Berbice Dutch is one of two recently rediscovered Dutch-based Creole languages spoken in Guyana. It is spoken in the county of Berbice, which corresponds to the former Dutch colony of Berbice, founded in the early seventeenth century.This language possesses certain features that make it unique in comparison to other European language-based Creoles spoken in the Atlantic region. Because of these unique features, it represents a promising test case for the presence of substrate influence, and as such, is of obvious relevance for the present creolist debate between substratists and universalists.The article discusses four different conceivable hypotheses to explain the origin of Berbice Dutch. The first of these assumes that a mixed Dutch-Kalabari trading jargon was developed in Africa as a result of the operations of the slave traders, and that this formed the basis of Berbice Dutch.The second hypothesis depends critically on the ethnic homogeneity of the slaves. This hypothesis would assume that the planters/overseers in Berbice attempted to learn those aspects of Eastern Ijo that could be utilized on the plantations.The third hypothesis assumes that Berbice Dutch is genetically descended from Eastern Ijo, but that this is not obvious due to large-scale relexification.The fourth hypothesis assumes that Eastern Ijo was replaced by Berbice Dutch under the catalysing influence of (creole) Dutch, rather as the fully inflected Romani language was replaced in England by the creolized Angloromani under the catalysing influence of English.The hypothesis that is selected as probably the best is the fourth, where it

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