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About Belize
About the History
Maya Indians inhabited the area that is now Belize through about 1000 A.D. Little is known about the time from then until Spain claimed the area in the 1520's. In 1638 British sailors were shipwrecked and established the first settlement in the area. Other British colonies were established until Britain made the area a colony and named it British Honduras. It was made a self-governing territory in 1964 and renamed Belize in 1973. Belize became in indepenent nation on September 21, 1981.
About Belize Today
Belize has a democratically elected parliamentary government and is a British Commonwealth member.
It borders Mexico on the north, Guatemala to the west and south and the Caribbean Sea to the east.
It is Central America's second smallest nation after El Salvador with an area of 8,866 square miles (slightly larger than Masschusetts). About 45% of Belize is covered with rain forest. It has the second largest barrier reef in the world (185 miles).
Belize is divided into six districts: Corozal, Orange Walk, Cayo, Belize, Stann Creek and Toledo.
Hurricaine Hattie devastated Belize City, the capital city, on October 31, 1961 and plans were made to move tha capital to a safer location. It was offically moved in 1970 to Belmopan (population: 7100) which is about 50 miles southwest of Belize City and is at an elevation of 76 meters.
About the People
Belize is the least populated country in Central America with approximately 250,000. About one third of the population lives in Belize City.
Belize is the only Central American nation where English is the offical language. In the north Spanish is the first language of a majority of the people and is now, due to recent immigration, the native tongue of about half of the people. Other commonly heard languages include Garifuna, three Maya Indian languages and Mennonite German.
The population is split between Catholic (62%) and Protestant (28%) with a smaller number of Muslim, Bahai, Seventh Day Adventist and others.
Belize is the most ethnically and culturally diverse nation in Central America. It is made up of Maya Indians, Creoles, Metizos, Garifunas, Chinese, East Indians and Mennonites. So varied is this ethnic medley that no single group can claim a majority.
- Maya - Once the original inhabitants of Belize, Maya Indians now represent only about 15% of the county's population. The Maya living in Belize today are largely descended from Guatemalan and Mexican Maya.
- Creoles - Descendants of African slaves and early white settlers, Creoles today make up about 30% of Belize's population. Creole also refers to the English patois spoken throughout Belize.
- Mestizos - Spanish-speaking descendants of American Indians and early Spanish settlers now make up roughly 33% of Belize's population.
- Garifuna - The Garifuna (guh-RIHF-uhnuh) people are descendants of African slaves and Carib Indians. The Garifuna were deported by the British in 1796 to Honduras but during the civil war there in 1832 many of them migrated back to Belize where they worked as mahogany cutters.
- Chinese - Chinese immigrants arrived in British Honduras in 1865. Although they are a tiny ethnic minority, Chinese-Belizeans are a visible presence in most towns. Quite a few have Spanish surnames, adopted by immigrants who lived in Guatemala or Mexico prior to entering Belize.
- East Indians - East Indians came originally to British Honduras as the servants of colonial administrators or as deportees following the bloody Sepoy Rebellion. The present-day town of Calcutta, just south or Corozal, bears witness to those who worked as indentured servants on sugar plantations during the 1880's. East Indians comprise about 2% of the country's population.
- Mennonites - Mennonite farmers first immigrated to British Honduras in the late 1950's. Most Mennonites still speak a low German diaelect called Plattdeutsch, dress plainly and live a simple agrarian life. They make up about 3% of the population and live in their own largely self-contained communities, with major settlements in the Orange Walk Districts (Shipyard) and the Cayo District (Spanish Lookout).
About the Economy
Logwood, a source of black dye, was the main export through the late 1700's. Demand for logwood ended when the dyes were replaced by synthetics and logwood was replaced by mahogany as the main export for the next 150 years. Eventually without a good forestry policy the mahogany supplies ran low and by the 1950's mahogany was replaced by cane sugar as the number one export. Today tourism is the number one industry followed by marine products, citrus, cane sugar, bananas, and garments. Belize's barrier reef makes it one of the premier places in the world for diving.
