Caribbean Community Information

Belize:

Belize (Formerly British Honduras)
Capital City: Belmopan
Ethnic group: Mestizo 48.7%, Creole 24.9%, Maya 10.6%, Garifuna 6.1%, other 9.7%
Language: English (official); Spanish, Creole, Mayan dialects, Garifuna (Carib) and German.

The earliest inhabitants of Belize were the Mayans who occupied the land from as early as 2600 BC, there is still evidence of several Mayan relics/cities in the country today. Belize was sighted by Christopher Columbus in 1502 when he sailed along the coast, but he made no attempt to colonize the country. Around 1638 English pirates were the first to settle in the country when they were shipwrecked along the coast and used the country as their base to raid Spanish ships during the 17th and 18th century. The settlements grew and new settlers took up residences along the coasts they were called the Baymen. For more than 150 years several English settlements were established, this period was also marked by indiscriminate logging (of logwood and mahogany), sporadic attacks by Indians and from neighboring Spanish colonies. Spain never liked the idea of British 'squatting' on her land and this led to frequent wars between the Spanish and British settlers. On September 15, 1779 the Spanish captured St. George's Caye, where most of the settlers lived, 140 British prisoners and 250 slaves were captured and shipped to Havana.

The British drove the Mayans from their lands so that they could harvest the logwood and mahogany in the areas surrounding their villages. The settlers saw the natives as an obstacle to their thriving mahogany business. They felt the Mayans (and the Garifuna who were descendants of slaves that were deported from St. Vincent and the Grenadines around 1796) were a cheap labour, and thus tried to enslave them. When that did not work they prevented them from owning any land (despite the fact the land was their ancestral land to being with). In 1857 the British told the Garifuna that they must obtain leases from the crown or risk losing their lands, dwellings, and other buildings. In 1867, Governor Austin ruled that "No Indians will be at liberty to reside upon or occupy or cultivate any land without previous payment or engagement to pay rent whether to the Crown or the owner of the land". The 1872 Crown Lands Ordinance established reservations for the Mayans and Garifuna.

When the British failed in their efforts to enslave the natives they introduced slavery around 1650s, whereby slaves from neighbouring Jamaica, the United States and other British controlled islands in the Caribbean were brought in to work in the forest cutting logwood and mahogany - the latter had become a major export by this time. Slavery, as such developed differently in Belize from other parts of the British Caribbean where slaves and their families worked and lived on the sugar and coffee plantations. Slaves in Belize worked in scattered gangs in the forests, separated from their families in Belize City. However, there were similarities in the way the colonial masters had control over the lives of their slaves since they were considered personal property.

Up to 1850 African slaves in Belize still identified themselves according to the tribes they belonged to. There were the "Congoes, Nangoes, Mongolas, Ashantees, Eboes, and other African tribes". At first, many slaves maintained their African ethnic languages and cultural practices. Gradually, however, the process of assimilation created a new 'Creole' culture. Throughout the first half of the 19th century one section of Belize Town was known as Eboe Town. It is said that the town consisted of numerous 'yards', flanked with long rows of separate rooms under one roof called 'Negro houses' which were the slaves quarters and which later were used to house the poorer labourers.

The country formally became a British colony in 1862 and on June 1973, the official name of the colony was changed from British Honduras to Belize. Belize was the last possession of the British Empire in the Americas; territorial disputes between the United Kingdom and Guatemala delayed the independence of Belize until 1981. This dispute originated from Spain's claim to all territories in "New World" West of the line established in 1494 under the Treaty of Tordesillas. It was only in 1992 that Guatemala recognized Belize.

The government of Belize is strengthening its potential for economic and political development by fostering closer ties with the Spanish-speaking countries of Central America while at the same time it is trying to reinforce historical ties with the English-speaking Caribbean countries. In this respect Belize has joined Central American countries in the signing of the Central American-United States of America Joint Declaration (CONCAUSA) which calls for the support of the sustainable regional development of Central America through increased competitiveness in global markets and improved environmental management. Belize also assumed the presidency of the Central America Integration System (SICA) from July 1 - December, 2003, and gained membership to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) on May 1st 1974.

Sandwiched between Mexico and Guatemala, Belize has attracted the attention of some of the world's most rich and powerful individuals. Foremost among them is Lord (Michael) Ashcroft, a British national who grew up in Belize and who has long been the dominant businessman in the country. He was Belize's representative to the United Nations from 1998 to 2000 he is now deputy chairman of Britain's Conservative Party. More recently, Venezuela's Hugo Chavez has taken an avid interest in Belize, with the recently concluded general elections the Belize government unwrapped a $10 million gift from Mr. Chavez last month (February 2008). Police and soldiers had to hold back the rush at a local office of the ruling party as voters clamoured for handouts of hundreds of dollars, ostensibly to help defray housing costs. Dean Barrow - the country's first black Prime Minister - a shrewd and energetic lawyer, while miffed by Chavez political clumsiness he has taken full advantage of Venezuela's subsidised oil. Mr. Barrow is similarly diplomatic about Lord Ashcroft, who retains Belizean citizenship and controls the country's biggest bank and its near-monopoly telecoms firm. Some locals resent Ashcroft influence in the country.

Tourism is the country's number one foreign exchange earner followed by exports of marine products, citrus, cane sugar, bananas, and garments. The government's expansionary monetary and fiscal policies, initiated in September 1998, led to sturdy GDP growth averaging nearly 4% during the years 1999 through 2007. Added to this, oil discoveries in 2006 further strengthened the economic growth in 2006 and 2007. The sizable trade deficit and unsustainable foreign debt will continue to be of major concerns to the new government. In February 2007, the government restructured nearly all of its public external commercial debt, which will reduce interest payments and create the liquidity relief needed for an increase in public spending. A key short-term objective remains the reduction of poverty with the help of international donors.

According to the 2008 Freedom of Economic Index published by the Heritage Foundation and the Wall Street Journal, Belize's economy is 62.8 percent free which makes it the world's 61st freest economy. Its overall score is 0.4 percentage point lower than last year. Belize is ranked 14th out of 29 countries in the Americas. Belize is similar to the rest of the world in nearly all economic freedoms. Despite a high top income tax rate, corporate taxes are low, and government tax revenue is not particularly large as a percentage of GDP. Meanwhile, Transparency International latest report on Corruption Perception Index (CPI) places Belize at number 99 (out of 179 countries) number one being the least corrupt and number 179 the country with the most corruption. This ranking places Belize at number 10 among the CARICOM member states on the CPI.

For basic facts and figures (CLICK THE ABOVE IMAGE)

Current concerns for the government is that Belize is becoming a major transshipment point for cocaine; a haven for the production of cannabis primarily for local consumption; money laundering activities related to narcotics trafficking and offshore financial services. This situation is further compounded with high unemployment rate, increasing urban crimes, and high incidences of HIV/AIDS virus.