Plan of the new town in Berbice

Title Leupe: “Platte grond van de nieuwe Stad in Rio Berbice.” -Until 1790 Jan Carel Willem Herlin remained in the service of the Society as overseer-general of works and as of 1787 he was also ad interim chief land surveyor in the colony. Early in 1790 his successor, also to be engaged as overseer of government workshops, the land surveyor Jan van Schoonenbeek, arrived in the colony. The next year he took over Herlin’s duties as well, since the latter had, of his own accord, withdrawn from service. Following that move the directors appointed Van Schoonenbeek to the civil position of ‘Architect and Clerk of all Colony Works’ in October 1791. In that capacity, already in the same year, he presented proposals for some amendments to be made to Herlin’s design plan for New Amsterdam and for expansion of the town by issuing new plots for free burghers to the south of the governmental district. This map reveals Van Schoonenbeek’s new layout for the central area which, as compared to Herlin’s plan, had been given a quarter turn; the slave quarter would have to be transferred to a location some distance away and to the south.

North is lower left.

Scale-bar of 15 Rhineland rods: = [approximately 1 : 970].