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46-512: After being a hereditary fief in the possession of the Van Peere family, the colony was governed by the Society of Berbice in the second half of the colonial period, akin to the neighbouring colony of Suriname , which was governed by the Society of Suriname . The capital of Berbice was at Fort Nassau until 1790. In that year, the town of New Amsterdam , which grew around Fort Sint Andries ,

92-513: A mutual defense pact (under TIAR and NATO respectively). For many states, such as Ireland, neutrality does not mean the absence of any foreign interventionism. Peacekeeping missions for the United Nations are seen as intertwined with it. The Swiss electorate rejected a 1994 proposal to join UN peacekeeping operations. Despite this, 23 Swiss observers and police have been deployed around

138-478: A fellow member that is the victim of armed aggression. It accords "an obligation of aid and assistance by all the means in [other member states'] power" but would "not prejudice the specific character of the security and defense policy of certain Member States" (neutral policies), allowing members to respond with non-military aid. Ireland's constitution prohibits participating in such a common defence. With

184-489: A sizeable military, while barring itself from foreign deployment. Not all neutral countries avoid any foreign deployment or alliances, as Austria and Ireland have active UN peacekeeping forces and a political alliance within the European Union . Sweden 's traditional policy was not to participate in military alliances, with the intention of staying neutral in the case of war . Immediately before World War II ,

230-688: Is a state that is neutral towards belligerents in a specific war or holds itself as permanently neutral in all future conflicts (including avoiding entering into military alliances such as NATO , CSTO or the SCO ). As a type of non-combatant status, nationals of neutral countries enjoy protection under the law of war from belligerent actions to a greater extent than other non-combatants such as enemy civilians and prisoners of war . Different countries interpret their neutrality differently: some, such as Costa Rica have demilitarized , while Switzerland holds to "armed neutrality", to deter aggression with

276-404: Is already in port, in which case it must have a 24-hour head start. A prize ship captured by a belligerent in the territorial waters of a neutral power must be surrendered by the belligerent to the neutral, which must intern its crew. Neutrality has been recognised in different ways, and sometimes involves a formal guarantor. For example, Switzerland and Belgium's neutrality was recognized by

322-534: The Donegal Corridor , making it possible for British planes to attack German U-boats in the mid-Atlantic. On the other hand, both Axis and Allied pilots who crash landed in Ireland were interned. Sweden and Switzerland, surrounded by possessions and allies of Nazi Germany similarly made concessions to Nazi requests as well as to Allied requests. Sweden was also involved in intelligence operations with

368-749: The Nordic countries stated their neutrality, but Sweden changed its position to that of non-belligerent at the start of the Winter War . Sweden would uphold its policy of neutrality until the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine . During the Cold War , former Yugoslavia claimed military and ideological neutrality from both the Western and Eastern Bloc , becoming a co-founder of the Non-Aligned Movement . There have been considerable changes to

414-685: The Allies, including listening stations in Sweden and espionage in Germany. Spain offered to join the war on the side of Nazi Germany in 1940, allowed Axis ships and submarines to use its ports, imported war materials for Germany, and sent a Spanish volunteer combat division to aid the Nazi war effort. Portugal officially stayed neutral, but actively supported both the Allies by providing overseas naval bases, and Germany by selling tungsten . The United States

460-663: The Amerindians put down the revolt, and executed five soldiers. In September 1803 the British occupied the territory again, this time for good, and once again without a fight. Abraham van Batenburg, who had been exiled to Europe in 1803, returned for his second term as governor. In the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814 , the colony was formally ceded to the United Kingdom, and with the ratification of this treaty by

506-718: The European states closest to the war, only Andorra , Ireland , Portugal , Spain , Sweden , Switzerland (with Liechtenstein ), and Vatican City (the Holy See ) remained neutral to the end. Their fulfillment to the letter of the rules of neutrality has been questioned: Ireland supplied important secret information to the Allies ; for instance, the date of D-Day was decided on the basis of incoming Atlantic weather information , some of it supplied by Ireland but kept from Germany. Ireland also secretly allowed Allied aircraft to use

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552-756: The French , who were allied with the Dutch, and who subsequently restored the colonies to Dutch rule with the Treaty of Paris of 1783 . The colony was on 22 April 1796 again captured by Britain, however this time without a fight. A deal was struck with the colony: all laws and customs could remain, and the citizens were equal to British citizens. Any government official who swore loyalty to the British crown could remain in function. Abraham van Batenburg decided to remain governor. Many plantation owners from Barbados settled in

598-659: The Guianas after Suriname, consisting of 12 plantations owned by the society, 93 private plantations along the Berbice River , and 20 plantations along the Canje River . The colony was dealt a severe blow when a slave uprising broke out under the leadership of Coffy in February 1763. The uprising lead to a steep population decline, abandonment and destruction of many plantations, and serious financial problems for

644-535: The Netherlands on 20 November 1815, all Dutch legal claims to the colony were rescinded. The plantations and the enslaved people of the Society of Berbice remained under their ownership, but they had already made a decision to sell their possessions in 1795, and they closed their offices in 1821. In 1812, the colonies of Demerara and Essequibo had been merged into the colony of Demerara-Essequibo . As part of

690-453: The Netherlands was governor Wolfert Simon van Hoogenheim able to finally suppress the uprising, and restore the colony to Dutch rule. The uprising led to a steep population decline, abandonment and destruction of many plantations, and serious financial problems for the Society. Fort Nassau had been set on fire to prevent it falling into enemy hands. In 1785 the village was abandoned in favour of Fort Sint Andries , situated more downstream, at

736-498: The Society. In 1795, after the dissolution of the Dutch West India Company , the company decided to sell its possessions. The company remained in operation after Berbice was ceded to Great Britain. In November 1818, their last plantations were sold to Davidson’s, Barkly & Co, and after selling out the last investors, the company closed their offices in 1821. Neutral country A neutral country

782-546: The Soviet Union) but in other cases it is an active policy of the country concerned to respond to a geopolitical situation ( Ireland in the Second World War ). For the country concerned, the policy is usually codified beyond the treaty itself. Austria and Japan codify their neutrality in their constitutions, but they do so with different levels of detail. Some details of neutrality are left to be interpreted by

828-664: The Swedes each have a long history of neutrality: they have not been in a state of war internationally since 1815 and 1814, respectively. Switzerland continues to pursue, however, an active foreign policy and is frequently involved in peace-building processes around the world. According to Edwin Reischauer , "To be neutral you must be ready to be highly militarized, like Switzerland or Sweden." Sweden ended its policy of neutrality when it joined NATO in 2024. In contrast, some neutral states may heavily reduce their military and use it for

874-681: The US pretense of neutrality. Sweden also made concessions to the German Reich during the war to maintain its neutrality, the biggest concession was to let the 163rd German Infantry Division to be transferred from Norway to Finland by Swedish trains, to aid the Finns in the Continuation War . The decision caused a political " Midsummer Crisis " of 1941, about Sweden's neutrality . Equally, Vatican City made various diplomatic concessions to

920-686: The benefit to a belligerent of entering the country by force not worth the cost. This may include: The term derives from the historic maritime neutrality of the First League of Armed Neutrality of the Nordic countries and Russia under the leadership of Catherine the Great , which was invented in the late 18th century but has since been used only to refer to countries' neutralities. Sweden and Switzerland are independently of each other famed for their armed neutralities, which they maintained throughout both World War I and World War II . The Swiss and

966-496: The colony founded a Society of Berbice in a similar fashion to the Society of Suriname , which governed the neighbouring colony, in order to raise more capital for the colony. Both brothers shared one quarter of the company, and could only cast one vote. The Society was a public company listed on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange . In the years following, Berbice became the second most flourishing Dutch colony in

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1012-575: The colony was Calvinism . In 1735, a minister was installed in Fort Nassau, but after a personal conflict with the governor, he was transferred to Wiruni Creek. Catholics and Jews were not allowed to become planters or have a government function. In 1738, two missionaries of the Moravian Church had been invited by a planter to teach the people he enslaved. They were treated with suspicion, and received several official warnings. In 1757,

1058-418: The colony, and in order to not let the colony cede to the French, the brothers Nicolaas and Hendrik van Hoorn, Arnold Dix, Pieter Schuurmans, and Cornelis van Peere, paid the ransom of ƒ180,000 in cash and ƒ120,000 in sugar and enslaved people on 24 October 1714, thereby acquiring the colony. In 1720, the five owners of the colony founded the Society of Berbice , akin to the Society of Suriname which governed

1104-548: The colony, doubling the slave population. The British now remained in possession of the colony until 27 March 1802, when Berbice was restored to the Batavian Republic under the terms of the Treaty of Amiens . In 1803, there was a mutiny of soldiers who complained about the rations. They occupied Fort Sint Andries, and raised the Union Jack with a piece of meat on top. The remaining soldiers aided by Suriname and

1150-534: The confluence of the Canje River . The new village was again named New Amsterdam , and is still known by that name in contemporary Guyana. On 27 February 1781, British forces occupied Berbice and neighbouring Demerara and Essequibo as part of the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War , because 34 out of 93 plantations in Berbice were under British ownership. In January 1782, the colonies were recaptured by

1196-466: The craftsmen. The next year an inn was added. The village was named New Amsterdam ( Dutch : Nieuw Amsterdam ). In 1735, a school master was hired to teach the white children. There were medical doctors stationed in New Amsterdam and Fort Nassau, and six local doctors were assigned to the plantations. Epidemics remained a frequent problem in the colony resulting in many deaths. The religion in

1242-412: The express purpose of home defense and the maintenance of their neutrality, while other neutral states may abandon military power altogether (examples of states doing this include Liechtenstein ). However, the lack of a military does not always result in neutrality: Countries such as Costa Rica and Iceland replaced their standing army with a military guarantee from a stronger power or participation in

1288-516: The extent to which they are, or should be, neutral is debated. For example, Ireland, which sought guarantees for its neutrality in EU treaties, argues that its neutrality does not mean that Ireland should avoid engagement in international affairs such as peacekeeping operations. Since the enactment of the Lisbon Treaty , EU members are bound by TEU, Article 42.7 , which obliges states to assist

1334-610: The first Company. This was resolved when on 14 September 1678 a charter was signed which established Berbice as a hereditary fief of the Dutch West India Company, in the possession of the Van Peere family. In November 1712, Berbice was briefly occupied by the French under Jacques Cassard , as part of the War of the Spanish Succession . The Van Peere family did not want to pay a ransom to the French to free

1380-490: The government while others are explicitly stated; for example, Austria may not host any foreign bases, and Japan cannot participate in foreign wars. Yet Sweden, lacking formal codification, was more flexible during the Second World War in allowing troops to pass through its territory. Armed neutrality is the posture of a state or group of states that has no alliance with either side of a war but asserts that it will defend itself against resulting incursions from any party, making

1426-468: The interior of the country. Berbice was supposed to be guarded by 60 soldiers in Fort Nassau, and another 20 to 30 soldiers in other locations. Even when not under attack, wars often caused supply problems. In 1670s, the colony had not been supplied for 17 months, and neutrality as during the Seven Years' War could not prevent supply shortages. The relatively sound economic situation of the colony

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1472-503: The interpretation of neutral conduct over the past centuries. Belligerents may not invade neutral territory, and a neutral power's resisting any such attempt does not compromise its neutrality. A neutral power must intern belligerent troops who reach its territory, but not escaped prisoners of war . Belligerent armies may not recruit neutral citizens, but they may go abroad to enlist. Belligerent armies' personnel and materiel may not be transported across neutral territory, but

1518-518: The launch of Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) in defense at the end of 2017, the EU's activity on military matters has increased. The policy was designed to be inclusive and allows states to opt in or out of specific forms of military cooperation. That has allowed most of the neutral states to participate, but opinions still vary. Some members of the Irish Parliament considered Ireland's joining PESCO as an abandonment of neutrality. It

1564-517: The missionaries left, and joined the congregation at the village of Pilgerhut founded in 1740 outside the plantation area, where they lived with 300 Arawak . The colony had peace and trade treaties with the local Amerindians. This colony did not intervene in wars between the tribes, and no Amerindian was allowed to be taken into slavery unless they were sold by the Kalina or the Arawak and captured from

1610-414: The neighbouring colony, to raise more capital for the colony. The Society was a public company listed on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange . In the years following, Berbice's economic situation improved, consisting of 12 plantations owned by the society, 93 private plantation along the Berbice River , and 20 plantations along the Canje River . In 1733, 25 to 30 houses were built around Fort Nassau to house

1656-482: The reforms of the newly acquired colonies on the South American mainland, the British merged Berbice with Demerara-Essequibo on 21 July 1831, forming the new crown colony of British Guiana , now Guyana . In 1838, Berbice was made one of the three counties of Guiana, the other two being Demerara and Essequibo. In 1958, the county was abolished when Guiana was subdivided into districts. Historical Berbice

1702-525: The signatories of the Congress of Vienna , Austria has its neutrality guaranteed by its four former occupying powers, and Finland by the Soviet Union during the Cold War . The form of recognition varies, often by bilateral treaty (Finland), multilateral treaty (Austria) or a UN declaration (Turkmenistan). These treaties can in some ways be forced on a country (Austria's neutrality was insisted upon by

1748-441: The world in UN projects. The legitimacy of whether some states are as neutral as they claim has been questioned in some circles, although this depends largely on a state's interpretation of its form of neutrality. There are three members of the European Union that still describe themselves as a neutral country in some form: Austria , Ireland , and Malta . With the development of the EU's Common Security and Defence Policy ,

1794-416: The wounded may be. A neutral power may supply communication facilities to belligerents, but not war materiel, although it need not prevent export of such materiel. Belligerent naval vessels may use neutral ports for a maximum of 24 hours, though neutrals may impose different restrictions. Exceptions are to make repairs—only the minimum necessary to put back to sea —or if an opposing belligerent's vessel

1840-581: Was a family affair who owned all the plantations on the Berbice River , though they did allow a couple of sugar planters to settle on the Canje River . A dispute arose between the Second Dutch West India Company , which was founded to succeed the First Dutch West India Company that went bankrupt in 1674, and the Van Peere family, because the family wanted the colony as an immortal loan as agreed with

1886-406: Was dealt a severe blow when a slave uprising broke out under the leadership of Coffy in February 1763. The enslaved people captured the south of the colony while the whites, who were severely outnumbered, tried to hang on the north. The uprising went on until well into 1764, with Coffy naming himself governor of Berbice. Only with the use of brute force and military aid by neighbouring colonies and

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1932-525: Was founded on 24 October 1720 by the owners of the colony of Berbice currently in Guyana . These owners (Arnold Dix, Pieter Schuurmans, Cornelis van Peere, and brothers Nicolaas and Hendrik van Hoorn) had acquired the colony from the French on 24 October 1714, who in turn had occupied the colony which was previously a hereditary fief in the possession of the Van Peere family . In 1720, the five owners of

1978-681: Was initially neutral and bound by the Neutrality Acts of 1936 not to sell war materials to belligerents. Once war broke out, US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt persuaded Congress to replace the act with the Cash and carry program that allowed the US to provide military aid to the allies, despite opposition from non-interventionist members. The "Cash and carry" program was replaced in March 1941 by Lend-Lease , effectively ending

2024-512: Was made the new capital of the colony. Berbice was settled in 1627 by the businessman Abraham van Peere from Vlissingen , under the suzerainty of the Dutch West India Company . Until 1714, the colony remained the personal possession of Van Peere and his descendants. Little is known about the early years of the colony, other than that it succeeded in repelling an English attack in 1665 in the Second Anglo-Dutch War . The colony

2070-623: Was passed with the government arguing that its opt-in nature allowed Ireland to "join elements of PESCO that were beneficial such as counter-terrorism, cybersecurity and peacekeeping... what we are not going to be doing is buying aircraft carriers and fighter jets". Malta, as of December 2017, is the only neutral state not to participate in PESCO. The Maltese government argued that it was going to wait and see how PESCO develops to see whether it would compromise Maltese neutrality. Many countries made neutrality declarations during World War II . However, of

2116-686: Was split in 1958 to make new Guyanese administrative regions and the name is preserved in the regions of East Berbice-Corentyne , Mahaica-Berbice , and Upper Demerara-Berbice . Berbice Creole Dutch , a Dutch creole language based on the lexicon and grammar of the West African language Ijo , was spoken until well into the 20th century. In 2005, the last known speaker died. The language was declared extinct in 2010. 6°14′01″N 57°32′35″W  /  6.2337°N 57.5430°W  / 6.2337; -57.5430 Society of Berbice The Society of Berbice ( Dutch : Sociëteit van Berbice )

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