Santosh Singh
2020

Plantation Esthersrust was a 19th Century cotton plantation located at the confluence of the Warappa Canal and the Atlantic Ocean in Commewijne, Suriname, South-America. Plantation Esthersrust is Suriname’s only exposed cotton plantation with a rich history indicative of its shared heritage linking Suriname and the Netherlands. For years this plantation was submerged under the sea, but due to the 30-year cycle lies exposed during low tide.

Esthersrust holds special importance to Suriname because it’s an opportunity to learn about the spatial layout of cotton plantations and a space that serves as a memory of a specific period in Surinamese history. It also tells a very rich story of the plantations as they were built and managed in Suriname. It tells the story of an emerging industry, slavery and the struggle with and the use of water. Because this site holds much importance and information about a specific period in time (especially the cotton era, which very little is known of) it is of prime importance to help protect this site. I will make an attempt to determine the exact boundaries of plantation Esthersrust. This will be done to highlight the breadth of the plantation system, and the role of maritime archaeology to explain settlement and land use of settlers, the enslaved and Indigenous peoples alike. This project also proposes to produce a short documentary of the site in order to create awareness around heritage protection in Suriname, using Plantation Esthersrust as a basis.

Santosh Singh was born and raised in Suriname, South America. He recently attained his Master’s Degree in Archaeology from Leiden University based in the Netherlands. He first came in contact with archaeology in Suriname at the Anton de Kom University of Suriname, where he did his Bachelor’s in History with a minor in Archaeology. Singh is currently doing an internship at the Archaeological Services of Suriname, where he will research both Plantation Esthersrust and Fort Sommelsdijk in detail. Furthermore, he will also produce 4-6 documentaries on archaeology and heritage in Suriname, to help create awareness on its value and why they should be valued.

Watch the short documentary about Plantation Esthersrust, made by Santosh.