ABOUT BELIZE

Boarded by Mexico to the North and Guatemala to the West and South, Belize occupies a land area of 8,867 square miles. Belize is known for having the second largest living Barrier Reef in the world. A reef that stretches out 185 miles along the Eastern Coast of Belize.

Belize's barrier reef is home to approximately 70 hard corals and over 430 species of reef fish. Bearing in mind this abundance of marine life, alongside its tropical climate, beautiful breezes and friendly people, it is with this understanding that so many visitors who have discovered Belize have decided to return over and over again. Gorgeous Cayes border Belize from Corozal all the way down to Toledo giving you the chance to choose from many little islands away from the city or country. Some Cayes are more exclusive than others but each one promises its own unique touch of Belize. We have a diverse culture.

Numerous Archaeological Sites indicate that for hundreds of years Belize was heavily populated by a Mayan Civilization, whose relatively advanced population reached its height between A.D. 300 and 900. The civilization collapsed and many of the people migrated. In 1502, Columbus sailed into and named the Bay of Honduras but he did not actually visit the area later known as British Honduras.

The first indication of European settlement in the colony was 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. But 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 its name from British Honduras to Belize.