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Belize

Belize is a vibrant subtropical country in Central America with a 2007 population of about 300,000 people. It is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the east, Mexico to the north, and Guatemala to the west and south. Internally, Belize is separated into districts that feature vastly different landscapes and are home to a varied array of races and ethnicities. These districts are (from north to south) Corozal, Orange Walk, Belize, Cayo, Stann Creek, and Toledo. The Belize Barrier Reef, located five miles offshore, provides a safe haven to tropical fauna and a number of small habitable islands called cayes (pronounced “keys”). This entry discusses the racial and ethnic groups that make up today's Belizean population and their history in the country.

Early History

Belize has its origins within the Mayan civilization from around 2,000 BC. There is evidence that the Olmec civilization also inhabited the region before its mysterious disappearance around 1050 BC. Profitability of the New World and land initiatives brought Spanish conquistadores to the region. In the 15th century, under the command of Hernan Cortez and with the help of slave labor purchased from Jamaica, the Spanish subdued the Maya and brought the region under the rule of the Spanish crown. Around the end of the 16th century, British mercenaries and investors began logging ventures in the Belizean rain forest.

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In the 17th century, the rising profits from lumber exports, such as mahogany and other hardwood, sparked the war that culminated in the Battle of St. Georges Caye, in 1798. This famous battle between the Spanish and the British marked the turning point in the war, leading to British victory. The region afterward was officially named British Honduras and was recorded as an English colony. England ruled the colony until Belize gained its independence in 1981.

Population by Race and Ethnicity

The British

Even at the peak of colonization in 1788, only 3% of the population of Belize was British. Colonial management relied on slave labor and feudalism to maximize profits from agricultural products. During the height of colonialism, the population consisted mostly of African slaves and Mayan Indians. Small populations of people with Mayan and Spanish heritage, called Mestizos, also existed at the time. The Mestizo and Maya survived by becoming subsistence farmers or working in the English logging or fruit industries, having being blocked from international trade by the monopolization of land and strict laws regarding the use of land. Land in Belize could be used for logging or subsistence farming only, marginalizing the production of other marketable goods and maintaining English control of the colony. Currently, the European population in Belize is 0.8%.

The Creole

The Creoles of Belize are descendants of Africans, mainly from West Africa, and European colonists. The Creoles arrived in Belize due to an increased need for labor in the lumber industry and for security against Mayan uprisings. The influx of slaves from Jamaica caused the African population to swell to a majority, which was maintained until the late 1990s, when their numbers were superseded by those of the Mestizo.

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