During the VOC/WIC era (17th/18th century) and the subsequent colonial period, plants played a central role in the relationship between the Netherlands and overseas territories such as Suriname.
At the same time, this plantation economy rested on the labor of enslaved people and on the knowledge of indigenous communities.
Prosperity in the Netherlands was partly based on the trade in plant products such as sugar, tobacco, coffee, cocoa, cotton, spices, and indigo.
That knowledge was essential for cultivating tropical crops, but remained underexposed for a long time.