Fort Nieuw Amsterdam is located at the junction of the Suriname river and the Commewijne river. It was supposed to be a barricade to protect the crops from the river between 1734 to 1747. The materials used to construct the fort were supplied by the Netherlands and built by the slaves.

It was also a former sugar cane plantation. In the second world war, the Americans and the Dutch armies helped defend Suriname from the Germans. The Germans were interested in the supply of aluminum from Suriname.

Suriname maintained the fort and made it an outdoor museum for people to learn about the colonial and slavery period.