Elisabeth Samson (1715-1771) was a barrier-breaking Surinamese businesswoman who challenged nearly all of the racial and gender norms of her day.
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Hello! From Wonder Media Network, I’m Jenny Kaplan. And this is Encyclopedia Womannica.
Today we’re covering a barrier-breaking Surinamese businesswoman who challenged nearly all of the racial and gender norms of her day. A complicated character with a complex legacy, her life provides a rare glimpse into how colonized women lived and sometimes even thrived in places like 18th century Suriname. Until recently, her story was completely lost to history. Let’s talk about Elisabeth Samson.
Elisabeth Samson was born in 1715 in Paramaribo, Suriname, which at this time was a Dutch colony. Her mother was a formerly enslaved person named Mariana, who was only allowed to emancipate a few of her children at first. Most of Elisabeth’s many siblings were enslaved until they were freed later by one of her half brothers -- so Elisabeth narrowly escaped being born enslaved herself.
With a lucky headstart, Elisabeth was raised in the home of her half-sister, Maria Jansz, and Maria’s second husband Frederick Bossche. Elisabeth learned to read, write, and count while living with them. When she was baptized at 10 years old, the church noted that she had an astonishing knowledge of the Bible. While many of her siblings were never taught to read due to their enslaved status, Elisabeth not only had the privilege of an education, but showed incredible academic promise.
Frederick Bossche was a captain in The Society of Suriname’s army, and he also ran an importing business. He let Elisabeth in on some of his business secrets from an early age, and by 19 years old she was helping him with his company and acquiring property of her own. In a complicated component of this story, Elisabeth used enslaved people to work her properties and grow her fortune, even though Elisabeth’s own mother and siblings had themselves been enslaved.
In 1736, Elisabeth was convicted of slander, which led to trouble with the colonial government for a number of years. She was forced into exile, but appealed the verdict in the Netherlands with the help of a lawyer hired by Frederick. Finally, in 1739, she was allowed to return home to Suriname, where she quickly acquired two small plantations and started building capital.
In her mid-twenties, Elisabeth started a romantic relationship with Carl Otto Creutz, an army cadet who came to Suriname in 1733 and started living with Maria and Frederick as well. In 1749, Carl received a 1000-acre land grant to build a plantation. Since Elisabeth had the capital and labor from her ongoing ventures, the pair formed a business relationship as well. The very next year, they created Plantation Clevia.
Though the couple never married or had children, they grew rich and successful together. Elisabeth took on all of the business responsibilities, including managing finances and enslaved labor, as well as writing letters and handling negotiations. Carl and Elisabeth lived lavishly in a home with chandeliers, fine japanese tea sets, and clothing made of the most expensive materials.
After Carl passed away in 1762, Elisabeth soldiered on, taking control of Carl’s half of the estate. She continued running the show with the help of her sister, Nanette.
Elisabeth was enormously successful without the help of a husband. Still, she sought the social standing that came with being married. There was only one problem: Black women weren’t allowed to marry white men in Suriname at the time, and all of Elisabeth’s chosen suitors were white.
In 1764, Elisabeth wrote to the Council of Policy and the governor, seeking permission to wed the man she had in mind. They rejected her request.
Elisabeth was never one to give up easily. She had her legal representatives in the Netherlands ask permission directly from the Society of Suriname. It took three years for the board to review her case, and Elisabeth’s suitor died in the interim, but in 1767, Elisabeth received a letter stating that interracial marriage was now allowed!
Elisabeth got married right away to a new partner named Hermanus Daniel Zobre. This made her the first Black woman in Suriname to marry a white man.
While Elisabeth was waiting for the decision on her marriage, she kept her business running smoothly and continued to acquire properties with her sister Nanette. They inherited two more plantations from another sister, and pooled their resources to purchase a third. They even commissioned their own ship, Miss Nanette and Miss Elisabeth, to perform shipments for their export business. Elisabeth had finally gained the marital status and business success that she had always strived for
On April 21st, 1771, Elisabeth passed away. She was buried with no headstone in Paramaribo.
Over the course of her lifetime, Elisabeth amassed a fortune of more than 1 million guilders in property and through exports. That’s more than $180 million in today’s currency. Most of this money went to her husband, who mortgaged the assets and fell into debt by the time he passed away.
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Special thanks to Liz Kaplan, my favorite sister and co-creator.
Talk to you tomorrow!