Driving on the Left

Guyana is a former British colony, and this is clearly why it's the only country on the South American mainland where they speak English, play cricket, and drive on the left.

Except, in the last case, for Surinam – which was a Dutch colony from the late 17th century, becoming fully independent only in 1975.

Wikipedia offers two possible explanations as to why Surinam may drive on the left. The first is that at the time of its colonization of Surinam, the Netherlands itself drove on the left; it also introduced the practice in the Dutch East Indies, now Indonesia. The second explanation is that Surinam was first colonized by the British, and for practical reasons, they continued to drive on the left when it came under Dutch administration. Although the Netherlands converted to driving to the right at the end of the 18th century, Surinam did not.

© Haydn Thompson 2018