The Guianas were first settled by the Surinen people of the Americas, followed by Amerindian tribes. The first European colonizers were the Spanish in 1593, then came the Dutch from 1602, the English and French colonizers would also join the scramble for the Guianas. By the time the dust had settled from European wars and associated land trading, the British had control of British Guiana (1831), the French had French Guiana, and the Dutch had control over a third part known as Suriname. Slaves in different parts of Guiana were freed in different years: slaves of the British were released in 1840, slaves of the French were released in 1848 and those of the Dutch were emancipated in 1863. British Guiana gained its independence in 1966, Suriname gained its independence from the Dutch Government in 1975, and French Guiana is still a French colony.