History and Politics

HISTORY

The beautiful Maya ruin in the jungle at Caracao, Belize

The human history of Belize can be traced back 11,000 years, and is frequently divided into four major periods – the Maya period, Spanish invasion, English rule, and modern Belize.

The Maya shaped one of the most advanced societies ever to flourish in the ancient world.[1]  They had the only fully developed written language of pre-Colombian Americas, and at its peak, were the most densely populated and culturally dynamic societies in the world.

The Maya are one of only two societies to develop urban centers in a rainforest.[2]  This is particularly awe-inspiring considering the fact that the soil in the rainforest makes for poor agricultural land and as a result, their population density was necessarily low.  The Mayas are widely known for their incredible knowledge and advancements in technology, mathematics, astronomy, and wondrous architectural designs. Maya urban centers were not centers for commerce or politics, rather they were designed and built as religious centers.[3]  The basis of Maya religion is that of accommodating humanity to the cycles of the universe.[4]  Because the universe functions in a logical, predictable, cyclical way, as the Maya studied and understood, they were able to follow these cycles and maximize the benefits from nature.  Following the cycles of nature is one of the reasons the Maya were so keen on keeping time the way that they did.

Unexcavated temple mound at Lamanai

Over 600 Mayan sites have been discovered to date in Belize.  Excavation projects continue taking place all over Belize with new artifacts found daily, and even major sites being discovered on a regular basis.  On several tracts of remote land we have walked, we have seen evidence of large vegetation-covered earth mounds with crumbling stone as large as 20-40 feet, and buried broken pottery bits are a common site when backpacking and caving.  While only a fraction of the known sites are open to the public, those that are accessible provide more than a glimpse of how spectacular this civilization was and how much a part of Belizean history they are.

The Lamanai Archaeological Zone, situated in the New River Lagoon, is unique because the Maya occupied it from 1500 B.C. to the 1800s, whereas most of the world’s other Mayan sites were abandoned around 900A.D.  This makes Lamanai one of the oldest and longest occupied Mayan sites in the world.

Although the height of the Mayan civilization was several centuries ago, the Maya people remain—there were 6 million Maya living in southern Mexico and Central America at the beginning of the 21^st century.[5]  Maya in Belize live mainly in the Cayo and Toledo districts and are distinguished by three groups: Yucatec, Ketchi, and Mopan.

The first European settlers in Belize were shipwrecked English sailors, buccaneers, and pirates who set up trade posts along the coast.  These first British settlers were called Baymen, and they cut and exported logwood to Europe.  This motley crew made Belize their home base, from where they could most easily harass the Spanish, looting ships for gold, silver, and other goods moving to and from Central American countries. 

The Maya ruins at Tikal, just a few minutes from the Belizean border.

The Spanish invaded Belize several times in the 16^th and 17^th centuries but were never able to conquer the Belizeans or the Baymen.  The Spanish stopped trying after the Battle of St. George where English Baymen and Belizeans fought side by side to victory.  What’s even more noteworthy than their win, is how they decided to show up for the battle in the first place. The decision to defend was a result of the largest public meeting ever held in Belize, and took place after a year of debate as to whether or not they should fight. In the end, the vote was decided by the “Free Black” men of Belize.[6]  The Flowers families were the leaders of the Free Black men, who had been given their freedom by their longtime master William Flowers.  After the Battle of St. George, the English assumed more and more responsibility and signed a treaty with Spain in the 18^th century allowing the English to continue logging the land if they agreed to stop looting the Spanish galleons.[7]  In 1862, Great Britain officially declared Belize its colony, named it “British Honduras” and encouraged people from the British Empire to move there.

In 1981, the colony of British Honduras officially became the independent British Commonwealth nation of Belize. Today Belizeans celebrate the Battle of St. George’s Caye, on September 10th in addition to their Independence Day celebration on September 21^st, with three weeks of festivities!

POLITICS[8]

Belize is governed by a multi-party parliamentary democratic government, currently dominated by two parties, the People’s United Party (PUP) and the United Democratic Party (UDP).   Queen Elizabeth II serves as the head of state and is represented in-country by the governor general, Sir Colville Norbert Young, Sr. The honorable Dean Barrow serves as Belize’s prime minister, heading the executive branch, or Cabinet, and the legislative branch.  Cabinet Ministers are elected from the majority political party.  The legislative branch consists of a House of Representatives (31 members) and a Senate (12 members).  The government exercises the executive and legislative power, and the judiciary system is independent and based on English common law.

The first general election was held in 1954, and the PUP won on a pro-independence platform. The PUP later divided over political relations and diplomatic ties with other nations, notably the United States, Cuba, and Nicaragua.  Now there are several political parties including the more conservative UDP. These two parties have dominated the elections since gaining independence in 1981.

Citizens over the age of 18 can vote.  There are six districts in Belize: Belize, Cayo, Corozal, Orange Walk, Stann Creek, and Toledo, each with a major town, and elected officials who represent the people of the district.  Smaller village councils and village leaders are also elected.

Although Belize enjoys a long history of political and social stability, often times Belize is unfairly lumped with its neighbors (Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador) who currently struggle with problems such as corruption, violent crime, and drugs.   Instead, the common negative international perceptions of the Belizean government seem to more closely match those of the United States, focusing on governmental officials accepting bribes for personal gain, governmental misappropriation of funds, economic disparity between the rich and poor (Central America is the highest in the world), and officials increasingly sacrificing previous environmental protections (such as protected lands) for personal gain.

Image courtesy of Aplonio Mai, wildbze.com

Occasional rumblings persist about the unrest over land rights with neighboring Guatemala. Guatemala has been claiming their right to half of Southern Belize ever since the Spanish conquerors left—despite having signed a treaty with Britain in 1859 that gave Britain sole rights to the land, provided they build a road linking Guatemala with the Caribbean coast.  This road is a source of conflict for Guatemala because they want access to the fabulous fishing in the Caribbean. Although the treaty still stands, Britain never built the road, further exacerbating Guatemala’s political unrest with Belize; Guatemala did not formally recognize Belize as an independent state until 1992 on account of the disputed land rights. In 2001, Guatemala and Belize signed an agreement over the disputed land and fishing rights but the debate still springs up now and again.

Belize is internationally known for an excellent human rights record and tolerance of different religions and ethnicities.  Freedom of press is encouraged, practiced, and supported throughout the country. Belize is unique in Central America, second only to Costa Rica in terms of government, political stability, and safety.