The 1863 emancipation registers in the morning, the place itself after lunch.
Roots day in Paramaribo: from the 1863 registers to your family’s plantation
The National Archives hold the emancipation registers of 1863 and the immigration registers of the Hindustani and Javanese indentured labourers, which is where your family first enters the record by name. You search them yourself in the morning, beside someone who knows how those registers behave, and in the afternoon we drive out to whatever they point at: a plantation, a neighbourhood, a cemetery.
Beforehand we send you a short questionnaire: surnames, districts, dates, whatever your parents or grandparents told you, and whatever you have already worked out at home. The more you send, the further we get on the day. "I only know my grandmother’s maiden name" is enough to start with.
At the National Archives of Suriname we work through the sources that genuinely exist: the emancipation registers of 1863, which record the surnames enslaved people were given at abolition; the immigration registers of Hindustani indentured labourers from 1873 and Javanese from 1890; civil registration; and plantation administration. You search alongside someone who knows how these registers behave.
What we find decides the afternoon. If it is a plantation in Commewijne or Para, we drive out to it. If it is a neighbourhood in Paramaribo, we walk it. If it is a village on the Upper Suriname River, that is a multi-day trip and we quote it separately.
We do not promise a family tree back to 1750. Some lines simply stop, and that happens more often than not. What we do promise is that you end the day further along than you started, with something you can hold: copies, photographs, names, a place.
What happens on the day
Nationaal Archief Suriname Fort Zeelandia 6 stops
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Beforehand
Fill in and return the questionnaire. We do the groundwork.
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09:00
Start at the National Archives. What registers exist and what they contain.
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09:30
Searching. Emancipation registers, immigration registers, civil records.
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12:00
Lunch, and deciding where the afternoon goes.
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13:00
Out to the place: plantation, neighbourhood or cemetery.
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15:00
End in Paramaribo; if the plantation is further out in Commewijne or Para, closer to 16:00. You get every scan and photograph digitally afterwards.
Times are indicative. Weather, traffic and how long you want to stay somewhere decide the rest.
Included
- Preparatory research based on your questionnaire
- Guidance inside the National Archives
- Afternoon transport within Paramaribo, Commewijne or Para
- Lunch
- All scans and photographs sent digitally afterwards
Not included
- Any archive copying fees
- Multi-day interior trips (quoted separately)
- Tips
Bring
- Everything you already have: names, dates, old photographs, your parents’ papers
- Your passport (the archive asks for ID)
- Patience, this is research, not a tour
This is for you if…
Second- and third-generation Surinamese-Dutch visitors, and anyone who wants to show a partner or their children where the family comes from.
Do not book this if…
Not suitable if you expect a guaranteed family tree. Archive research sometimes gives you four generations in a morning and sometimes a line that simply stops in the middle of the nineteenth century, and the second happens more often.
What you meet along the way
Frequently asked questions
Can you trace Surinamese ancestors in Suriname?
Yes. The National Archives of Suriname in Paramaribo holds the emancipation registers of 1863, the immigration registers of Hindustani indentured labourers from 1873 and Javanese from 1890, civil registration and plantation administration. Some of it is searchable online, but far from all.
What are the 1863 emancipation registers?
When slavery was abolished in Suriname on 1 July 1863, roughly 33,000 enslaved people were registered with the new surname they were given, their former name, their age and the plantation they worked on. For Afro-Surinamese families this is often the oldest document naming an ancestor.
How much do I need to know to start?
One surname and a district is enough. A birth year or a plantation name makes it much faster. Send us what you have in advance so the morning in the archive is not spent working out where to look.
What does a roots trip in Suriname cost?
This day is €145 per person, including preparatory research, guidance in the archive, afternoon transport and lunch. Multi-day roots trips into the interior are quoted individually and usually start around €150 per person per day depending on the destination.
What do children pay?
Every child has their own seat and, on the water, their own life jacket, never a lap. Children under 3 come free, from 3 to 11 €116 per person, 20% off. Tell us the ages when you enquire; we confirm in advance whether a child seat is available.
Other tours
- Roots Plus: with prior research and a dossier
Three hours of research before you land, a dossier when you leave.
€195 per person 6 hours
- Tailor-made: family and interior
For three generations at once, or a village on the Upper Suriname.
on request
- Business and work groups
For people here for work with an afternoon, an evening or a day to spare.
on request
- Paramaribo Food Tour
The market at nine, when it is at its fullest, and a roti lunch to end on.
€55 per person 4 hours
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