Belize History and Culture

LOCATION

Belize, in Central America, is a small nation on the eastern coast of Central America on the Caribbean Sea, bordered by Mexico to the northwest and Guatemala to the west and south. The country is a parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy which recognizes Queen Elizabeth II as Sovereign.

HISTORY

The only English-speaking country in Central America, Belize was a British colony for more than a century and was known as British Honduras until 1973. It became an independent nation in 1981.

According to the latest census, Belize's population is close to 300,000, and much of that number is multiracial and multiethnic. The Maya are the most established of all ethnic groupings, having been in Belize and the Yucatan region since the 500's AD. White English and Scottish settlers entered the area in the 1630's to cut logwood for export and began settling down. The first African slaves began arriving from elsewhere in the Caribbean and Africa and began intermarrying with whites and each other, to create the Creole ethnic grouping. After 1800, Mestizo settlers from Mexico and Guatemala began to settle in the North; the Garifuna, a mix of African and Carib ancestry, settled in the South by way of Honduras not long after that.

Currently, Mestizos comprise 50% of the population, and Creoles 25%. The rest is a mix of Maya, Garifuna, Mennonite Dutch/German farmers, Central Americans, whites from America, and most recently black Africans and Cubans brought to assist the country's development

The Maya civilization spread over Belize between 1500 BC and 300 AD and flourished until about 900 AD. European settlement began with British privateers and shipwrecked English seamen as early as 1638.

 'Black Caribs' came to be states that in 1635, two Spanish ships carrying slaves to the West Indies from what is now Nigeria were shipwrecked near the island of Saint Vincent. The slaves escaped the sinking boat and reached the shores of the island, where they were welcomed by the Caribs, who offered their protection. Their intermarriage formed the Garinagu people, known as the Garifuna today. The name was derived from "Kalipuna", one of the Island Carib names for themselves. In addition to shipwrecked Africans or early explorer Africans, the Caribs also captured slaves when they raided the British and French on neighbouring islands, and many of them were eventually adopted into the tribe.

ECONOMY

The small, essentially private enterprise economy is based primarily on agriculture, agro-based industry, and merchandising, with tourism and construction assuming greater importance. Sugar, the chief crop, accounts for nearly half of exports, while the banana industry is the country's largest employer. Citrus production has become a major industry along the Hummingbird Highway.

Belize is a predominantly Christian society.

SCHOOLING

The Belizean school system was based on British education and was broken into three levels: primary, secondary, and tertiary. Belizean children began their eight years of primary education with two years of "infant" classes, followed by six "standards." Secondary education was divided into four "forms." Sixth form was a two-year postsecondary course, originally intended to prepare students for the Cambridge Advanced or "A-Level" examinations. Since the early 1970s, sixth-form institutions have also bestowed Associate of Arts degrees sanctioned by the United States Association of Junior Colleges.

In His Will Ministries was co-founded by Carmen and Faye McBride and Michael and Vicky Coverdale (the McBride's daughter) in early 2001.  Both Couples felt God's call to reach out to the people of Belize and have made Belize their home. Both couples have had extensive experience in missions and church work.

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