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762 
after, on account of frequent invasions which they justly 
suffered from the Carribean Indians, for having, like their 
neighbours the Spaniards, treated them with the most bar¬ 
barous cruelties. In the 1650, this colony being vacant, 
Francis Lord Willoughby of Parham, by king Charles II.’s 
permission, sent thither one vessel, equipped by himself, to 
take possession of it, in the name of his royal master: a 
little after which he dispatched three vessels more, one of 
them carrying 20 guns. All these were well received by 
the Indians or inhabitants of the country, with whom they 
entered into friendly treaties, and a kind of negociation. 
In the year 1662, the colony of Surinam was granted by 
charter of Charles II. to Francis Lord Willoughby, and at 
that lord’s desire, to be divided with Laurence Hide, second 
son of Edward Earl of Clarendon, for them and their de¬ 
scendants for ever. In the year 1665, Surinam was success¬ 
fully cultivated, mostly by planting tobacco. They had also 
raised above forty fine sugar-plantations, and erected a strong 
fortress of hewn stone for their defence. It is proper, how¬ 
ever, to remark, that some suppose these improvements were 
effected by the Portuguese, though at what period is uncer¬ 
tain ; while the French strenuously dispute the point, and 
insist that they were the work of Monsieur Ponsert de Bre- 
tigny, when France had possession of that country. How¬ 
ever this may be, the fortress is situated about 16 or 18 miles 
from the mouth of the river Surinam •, and these industrious 
settlers found themselves perfectly happy, in a small town 
which they had built under the walls. Their felicity was 
not of long duration; for in the wars between Charles II. 
and the United Provinces, the Dutch having been driven, 
in 1661, from the Brazils by the Portuguese, took the colony 
of Surinam from the English in 1667, under the command 
of a Captain Abraham Criuvon, who was dispatched for that 
purpose with three ships of war and 300 marines. The 
English commander, William Biam, lost the settlement of 
Surinam by surprise, when above 600 of the best men in 
the colony were at work on the sugar-plantations. This 
neglect appears from the trifling loss of the Dutch, who in 
storming the citadel had but one man killed. They imme¬ 
diately planted the Prince of Orange’s flag on the ramparts, 
and gave to this fortress the name of Zelandia, and that of 
Middleburgh to the town of Paramaribo, after making the 
inhabitants, amongst other contributions, pay 100,000 
pounds weight of sugar, and sending a number of them to 
the island of Tobago. This event took place in February ; 
and in July following, the peace was concluded at Breda; 
but most unluckily for the new possessors of Surinam, it was 
concluded unknown to the English commodore. Sir John 
Harman, who in October, that same year, having first taken 
Cayenne from the French, entered the river with a strong 
fleet of seven ships of war, two bomb-ketches, &c., and 
retook the colony from the Dutch, killing on this occasion 
above fifty of their men, and destroying nine pieces of 
cannon in Fort Zelandia. The new inhabitants were now 
in their turn laid under contribution, and the Dutch garrison 
were transported to the island of Barbadoes. At the dis¬ 
covery in Surinam, that the peace had been concluded 
between the contending powers, before Commodore Harman 
retook the colony from the Dutch, considerable tumult and 
disorder took place among the inhabitants, who knew not 
whom they ought to acknowledge as their lawful sovereign. 
At length, by an order of king Charles, the settlement was 
ceded to the Dutch in 1669, when 1200 of the old inhabit¬ 
ants, English and negroes together, left it and went to settle 
on the island of Jamaica. At the close of the succeeding 
war, it was agreed by the treaty of Westminster, that Suri¬ 
nam should be the property of the Dutch for ever, in ex¬ 
change for the province of New York, which accordingly 
took place in the year 1674. In 1799, Surinam was taken 
by the British. It was given up at the peace of Amiens in 
1802, but was again taken in the subsequent war, and is now 
retained by Britain. Paramaribo is the chief town. Lat. 
4. 45. to 6 . N. long. 53. 40. to 56. 25. W. 
SURINAM, a river in the above province or district, 
which rises in the mountains of the interior, and after a 
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winding course of about 150 miles from south to north, falls 
into the Atlantic Ocean, in Long. 55. 40. W. lat. 6. 25, N. - 
It is at its entrance nearly the breadth of 4 English miles, 
and in depth from 16 to 18 feet at low water mark, the tide 
rising and falling above 12 feet. This breadth and depth 
is continued from its mouth upwards to the distance of 8 or 
10 miles, when it divides itself into two branches, winding 
to the south-south-east, for the length of upwards of 120 
miles. All this extent is navigable for small craft, but be¬ 
yond this distance the river proceeds directly south, some¬ 
times in its course surrounding small islands, and sometimes 
forming small cataracts. The source of this beautiful river 
has never yet been discovered by Europeans. All large 
vessels, after entering the Surinam, ought to keep rather 
near the east shore, the opposite side being very full of 
shoals, as far as the town of Paramaribo, which is about 18 
miles from its mouth. 
SURINGLA, a sea-port of Niphon, in Japan, capital of 
a province of the same name; 170 miles east of Meaco. 
SURIRISSA, a river of Quito, in the province of Jaen, 
which runs from south-west to north-east, and enters the 
Tamora, in Lat. 4. 3. S. 
SURKUK, a village of Anatolia, in Asiatic Turkey; 8 
miles north of Kastamouni. 
SU'RLILY, aclv. In a surly manner. Sherwood .— 
They were both hastily passionate ; he was sometimes sur¬ 
lily ill-natured, while she was apt to conceive what he never 
inteuded. The Student. 
SU'RLINESS, s. Gloomy moroseness ; sour anger. 
Thus pale they meet; their eyes with fury burn; 
None greets; for none the greeting will return ; 
But in dumb surliness, each arm’d with care 
His foe protest, as brother of the war. Dryden. 
SU'RLING, s. A sour morose fellow. Not used. —As 
for these sour surlings, they are to be commended to sieur 
Gaulard. Camden. 
SURLINGHAM, a village of England, in Norfolk, in¬ 
cluding the parishes of St. Mary and St. Saviour. Here is a 
ferry over the river Yare ; 5| miles east-south-east of Nor¬ 
wich. 
SU'RLY, adj. [from pup, sour, Sax.] Gloomily morose ; 
rough; uncivil; sour; silently angry. 
’Tis like you’ll prove a jolly surly groom, 
That take it on you at the first so roundly. Shalspeare. 
SURMI'SAL, s. Imperfect notion ; surmise.—From this 
needless surmisal I shall hope to dissuade the intelligent and 
equal auditor. Milton. 
To SURMI'SE, v. a. [surmise, Fr.] To suspect; to 
image imperfectly ; to imagine without certain knowledge. 
It wafted nearer yet, and then she knew 
That what before she but surmis'd, was true. Dryden. 
SURMI'SE, s. [surmise, Fr.] Imperfect notion; sus¬ 
picion ; imagination not supported by knowledge. 
My compassionate heart 
Will not permit my eyes once to behold 
The thing, whereat it trembles by surmise. Shakspenre. 
SURMI'SER, s. One who surmises.—I should first desire 
these surmisers to point out the time when, and the persons 
who began this design. Lively Oracles. 
To SURMO'UNT, v. a. [surmonter, Fr.] To rise 
above.—The mountains of Olympus, Atho, and Atlas, over¬ 
reach and surmount all winds and clouds. Ralegh. —To 
conquer ; to overcome.—He hardly escaped to the Persian 
court; from whence, if the love of his country had not 
surmounted its base ingratitude to him, he had many in¬ 
vitations to return at the head of the Persian fleet; but he 
rather chose a voluntary death. Swift. —To surpass; to 
exceed. 
What surmounts the reach 
Of human sense, I shall delineate so. 
By lik’ning spiritual to corporeal forms, 
As may express them best. Milton. 
SURMO'UNT ABLE, 
