"France and the Netherlands were both important European colonial powers in the nineteenth century. This book, based primarily on archival research, is a contribution to the study of the relations between France and the Netherlands overseas in the nineteenth century. It focuses on those regions of the world where these two nations shared colonial borderlands: the island of St Martin in the Caribbean, the Gold Coast in Africa, and French Guiana and Surinam in South America. The border question in these regions is dealt with in the European context of colonial and international policy, as well as in the local context. The work addresses Franco-Dutch relations in the colonies, but also the interactions with the slaves on St Martin, the peoples of the Gold Coast (Ashanti, Agni of Sanwi, Fanti and Apollonians or Nzema), and the Maroons such as the Boni (Aluku) and the Ndyuka in the Guianese interior."--Jacket.