In French Guiana and Suriname, Businenge (meaning people of the forest) are the descendants of enslaved Africans taken to Suriname to work in plantations.
Some slaves escape and establish independent communities in the forest.
They eventually win the right to govern themselves autonomously. In Suriname, they are usually called Marrons (Maroons).
There are six major groups of Businenge: Aluku (or Boni), Kwinti, Matawai, Ndyuka, Paramacca, and Saramaca.
The languages of the Businenges are all English-based creoles, reflecting a development period when this area was a major trading area for English colonists. The creole languages absorbed a variety of African languages as they developed.
