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The Maya: Archaeological discoveries indicated that the first settlers in Belize were an Amerindian race of Mongolian origin who arrived about1500 B.C. ad are now referred to as the Ancient Maya. They depended on corn as a staple food crop and seasonally destroyed the broadleaf forest to plant their crops. The construction of terraces and the draining of swampland allowed the Maya to increase their farming activity.
The more densely populated Maya settlements were concentrated in the limestone foothills were there was an abundance of low, rounded ridges or hillocks used for house sites, permanent water supplies and easy access to deposits of clay for making pots and other utensils.
European settlements: By the time European settlers arrived the Maya population had dwindled markedly. In 1524 during an overland march from Mexico to Honduras, Cortez records few Maya habitations and no large villages encountered in Belize. It is believed that the earliest European contact with the Maya in Belize did not occur until about 1600 A.D. during mahogany expeditions along the larger rivers which penetrated inland to the foothills.
The coastal mangroves afforded good cover to buccaneers, while river mouths provided access to fresh water, and sheltered beaches allowed ships to be hauled for repairs and maintenance. Repeated visits by some ships to favored localities led to the establishment of small permanent coastal settlements.
By 1638, when Belize city was founded, a profitable transatlantic trade in logwood had been established and small family farms began to spread inland along the navigable rivers. Mahogany extraction contributed to the income of the settlers and land was cleared to provide grazing area for the oxen which hauled the logs. Sugar cane was planted to provide domestic sugar and citrus and mango plots yielded fresh fruit.
Trading ships began to make regular visits and when piracy was banned many buccaneers took the transition to commerce in their stride and soon became the aristocarcy of the new society. Most of these merchants were import oriented and did little to further agricultural development and consequently much of the Belizean landscape remained intact.
Later attempts to grow coffee, cocoa, rubber and nutmeg were doomed to failure. However, by 1867 Belize's ability to grow sugar cane led to the production of mor e than one million pounds of sugar . The scarcity of laborers in Belize led to serious manpower shortages and to maintain these agricultural endeavors recruits were imported from India.
"The country is English-speaking, fiercely democratic and tiny; the size of Massachusetts with a population of 180,000. As to culture take your pick: Belizeans are Mayan and mestizo, Spanish and African, European and Creole. They are also open and charming."
Travel & Leisure magazine
The ethnic blend in Belize was made richer by the addition of African descent Creoles, Caribs who were refugees from the Bay islands and St. Vincent, and Maya-Mexican farmers who fled to Belize during the Caste War.
Amish Mennonite farmers also sought refuge in Belize in the early 1950's and their horse drawn buggies have become a familiar sight of the Belizean landscape. Belize's population continues to be boosted by refugees although now they come from neighboring Central American countries (Guatemala and El Salvardor) where social, political and economic instability have forced many people from their homes.
The ethnic mix over the years has included Lebanese and Chinese immigrants. However, more recently, Belize has experienced a large influx of Chinese immigrants from Hong Kong, fleeing the anticipated Chinese takeover in July of 1997. Belize offers these immigrants a similar climate and political government as is found in Hong Kong. Belize was a British colony until 1981 when it gained independence from Britain. However, the parliamentary democracy based upon the British system of government remains.
English, the official language, is spoken throughout the country, with most people also being somewhat bilingual in Spanish or the language of their ethnic group (Maya, Garifuna, etc.). However, unofficially, the language that unites all Belizeans is the spoken dialect, Creole, which is an English dialect with African overtones in its spoken form and grammer.
"Take a country slightly larger than El Salvador, but take away five million people until all you have left are 180,000 souls with a dozen ethnic groups among them...Add rainforests and pine clad mountain ranges, jaguars, monkeys, 500 species of birds, ancient Maya ruins and the largest coral reef in the Western hemisphere... By comparison the Sheraton Cancun feels about as exciting as a tanning parlor."
Destinations magazine
Belize remains in a near pristine state with many natural plant species preserved. Ecotourism is definitely in vogue here and the country is definitely committed to preserving its flora and fauna with large tracts of land designated as natural parks and reserves for such endangered species as the jaguar (Cockscomb Jaguar Reserve). The rich and varied use of natural flora by the remaining traditional herbalists has also made Belize quite known in ethnobotanical circles (See Rosita Arvigo's book "Sastun"). Belize's coral reef, the largest in the Western hemisphere, has also made Belize a diving haven for scuba diving enthusiasts who are looking for virgin waters.
I hope that this short background and other articles on this web site give you a flavor for the country which is Belize.
This page created by Florence Gonzalez
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