About the People, Land & History of Belize

Estimates put Belize's population at around 300,000 with 65,000 living in Belize City .... with the main ethnic groups Mestizo (43.7%), Creole (29.8%), Maya (11.1%), and Garifuna (6.6%). Each of the other ethnic groups account for less than five percent of the population (East Indian 3.5% and German/Dutch/Mennonite 3.1%). All the rest account for 2.2%. Ethnic groups, however, are heavily intermixed.

English is the official language and the language of instruction in schools. Spanish is also widely spoken. In Orange Walk and Corozal Districts in the north and Cayo District border towns, near Guatemala in the west, are where a majority of people speak Spanish as a mother tongue. For many in the southern districts of Stann Creek and Toledo, the first language is Garifuna or Maya.

Most everyone in Belize speaks an English dialect, called Creole. A recent census indicated 54.3% of the Belizean population to be very fluent in English, 22.5% not so fluent and 23.2% not fluent at all. 43.9% are very fluent in Spanish, 11.1% not so fluent and 45% not fluent at all.

The Land

Belize lies on the East Coast of Central America and is bounded on the north and part of the west by Mexico and on the south and the remainder of the west by Guatemala. 

Belize's shallow coastal waters are sheltered by a line of coral reefs, with many small islands, called Cayes, ranging in size from a few hundred feet to 25 miles long and four miles wide; most of which are located inside the 200 mile Belize Barrier Reef.

A low coastal plain, much of it covered with mangrove swamp, typifies the coastline. Total land area measures 8,866 sq. miles, including 266 sq. miles of islands, roughly the size of the state of Massachusetts.

The Northern plains, once under water, are swampy near the coast, then rise to a slight plateau in the west. Today the terrain is crisscrossed by waterways and much of the Corozal and Orange Walk area is heavily cultivated in sugar cane.

Central Belize's sandy soil supports large savannas. The Rio Bravo Conservation Area is located here. This area, largely uninhabited, supports an abundance of wildlife.

Southwest from Belize City, the land begins to rise gradually towards the interior. Cayo District, with San Ignacio and Belmopan in the west, is home to the Mountain Pine Ridge at 305 to 914 meters above sea level.

The Maya Mountains and Cockscomb Range form the backbone of the southern half of the country. Doyles's Delight, located in the Cockscomb Range is the highest point in Belize at 1,124 meters above sea level.

Southern Belize, with its watershed to the southeast of the Maya Mountains, consists of many steep rivers carrying sand, clay, and silt, which have enriched the coastal belt over the years. This has allowed the area to develop significant agricultural products such as citrus and bananas.  Along with an annual rainfall of some 170 inches, southern Belize has a true tropical rainforest that is rich with ferns, palms, and tropical hardwoods.

History in Brief ....

Numerous ruins indicate that for hundreds of years Belize was heavily populated by around one million Maya, whose relatively advanced civilization reached its height between AD. 250 and 900. Today a small population still exists in Belize, predominantly in Toledo, the southern-most district.

The first reference to European settlement came in 1638. British logwood cutters, known as the Baymen, were the first Europeans to settle in the area. The Baymen were dependent on slave labor for their logwood operations. Logwood was used to produce purple and red dyes.

These early settlements were subjected to attacks from neighboring Spanish settlements for the next 150 years. It was not until 1763 that Spain, in the Treaty of Paris, allowed British settlers to engage in the logwood industry. However, Spanish attacks continued until a decisive victory was won by settlers, with British naval support, in the Battle of St. George's Caye in 1798. After that, British control over the settlement gradually increased.

Constitutional advances came in 1834 with the emancipation of slaves.
In 1871 British Honduras was formally declared a British Colony and the Crown Colony System of Government implemented.

In 1954 came the introduction of Universal Adult Suffrage and an elected majority in the legislature. The Ministerial System was adopted in 1961, leading to Self Government in 1964. In 1973 Belize changed it's name from British Honduras to Belize.

Belize achieved full independence on September 21, 1981. Belize is now a member of the Commonwealth, the United Nations, OAS and the Association of Caribbean States.

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