Dutch colonisation of the Guianas – the coastal region between the Orinoco and Amazon rivers in South America – began in the early 16th century. The Dutch originally claimed all of Guiana (also called De wilde kust, the "Wild Coast") but – following attempts to sell it first to Bavaria and then to Hanau and the loss of sections to Portugal, Britain, and France – the section actually settled and controlled by the Netherlands became known as Dutch Guiana (Dutch: Nederlands-Guiana).