust en Werk carries 166 family names, from Aage to Zwam: one of the longest plantation lists in Suriname and therefore one of the best places to find a family name. The Moravian Brethren had a church and a school here from 13 October 1844.
After emancipation, 938 Hindustani and 1,401 Javanese indentured labourers were brought to Rust en Werk. Its sugar factory was reckoned the largest in South America. When processing moved to Mariënburg, the land was rented to Javanese families who planted rice on it. The company was wound up in 1934. The painter Soeki Irodikromo, born in 1945, came from here.
The site is still in business. N.V. Verenigde Cultuur Maatschappijen keeps livestock there and processes cassava, coconut and sambal among other things, and the enterprise now spans twelve former plantations totalling roughly 5,600 hectares. Of the old layout an antique sluice survives, with vegetable gardens laid out beside it by Javanese residents. On neighbouring Einde Rust a fish and shrimp company has operated since 1987.
Frequently asked questions
How many people were freed at Rust en Werk in 1863?
Four hundred and thirty. Twenty years earlier, in 1843, 296 enslaved people were counted there. At emancipation 166 family names were attached to Rust en Werk, running alphabetically from Aage to Zwam.
Did indentured labourers come to Rust en Werk?
Yes, in large numbers. After 1873, 938 Hindustani labourers were brought to Rust en Werk, and after 1890 a further 1,401 Javanese. Both groups can be traced in the immigration registers at the Nationaal Archief, which record the plantation for each person.
Can you visit Rust en Werk?
Yes. It is reached by boat from Paramaribo and guided tours are run on foot, by bicycle or by covered cart. It is not a museum but a working business: Verenigde Cultuur Maatschappijen farms twelve former plantations there, about 5,600 hectares in all.