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Map of the Brandwacht

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Map of the Brandwacht

Kanne, Carl Christiaan

Title Leupe: Plan van de Brandwagt te Rio Demerary.

The Dutch settlement Brandwacht was given the name Longchamps when the French took over power, which was perhaps just as much a sign of nostalgia for Parisian life as a reflection of the plot’s narrow and elongated shape. -This map records the situation as it was in February 1784, on the eve of the French departure from the colony.

As can be read from the index, the settlement included anything from a hospital to a carpenters lodge.

When the Dutch administration returned in that same year, the still largely unfinished town was renamed Stabroek after Nicolaas Geelvinck, Lord of Stabroek who, in 1780, became the permanent representative of Stadtholder Willem V in the WIC board.

It was not until after c. 1790 that the region saw significant growth when, after the WIC era, Demerara fell under the auspices of the Council for the Colonies.

Growth further accelerated in the post-1796 period under British rule.

North is up.

Scale-bar of 40 Rhineland Rods = [approximately 1 : 1,140].

Please contact Nationaal Archief for reuse and copyrights.

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)