What would the Suriname of 2017 look like if it had remained Dutch?

Pretty much as the tin says. With a POD of Suriname remaining as either a constituent kingdom of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands ore fully integrating into the Netherlands as a province, how would Suriname/Dutch Guiana have developed since the 1970s?
 
Very similar to French Guiana. Reasonably well-developed coastal civilization with an impenetrable rainforest interior.

Guiana as is has economic issues because it's part of the EU and subject to its rules and standards, so it can't trade very well with surrounding countries but also not with Europe because of the distance involved. Two areas being in the EU though in northern South America that border each other...they might be able to form a bit of a bloc and get some economy of scale going, making the cost of living cheaper. Could lead to more immigration to both.
 
Very similar to French Guiana. Reasonably well-developed coastal civilization with an impenetrable rainforest interior.

Guiana as is has economic issues because it's part of the EU and subject to its rules and standards, so it can't trade very well with surrounding countries but also not with Europe because of the distance involved. Two areas being in the EU though in northern South America that border each other...they might be able to form a bit of a bloc and get some economy of scale going, making the cost of living cheaper. Could lead to more immigration to both.

Do you think the Netherlands would have been able to swing to get Dutch Guiana to be the launching site for EU space stuff instead of French Guiana?
 
Do you think the Netherlands would have been able to swing to get Dutch Guiana to be the launching site for EU space stuff instead of French Guiana?

As I wonder on a Germany that survives a stalemated Great War I had the future problem of where to do such stuff as build a Spaceport, Peenemunde might suffice for R&D and polar orbit launches but it also overflies neutrals and has to send shudders into Russia each launch after nuclear weaponry is developed, thus I had to conjure back the colonies, especially East Africa or find an alternative. Given that a Kaiserreich Germany would have better relations with the Netherlands I postulated that it would seek to deepen those ties until it becomes obvious that Dutch Guiana is a good place for Germany to build a space infrastructure. Part of this might be that Germany gets dependent upon oil from DEI and begins to put support into Holland's colonial prowess before Guiana gets on the horizon thus keeping it in orbit. My hazy thinking is that France falls under Britain or the USA in the future space race and likely never develops French Guiana. So I see it as getting a massive influx of investment akin to how Cocoa Beach, Florida boomed as the Cape got built, it should look very much like modern French Guiana with a lot of Europeans living there, resorts, local industry to support the Space Center, retired workers, daily flights to Europe, and so on.
 
Do you think the Netherlands would have been able to swing to get Dutch Guiana to be the launching site for EU space stuff instead of French Guiana?

Don't think so. France had a lot more sway in the EU and from what I understand Kourou is perfect for launches to an extent difficult to replicate anywhere else. Not sure exactly why off the top of my head.
 
Don't think so. France had a lot more sway in the EU and from what I understand Kourou is perfect for launches to an extent difficult to replicate anywhere else. Not sure exactly why off the top of my head.

The closer to the Equator you launch a rocket, the less it has to accelerate to reach orbit(unless you're talking about some other factor regarding Kourou). This means heavier payload with same fuel load, or lesser fuel load for the same payload.
 
The closer to the Equator you launch a rocket, the less it has to accelerate to reach orbit(unless you're talking about some other factor regarding Kourou). This means heavier payload with same fuel load, or lesser fuel load for the same payload.

Yeah, that's it. Guiana is closer to the equator than Suriname so it'll definitely still be there.
 
Do you think the Netherlands would have been able to swing to get Dutch Guiana to be the launching site for EU space stuff instead of French Guiana?
No. The difference in latitude between Suriname and Kourou is not decisive (it amounts to a few dozen meters per second at most--practically nothing, in space terms), but what is decisive is the fact that France was the prime mover in European space efforts in the late 1960s and early 1970s and Kourou, of course, was French. With the British quitting the field, it was going to be French rockets being launched, and it was only reasonable to locate the launch pad in France (Guiana).
 
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