History of Belize

Maya of Belize:

Originating in the Yucatan Peninsula in about 2600 BC, the Maya reached the height of their civilization by 250 A.D. The Maya were great builders, artisans, innovators and administrators. The Maya developed an astronomical system, calendars, writing and built many large city states in the Jungle. Skilled weavers and potters, the Maya fostered extensive trade routes and networks that reached many distant cultures.

For reasons still not fully understood the Maya abandoned their cities by 900 A.D. and were integrated into the Toltec society by 1200 AD. Although the Maya dynasty came to a close, some centers and remnants survived to the time of the Spanish conquest in the 1600’s. In fact the Maya people and culture survive to this day.

There are over 600 archaeological sites in Belize alone. Minutes away from Belize Lodge’s Indian Creek lodge lies the important archeological Maya site of Nim Li Punit (Big Hat), featuring one of the largest carved monuments in the Maya territory. Belize Lodge & Excursions also hosts tours to other Maya sites including Caracol, Xunantunich and Lubanntun (Place of Fallen Stones), a major trading center for the region and in ancient time producing large quantities of Cacao (chocolate).

Other major Maya sites found in Belize include: Altun Ha, Cahal Pech, Cerros, El Pilar, Lamanai, Louisville, Santa Rita, Uxbenka.

Early European:

Originally inhabited by the Amerindians and then the Maya civilization, the first European landing and contact with the indigenous culture on Belize was made by Spanish shipwreck survivors in 1511, some years after Columbus in 1502, which sailed the coast of Belize but never landed.

The shipwreck survivors were quickly taken as slaves or killed by the Maya, but one of their numbers, Gonzalo Guerrero married into the royal Mayan family of Nachankan and assumed the Mayan lifestyle and culture. The children of the marriage are regarded as the first mestizos (mixed American-European ethnicity) in the Americas.

The early European settled history revolved around the logging of Mahogany and logwood (used as a dye in the European textile industry) found in the jungles on land originally granted to the English by the Spanish Crown. In 1798 with the United Kingdom and Spain at war, the Spanish Governor-General of Yucatan sent 32 warships to evict the British Colonists. The ensuing battles in and around the Islands and Bays of the coast of Belize is known as the “Battle of St. Georges Caye” and is still celebrated as a national holiday every September 10th.

The Colony was renamed to the Colony of British Honduras and became a crown colony of the United Kingdom in 1871. Subsequently in more modern times Belize attained a type of representational independence in the early 60’s followed by full independence in 1981.