| From
the 4th to 9th century, the ancient Mayan
civilization flourished in Belize, reaching an estimated population
of 400,000 in the country at its peak.
The Mayans were excellent craftsmen, skilled at making pottery,
carving jade and crafting elaborate costumes of feathers, but are
perhaps most famous for their incredible mathematical systems and
calendars and their use of a complex writing system that is still
not completely deciphered. In
the 10th century however, the Belize population began suffering
a mysterious decline and most immigrated to Yucatan.
But there were still many inhabitants in Belize when the Spanish
arrived and began conquering much of the Americas in the 16th
century. The Spaniards
tried to control Belize as well, but the Mayan warriors held them
back. Even though the Spanish never managed to get a lasting hold
on the area, they further decimated the Mayan population with the
spreading of European diseases.
By
the time the English arrived in Belize, there were no more
Mayans living along the coast and it wasn’t until the late 18th
century that their records show any contact with the once great civilization.
The first English on Belize were pirates and adventurers
who eventually turned to cutting logwood which was used to
produce a dye for wool. This
would be the economic basis for the English settlement in Belize for
over a hundred years. The
log cutters were frequently attacked by the Spanish who by
then had conquered nearly all of South America, and who claimed that
Belize was rightfully theirs.
Although England and Spain signed
the Treaty of Paris in 1763, which allowed the British settlers to
continue cutting logwood in Belize; it wasn’t until 1798, when
a small contingent of British soldiers defeated the Spanish in a
battle on tiny St. George's Caye, that Spain put a permanent end
to the claim of territorial rights in Belize.
In
1821, Spain granted independence to Mexico and Guatemala; both countries
asserted claims to Belize which were rejected by the British government.
England declared Belize to be the colony of British Honduras
in 1861, which encouraged people from several parts of the English
Empire to come and settle in Belize.
During
the Great Depression, the economy of Belize suffered horribly.
Throughout the country, poverty and unemployment were all too
evident. The situation
worsened when in 1931 a major hurricane swept through the
area, killing thousands of people and causing further economic problems.
The
worsening economy led to agitation for independence
from England. Several
political parties were formed and strengthened over the years,
and on September 21, 1981, the colony of British Honduras
became the independent nation of Belize.
Guatemala, which had been hoping to reclaim the country
since 1821, refused to acknowledge Belize’s independence
and even threatened war.
It wasn’t until 1991 that Guatemala dropped
its claims on Belize and officially recognized its independence.
Since then, the two countries have finally established
full diplomatic relations. |
